NEW HERE? LEARN MORE
closeclose
Last visit was: 24 Apr 2024, 07:39 It is currently 24 Apr 2024, 07:39
Decision Tracker
My Rewards
New posts
New comers' posts

Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel

On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed

SORT BY:
Date
Kudos
   1   2   3   
Tags:
Find Similar Topics 
Show Tags
Hide Tags
avatar
B
saimaru1910
Intern
Intern
Joined: 16 Dec 2015
Posts: 1
Own Kudos [?]: 2 [2]
Given Kudos: 3
Send PM
Re: On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed [#permalink] New post   11 Jun 2017, 01:29
2
Bookmarks
Beginning the sentences (A, B, C) with 'On Earth' means that the writer is an alien.

In A. B. C. 'On Earth' is an adverbial phrase that modifies 'verb' or 'whole sentence'
In D. E. 'On Earth' is an prepositional phrase that modifies 'among the surest indications'
avatar
B
SISDIT
Intern
Intern
Joined: 30 Mar 2016
Posts: 32
Own Kudos [?]: 45 [6]
Given Kudos: 47
Send PM
Re: On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed [#permalink] New post   21 Jun 2017, 16:08
4
Kudos
2
Bookmarks
Hi all, here is my analysis.

On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed to be the rate that trees grow, as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks.

A. On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed to be the rate that trees grow

B. On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are, it is believed, the rate of tree growth

C. On Earth, the rate at which trees grow is believed to be among the surest indications of sunspot cycles

D. Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles, believed to be the tree growth rate

E. Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles is believed to be the rate at which trees grow

Reverse Construction:

_On the table there is one pen. This sentence is equivalent to:

_One pen is on the table.

Subject = one pen

Verb = is

Note that: The prepositional phrase = "on the table" CANNOT be the SUBJECT of the sentence.

The reverse construction is applied to A, B, C, & E.

_Prepositional phrase = [Among........] CANNOT be the Subject

_Subject = the rate

_Verb = is

Hence, A & B are out since Subject & Verb do not agree.

We are down to C, D, & E.

_D is a FRAGMENT because D has NO MAIN VERB.

Now, between C & E, which of of them is correct?

Lets observe the portion that is NOT underlined:

_[as seen in the rings.....]= a MODIFIER

_What does it modify?

_It modifies THE RATE.

_In (E) THE RATE is close to its MODIFIER = [as seen......], while in (C) those two are FAR AWAY from each other --> E is better than C, and thus E is the correct choice.

In addition, "On Earth" is moved around in C & E. Once gain, the same question: What does " On Earth" modify?

_It modifies "Indications".

_As seen in E, "On Earth" is right next to "Indications", whereas in C those two are FAR AWAY from each other. Once again, E is better than C.
avatar
S
T700ISB
Intern
Intern
Joined: 31 Dec 2015
Posts: 35
Own Kudos [?]: 14 [1]
Given Kudos: 264
Location: India
Schools: ISB '19 (I) IIM Udaipur '19 (A) Great Lakes '19 S.P.Jain Institute
GMAT 1: 680 Q44 V39
GMAT 2: 670 Q44 V38
Send PM
Re: On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed [#permalink] New post   08 Aug 2017, 21:19
1
Kudos
Is this really a Gmat Prep question?

I am still not convinced about why C is not the answer.

Close call between C and E.

What exactly does "as seen in the rings" modify?- Sunspot cycles or rate at which trees grow?

In E isn't it modifying the "rate" at which trees grow, which is nonsensical IMO. Ugh I'm indeed confused !
User avatar
G
sayantanc2k
CR Moderator
Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 2413
Own Kudos [?]: 15266 [1]
Given Kudos: 26
Location: Germany
Schools:
GMAT 1: 780 Q50 V47
WE:Corporate Finance (Pharmaceuticals and Biotech)
Send PM
GMAT ToolKit User
Re: On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed [#permalink] New post   13 Oct 2017, 05:23
1
Kudos
Expert Reply
T700ISB wrote:
Is this really a Gmat Prep question?

I am still not convinced about why C is not the answer.

Close call between C and E.

What exactly does "as seen in the rings" modify?- Sunspot cycles or rate at which trees grow?

In E isn't it modifying the "rate" at which trees grow, which is nonsensical IMO. Ugh I'm indeed confused !


Your query 1:
The following post explains why C is incorrect:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/on-earth-amo ... l#p1808827

Your query 2:
The part "as seen in the rings" modifies neither "sunspot cycles" nor "rate at which trees grow" - it is a prepositional phrase referring to the entire previous clause (recollect the use of comma + present participle - comma +prepositional phrases can also be used in the same way, i.e., to refer to an entire previous clause.)
avatar
B
prgmatbiz
Intern
Intern
Joined: 12 Aug 2019
Posts: 18
Own Kudos [?]: 11 [0]
Given Kudos: 400
Location: United States
Schools: NTU '21 (S) NUS '22 (S)
GMAT 1: 690 Q49 V33
Send PM
Re: On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed [#permalink] New post   28 Oct 2019, 15:04
daagh wrote:
The important thing here is to note what the pronoun ‘their’ in the un-underlined part points to. Unfortunately, in C it refers to the sunspot cycles by virtue of proximity, while it should refer to the trees, which is what E does and thus outdoes C.



daagh

"is believed" in E does not cause SVA error?
User avatar
L
daagh
GMAT Club Legend
GMAT Club Legend
Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Status: enjoying
Posts: 5265
Own Kudos [?]: 42103 [0]
Given Kudos: 422
Location: India
WE:Education (Education)
Send PM
Re: On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed [#permalink] New post   29 Oct 2019, 02:53
Expert Reply
Top Contributor
(E) Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles is believed to be the rate at which trees grow

Akshay

Why not?

The actual sentence is --- The rate at which trees grow is believed to be among the surest indications of sunspot cycles on earth.
User avatar
L
EducationAisle
CEO
CEO
Joined: 27 Mar 2010
Posts: 3675
Own Kudos [?]: 3528 [0]
Given Kudos: 149
Location: India
Schools: ISB
GPA: 3.31
Send PM
Re: On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed [#permalink] New post   29 Oct 2019, 03:27
Expert Reply
Hi prgmatbiz, as daagh sir has suggested, this sentence is (what's called) an inverted sentence, wherein the verb (is) comes before the subject (rate), thereby creating bit of a confusion.

Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses inverted sentences. Have attached the corresponding section of the book, for your reference.
Attachments

Inverted Sentences_v5.pdf [15.13 KiB]
Downloaded 109 times

avatar
NydhruvKashyap
Intern
Intern
Joined: 14 Apr 2020
Posts: 3
Own Kudos [?]: 0 [0]
Given Kudos: 1
Send PM
Re: On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed [#permalink] New post   23 Sep 2020, 09:50
Hi,

I had eliminated E thinking "Among the surest things" should be accompanied with 'are' and not 'is' in E. Is this not similar to the subject verb agreement with "One of the most important thing" etc.? Please let me know the grammar rules here.
User avatar
L
EducationAisle
CEO
CEO
Joined: 27 Mar 2010
Posts: 3675
Own Kudos [?]: 3528 [1]
Given Kudos: 149
Location: India
Schools: ISB
GPA: 3.31
Send PM
Re: On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed [#permalink] New post   23 Sep 2020, 09:56
1
Kudos
Expert Reply
NydhruvKashyap wrote:
I had eliminated E thinking "Among the surest things" should be accompanied with 'are' and not 'is' in E. Is this not similar to the subject verb agreement with "One of the most important thing" etc.? Please let me know the grammar rules here.

Hi NydhruvKashyap, option E is (what's called) an inverted sentence.

Option E reads:

Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles is believed to be the rate at which trees grow.

The normal non-inverted sentence is:

The rate at which trees grow is believed to be among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles.

Now it is very clear that the rate is the singular subject, and hence, requires a singular verb is.

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses inverted sentences, their application and examples. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.
User avatar
B
D4kshGargas
Manager
Manager
Joined: 01 Apr 2020
Posts: 89
Own Kudos [?]: 27 [0]
Given Kudos: 283
Location: India
GMAT 1: 650 Q46 V34 (Online)
GMAT 2: 680 Q48 V35 (Online)
Send PM
Re: On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed [#permalink] New post   01 Oct 2020, 06:57
daagh wrote:
The important thing here is to note what the pronoun ‘their’ in the un-underlined part points to. Unfortunately, in C it refers to the sunspot cycles by virtue of proximity, while it should refer to the trees, which is what E does and thus outdoes C.


Hi, I don’t agree with the explanation provided above.
Pronoun ambiguity isn’t an absolute crime on the GMAT.

in “their trunks”, “their” can ONLY refer to trees. There is no way it can refer to anything else.

Can you please provide another reason for eliminating (C)?
User avatar
L
EducationAisle
CEO
CEO
Joined: 27 Mar 2010
Posts: 3675
Own Kudos [?]: 3528 [1]
Given Kudos: 149
Location: India
Schools: ISB
GPA: 3.31
Send PM
Re: On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed [#permalink] New post   01 Oct 2020, 07:46
1
Kudos
Expert Reply
D4kshGargas wrote:
Can you please provide another reason for eliminating (C)?

Hi D4kshGargas, there is a modifier issue in C:

What is seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks?
Most logical answer: rate at which trees grow

Now, let's look at C:

the rate at which trees grow is believed to be among the surest indications of sunspot cycles, as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks.

Notice how C changes the meaning by stating: surest indications of sunspot cycles, as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks

So, C seems to nonsensically suggest that surest indications of sunspot cycles are seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks.
User avatar
P
Crytiocanalyst
Director
Director
Joined: 16 Jun 2021
Posts: 994
Own Kudos [?]: 183 [0]
Given Kudos: 309
Send PM
Re: On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed [#permalink] New post   07 Jul 2021, 10:25
(A) On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed to be the rate that trees grow
This sentence gives us the meaning as the rates are grown by the trees

(B) On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are, it is believed, the rate of tree growth
it has too many commas which is unecessary and doesn't make much sense

(C) On Earth, the rate at which trees grow is believed to be among the surest indications of sunspot cycles
This feels as though the only indication of identifying sunspot cycles

(D) Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles, believed to be the tree growth rate
this has got a ambigious usage of words

(E) Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles is believed to be the rate at which trees grow
THis nails the argument hence IMO E
avatar
B
pk6969
Manager
Manager
Joined: 25 May 2020
Posts: 136
Own Kudos [?]: 13 [0]
Given Kudos: 70
Location: India
Concentration: Finance, General Management
Schools: Babson CBS '23 Broad
GPA: 3.2
Send PM
Re: On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed [#permalink] New post   21 Sep 2021, 03:31
johnycute wrote:
On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed to be the rate that trees grow, as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks.

(A) On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed to be the rate that trees grow
(B) On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are, it is believed, the rate of tree growth
(C) On Earth, the rate at which trees grow is believed to be among the surest indications of sunspot cycles
(D) Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles, believed to be the tree growth rate
(E) Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles is believed to be the rate at which trees grow


Hi! had a doubt that whether the placement of sunspot cycles at the end of the underlined portion can be a reason to eliminate it? What is "as seen in the ring ---" modifying??is it acting as a noun modifier or adverbial ? IanStewart GMATNinja
User avatar
L
IanStewart
GMAT Tutor
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Posts: 4128
Own Kudos [?]: 9241 [0]
Given Kudos: 91
 Q51  V47
Send PM
Re: On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed [#permalink] New post   21 Sep 2021, 09:09
Expert Reply
pk6969 wrote:
Hi! had a doubt that whether the placement of sunspot cycles at the end of the underlined portion can be a reason to eliminate it?


Yes, answer C for example seems to suggest that "the rings visible..." are in the sunspot cycles, when the sentence means to say they're in the trees. But you don't even need to consider that to rule out A, B and C. In the first three answer choices, "On Earth" describes where tree growth is believed to be an indication of sunspot cycles. Well of course that's believed "on Earth"; where else could it be believed? On Mars? You could cut the phrase "On earth" from A, B or C without changing the meaning of the sentence at all, so the phrase is superfluous. Answers D and E are different; in those choices, the phrase "on earth" describes where the "indications" are found. And that makes sense, because there will also be indications of sunspot cycles found in places other than Earth, for example on the sun itself.

I only skimmed the most recent posts, which didn't mention this issue, but maybe it was discussed earlier.
avatar
B
deepakbarchha1
Intern
Intern
Joined: 27 Jul 2015
Posts: 28
Own Kudos [?]: 5 [0]
Given Kudos: 20
Location: India
Send PM
Re: On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed [#permalink] New post   22 Sep 2021, 02:42
johnycute wrote:
On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed to be the rate that trees grow, as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks.

(A) On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed to be the rate that trees grow
(B) On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are, it is believed, the rate of tree growth
(C) On Earth, the rate at which trees grow is believed to be among the surest indications of sunspot cycles
(D) Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles, believed to be the tree growth rate
(E) Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles is believed to be the rate at which trees grow



Look at the non underline part of the sentence (at the end). their trunks. Only one object mentioned in the sentence has / have trunks and that object is plural (their). Obviously only one object i.e. Trees should be as near to "their trunks".

Option E does exactly same.

Ans : E

Kudos plz... :please:
User avatar
B
gmatimothy
Manager
Manager
Joined: 18 Apr 2022
Posts: 114
Own Kudos [?]: 9 [0]
Given Kudos: 704
Location: United States
Send PM
Re: On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed [#permalink] New post   12 Jun 2022, 11:27
johnycute wrote:
On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed to be the rate that trees grow, as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks.

Key is to pay attention to the non-underlined portion.
"as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks" must modify "the rate at which trees grow" vs. "sunspot cycles." "Their" indicates that we need "trees" vs. "tree." Eliminate (C) and (D)

(A) On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed to be the rate that trees grow

"are believed to be" = wrong

(B) On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are, it is believed, the rate of tree growth

"are" = wrong

(C) On Earth, the rate at which trees grow is believed to be among the surest indications of sunspot cycles

(D) Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles, believed to be the tree growth rate

(E) Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles is believed to be the rate at which trees grow

Best option. Among X is Y, as seen...

User avatar
S
VIGHNESHKAMATH
Manager
Manager
Joined: 28 Sep 2021
Posts: 155
Own Kudos [?]: 50 [0]
Given Kudos: 259
Send PM
Re: On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed [#permalink] New post   12 Jun 2022, 23:08
johnycute wrote:
On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed to be the rate that trees grow, as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks.

(A) On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed to be the rate that trees grow
(B) On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are, it is believed, the rate of tree growth
(C) On Earth, the rate at which trees grow is believed to be among the surest indications of sunspot cycles
(D) Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles, believed to be the tree growth rate
(E) Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles is believed to be the rate at which trees grow


By definite grammer rules, I quickly eliminated Options A, B and D. Now coming to options C and E. I think the major issue of meaning. What C says is that ''the rate of tree growth'' is ''among the surest indications''. One cannot be equal to many. One can only be ''one among the many''. I cannot equate ''rate of tree growth'' with ''among''. It has to be one among them. Option C is equating one with many, which is incorrect.

Thus, Option C without any other definite meaning or grammar issues wins.

Thank You
Vighnesh
User avatar
L
ExpertsGlobal5
Experts' Global Representative
Joined: 10 Jul 2017
Posts: 5123
Own Kudos [?]: 4683 [0]
Given Kudos: 38
Location: India
GMAT Date: 11-01-2019
Send PM
Re: On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed [#permalink] New post   14 Jun 2022, 04:39
Expert Reply
VIGHNESHKAMATH wrote:
johnycute wrote:
On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed to be the rate that trees grow, as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks.

(A) On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed to be the rate that trees grow
(B) On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are, it is believed, the rate of tree growth
(C) On Earth, the rate at which trees grow is believed to be among the surest indications of sunspot cycles
(D) Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles, believed to be the tree growth rate
(E) Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles is believed to be the rate at which trees grow


By definite grammer rules, I quickly eliminated Options A, B and D. Now coming to options C and E. I think the major issue of meaning. What C says is that ''the rate of tree growth'' is ''among the surest indications''. One cannot be equal to many. One can only be ''one among the many''. I cannot equate ''rate of tree growth'' with ''among''. It has to be one among them. Option C is equating one with many, which is incorrect.

Thus, Option C without any other definite meaning or grammar issues wins.

Thank You
Vighnesh


Hello VIGHNESHKAMATH,

We hope this finds you well.

To provide some clarity, here, the use of "among" is not incorrect in Option C, as it refers to the plural noun "indications", conveying that the rate at which trees grow is one of the many indications of sunspot cycles.

The error in Option C is that the phrase "as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks" modifies "the surest indications of sunspot cycles", illogically implying that all of the surest indications of sunspot cycles are seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of the tree trunks.

Option E correctly modifies "the rate at which trees grow" with "as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks", conveying the intended meaning - that the rate of tree growth is seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of the tree trunks.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
User avatar
B
Jayantalawadhi
Intern
Intern
Joined: 27 Sep 2019
Posts: 29
Own Kudos [?]: 1 [0]
Given Kudos: 54
Send PM
On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed [#permalink] New post   12 Jul 2022, 02:59
I was confused between C and E. I omitted E because because of the presence of the prepositional phrase 'Earth of sunspot cycle' Isn't this prepositional phrase modifying earth instead of indication?

GMATNinja sir can you please help me here.
User avatar
L
ExpertsGlobal5
Experts' Global Representative
Joined: 10 Jul 2017
Posts: 5123
Own Kudos [?]: 4683 [0]
Given Kudos: 38
Location: India
GMAT Date: 11-01-2019
Send PM
Re: On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed [#permalink] New post   12 Jul 2022, 04:22
Expert Reply
Jayantalawadhi wrote:
I was confused between C and E. I omitted E because because of the presence of the prepositional phrase 'Earth of sunspot cycle' Isn't this prepositional phrase modifying earth instead of indication?

GMATNinja sir can you please help me here.


Hello Jayantalawadhi,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, here "on Earth" and "of sunspot cycles" are both prepositional phrases that act upon the noun "indications".

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
GMAT Club Bot
gmatclubot
Re: On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed [#permalink]
12 Jul 2022, 04:22
   1   2   3   
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
6917 posts
GMATNinjaTwo
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
238 posts

Powered by phpBB © phpBB Group | Emoji artwork provided by EmojiOne
Main navigation
GMAT Resources
Partners
MBA Resources
www.gmac.com|www.mba.com | | GMAT Club Rules | Terms and Conditions