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Since 1975 so many people have been moving to Utah such that Mormons 28 Jan 2023, 01:42
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Since 1975 so many people have been moving to Utah such that Mormons who were once 75 percent of the population are now only accounting for half of it.


(A) so many people have been moving to Utah such that Mormons who were once 75 percent of the population are now only accounting for half of it

(B) many people have been moving to Utah, so Mormons once 75 percent of the population are now accounting for only half

(C) that many people have been moving to Utah, such that the Mormons that were once 75 percent of the population are now accounting for only half of it

(D) many people have been moving to Utah such that the Mormons, who once represented 75 percent of the population, now only account for half

(E) so many people have been moving to Utah that the Mormons, who once represented 75 percent of the population, now account for only half

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Lot of talk around what idiom is right and what is wrong.

Here are my 2 cents.

A. "Only accounting for half of it" is incorrect usage. "Only" should modify "half".
"Mormons who were...." talks about a part of Mormons. As per the intended meaning, sentence is talking about the entire Mormons community. Also, For this reason there should be a "the" before "Mormons".
Incorrect.

B. Two independent clauses joined by ", so".
Incorrect.

C. No verb for long subject "That many people have been moving to Utah".
Incorrect.

D. "Only account for half"
Incorrect.

E. Best of the lot. Correct.


Request experts to point out errors in my assessment.

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Since 1975 so many people have been moving to Utah such that Mormons 29 Jan 2023, 06:28
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rgoel2305
Quote:


Since 1975 so many people have been moving to Utah such that Mormons who were once 75 percent of the population are now only accounting for half of it.


(A) so many people have been moving to Utah such that Mormons who were once 75 percent of the population are now only accounting for half of it

(B) many people have been moving to Utah, so Mormons once 75 percent of the population are now accounting for only half

(C) that many people have been moving to Utah, such that the Mormons that were once 75 percent of the population are now accounting for only half of it

(D) many people have been moving to Utah such that the Mormons, who once represented 75 percent of the population, now only account for half

(E) so many people have been moving to Utah that the Mormons, who once represented 75 percent of the population, now account for only half



Lot of talk around what idiom is right and what is wrong.

Here are my 2 cents.

A. "Only accounting for half of it" is incorrect usage. "Only" should modify "half".
"Mormons who were...." talks about a part of Mormons. As per the intended meaning, sentence is talking about the entire Mormons community. Also, For this reason there should be a "the" before "Mormons".
Incorrect.

B. Two independent clauses joined by ", so".
Incorrect.

C. No verb for long subject "That many people have been moving to Utah".
Incorrect.

D. "Only account for half"
Incorrect.

E. Best of the lot. Correct.


Request experts to point out errors in my assessment.

GMATNinja abhimahna
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Hello rgoel2305,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, your assessment is off for Option B; the conjunction "so" can be used with a comma to join two independent clauses.

The error in Option B is that it uses the simple present continuous verb phrase "are now accounting" to refer to a statement of universal fact; remember, statements of universal fact are best conveyed through the simple present tense, and the simple present continuous tense is used to refer to actions that are currently ongoing and continuous in nature.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
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Since 1975 so many people have been moving to Utah such that Mormons 12 Feb 2023, 08:23
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Note that plain usage of "such that" is considered unidiomatic.

We need to say something like "such + Noun/Adjective + that" for its usage to be correct.
For example - "the crime has risen to such levels that ..."

Let us look at the answer options.

Option A - Incorrect.
"so many people have been moving to Utah such that" - Usage of such that is incorrect.

"such that Mormons who were once 75 percent of the population" - Usage of restrictive clause suggests that we are referring to ONLY those Mormons who accounted for 75% percent of the population. Implies that there were other Mormons who did not account for 75% of the population. Illogical.

"Mormons who were once 75 percent of the population are now only accounting for half of it" - Inappropriate usage of present continuous. To talk about facts/general truths we use the simple present.

Option B - Incorrect.
"Mormons [who were] once 75 percent of the population are now accounting" - usage of restrictive modifier changes the meaning of the sentence.

Usage of present continuous tense is inappropriate.

Also note that the intended meaning is "so many people have been moving to Utah that Mormons, who were once 75 percent of the population, now only account for half" - this suggests something unusual or dramatic.

However, in this option that effect is lost - "many people have been moving to Utah". This no longer conveys the intended meaning.

Option C -
"that many people have been moving to Utah" - the usage is incorrect.
"such that the Mormons that were once 75 percent" - Plain "such that" is unidiomatic.



"such that the Mormons that were once 75 percent" - We do not use "that" to refer to people. Moreover, this suggests that we are referring ONLY to those who were once 75%, not to other Mormons there.
"... are now accounting for only half of it" - We need simple present.

Option D -
"many people have been moving to Utah" - this distorts the intended meaning by suggesting that the movement was not dramatic/remarkable situation.
"such that the Mormons"
Usage of "such that" is unidiomatic.
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Why "Such That" in option D is undiomatic? When can I use "such that"?
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Since 1975 so many people have been moving to Utah such that Mormons 05 Sep 2023, 00:21
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Since 1975 so many people have been moving to Utah such that Mormons who were once 75 percent of the population are now only accounting for half of it.


(A) so many people have been moving to Utah such that Mormons who were once 75 percent of the population are now only accounting for half of it

(B) many people have been moving to Utah, so Mormons once 75 percent of the population are now accounting for only half

(C) that many people have been moving to Utah, such that the Mormons that were once 75 percent of the population are now accounting for only half of it

(D) many people have been moving to Utah such that the Mormons, who once represented 75 percent of the population, now only account for half

(E) so many people have been moving to Utah that the Mormons, who once represented 75 percent of the population, now account for only half


Show SpoilerTime magazine article
https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,973508-3,00.html

The West Mixing Business And Faith
Most states are struggling with economic hard times, but Utah -- and the Mormons -- are riding high
By Sally B. Donnelly/Salt Lake City
Monday, July 29, 1991

The new Utah is most evident in Salt Lake County (pop. 728,000). Since 1975, so many people have moved in that Mormons, once 75% of the population, now account for only half. Eighteen months ago, the city relaxed its prohibition on alcohol, and bars and restaurants are thriving. The local gay community has become large enough and vocal enough to have mounted a colorful antidiscrimination protest at the Salt Lake County fairgrounds in June. Some of America's best ski areas are 20 minutes away from high-rise office buildings. A $500 million downtown redevelopment project has revived the city's arts community. Even intellectual life got a charge last month when the University of Utah named Arthur Smith as the first non-Mormon president in its 141-year history. "Salt Lake City is what people think Denver should be," says mayoral candidate Corradini.
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A - (1) Idiom issue: so...such that is unidiomatic (2) such that together is used to give a cause of consequence only if cause is also given. Structure: 1st part cause + such that + 2nd part consequence. Not correctly used here.

B - (1) Idiom issue: so.., (2) Verb tense: Present continuous in first part, simple present continuous in second part. We need simple present to state truth/fact. (3) Correct: only half - only is adjective and half is noun so correctly placed next to each other.

C - (1) Since 1975 that...such that - first that has no antecedent. Such that itself is not used correctly because it has not given a cause in the preceding part.

D - (1) Incorrect use of Such that: as above (2) Only account - only adjective, account noun so the use is correct but the emphasis is needed on half not account so only should be before half. What's suprising is that 75% became 50% so only half must be the focal point. Meaning is also not correct but couldn't find it in the given time limit so left it at that.

E - (1) Correct idiom: so + adjective + that
(2) Correct pronoun: who for Mormons
(3) No subject verb issue: Mormons (plural subject) account (plural verb)
(4) Correct Verb tense: present continuous+ simple present
(5) Correct adjective + noun: only half has correct structure, and meaning closer to intended meaning.

Therefore, option E is the correct answer.


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Since 1975 so many people have been moving to Utah such that Mormons 28 Oct 2023, 07:53
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In option E, isn't the modifier "who represented 75 percent...." between the commas a non-essential one?

If that is the case, then what is "half" referring to? Isn't is vague?

Using this logic, I selected option A
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Since 1975 so many people have been moving to Utah such that Mormons 29 Oct 2023, 17:13
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sk05
In option E, isn't the modifier "who represented 75 percent...." between the commas a non-essential one?

If that is the case, then what is "half" referring to? Isn't is vague?

Using this logic, I selected option A
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Sometimes, we can cross off nonessential modifiers to make analyzing sentences easier, and sentences should convey basically the same meaning if nonessential modifiers are removed.

At the same time, if a sentence uses a nonessential modifier, then in the sentence as written, that nonessential modifier does exist. So, we have to be careful not to decide a sentence is incorrect because the meaning becomes less clear or a reference no longer works when a nonessential modifier is removed.

For instance, a pronoun can refer to a noun in a nonessential modifier, and we wouldn't decide that the sentence is incorrect because the pronoun has no referent if the nonessential modifier is removed. After all, in the sentence as written, the referent is present.

In this case, the (E) version of the sentence does work as written. So, choice (E) is correct.
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