Steel is one of the most widely used construction metals, which is an

Question

Steel is one of the most widely used construction metals, which is an alloy of carbon and iron and give  foundations their strength.

(A) Steel is one of the most widely used construction metals, which is an alloy of carbon and iron and give
(B) An alloy of carbon and iron, steel is one of the most widely used construction metals giving
(C) Steel, an alloy of carbon and iron, is one of the widely used construction metals that give
(D) One of the most widely used construction metals is steel, which is an alloy of carbon and iron that give
(E) Steel, an alloy of carbon and iron, is one of the widely used construction metals and gives

bodhisattva800 · Answer

OA is E, but it seems bothe C and E are correct

saukrit · Answer

Why is C incorrect. To me both c and E Look correct

GMATNinja  this looks very much like the Minnesota official Question.

Am I incorrect I'd saying that both C and E are correct

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vivek2611 · Answer

SV issue

Subject steel is singular - verb gives is singular

IMO E

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anmolr14 · Answer

Steel is one of the most widely used construction metals, which is an alloy of carbon and iron and give foundations their strength

C) Steel, an alloy of carbon and iron, is one of the widely used construction metal that  give 
E) Steel, an alloy of carbon and iron, is one of the widely used construction metal and gives

According to me, the only problem with C option is that "Steel" is used a singular and thus "gives" should come instead of "give", this problem has been addressed in the option E

bodhisattva800 · Answer

anmolr14   vivek2611   saukrit  
Sorry, the option C had  metals  as per original question and not singular  metal ....

That is what created an ambiguity between C and E

nlx23 · Answer

I am confused between c and e.
" steel is one of the widely used metals that give/gives".
if that is for metals then it should be give, but if it is for steel than it should be gives.

Hital · Answer

Hi,

Can someone please explain why is C incorrect here?

Thanks in advance.

Harsh9676 · Answer

Hi

C is the correct answer as it is as per the below second rule.

1. One of the Xs - verb should be singular as the subject here is one
2. One of the Xs that/which/who - verb should be plural as the subject here is Xs.

In addition, E presents two non parallel elements (one of the metals and give) in parallel structure changing the meaning.

Thanks
Harsh

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ashokk · Answer

Can someone please explain why B is incorrect.

Harsh9676 · Answer

Hi Ashokk

I believe it's because of the singular 'metal'. If Steel is the only metal then there won't be a need for the phrase one of the..

Thanks 
Harsh

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bebs · Answer

bodhisattva800

Meaning of original sentence: steel, an alloy of carbon and iron, gives foundations their strength. It is also one of the most widely used construction metals.

The correct answer is E, since you have to keep the meaning of the original sentence in mind when picking an answer. The problem with option C is that it changes the meaning of the original sentence. The "that" in option C refers to construction metals (plural) so the the verb is "give", but the original sentence is trying to tell us that steel (singular) gives foundations their strength, not metals give foundations their strength.

Please let me know if you have further queries.

Cheers!

urshi · Answer

Then , as per your explanation even E must be wrong, right? Correct me if am wrong. TIA

generis · Answer

bodhisattva800  , would you please check your transcription? I think that options B and E use "metals," plural, rather than "metal," singular.

I see some helpful responses upthread.

At the same time, we seem to have a bit of confusion going on.

Finally, there are a few "legends" about SC questions that are not accurate.
For example,  being  is not always wrong on the GMAT. 
Another legend concerns option A. Option A does not determine intended meaning.
These legends are still widely taught. I am not sure why the legends are still being taught.
Those studying for the GMAT have no reason to suspect that the legends are not accurate.

THE PROMPT

THE OPTIONS  
 • the singular subject  steel  and the plural verb  give  do not agree
•  which  should modify  steel .  Which  appears to modify  widely used construction metals. 
-- which is too far from steel
-- one of the verbs in the which-clause is incorrect. We cannot pair singular IS with plural GIVE

I am not convinced that this option is transcribed correctly. I have another copy of this question. In it, option (B) uses  metals , plural. 
•  giving  should be  that give 
• If singular "metal" has been transcribed correctly, the error is fatal.  One of the  requires more than one metal.
Remove the adjective phrase: ...  steel is one of the metal giving  
At the least, B is not as good as C or E

• Possibly an issue:  metals that give foundations their strength 
WHOSE strength? (What is the antecedent of "their"?)
-- The metals give their (own) strength to the foundations? (That meaning might sound a little weird, but the phrasing is fairly common.) 
-- Or the foundations have strength because they are built with these metals?
The distinction is hard to detect.
•  Option A does not determine meaning.  
•  One of the Xs + THAT/WHO  = the thing is  plural   
•  One of the Xs without THAT/WHO  = the thing is  singular

• the subject of the THAT clause is singular  alloy . The plural verb  give  does not agree with its subject

• If the word "metal" should be "metals," then there are no issues that I can see (I am fairly sure the word should be "metals")
• IS and GIVES are both singular present tense verbs. They are parallel

**************

•   Answers can deviate from option A

The intended meaning of the sentence is the option with the grammatical and logical answer.
Many official questions contain an option A that is illogical, garbled, or nonsensical.

If you would like other experts' opinions on the matter, please see
 GMATNinja  ,  HERE,  Dmitry Farber,  here,  and Ron Purewal,  HERE.

Finally,  here  is a great little piece written by Stacy Koprince in which she describes encountering an official question whose option A made no sense.

• I explain the rule for  one of the Xs  in  this post, HERE

One of the Xs + THAT/WHO   = the thing is   PLURAL

One of the Xs    without  the word THAT or WHO = the thing is   SINGULAR

• Meaning? 
I read (C) this way:
One group of metals is widely used in construction. Metals in this group give strength to (= create strength in) foundations of buildings. Steel is one member of this group of metals.

I read (E) this way:
Steel has two qualities: (1) it is among that group of metals that are widely used in construction, and (2) it   makes foundations strong (steel "gives" foundations their strength)

I am not convinced that C is worse than E. I am assuming that E  does  contain a typo, i.e., that (E) should say  metals,  plural. 
If I am mistaken and (E) actually uses  metal,  singular, then (C) is the answer.

bodhisattva800  , again, please, check your transcription? Are you sure about the OA? And do you have an OE?
Thanks.

santorasantu · Answer

OA is E and it is correct

reasons are stated as follows:

A - Steel and give S-V agreement error
B - There is no grammatical error in this sentence, only thing is that this modifies the intended meaning of the sentence. Original sentence intends to tell the following:
Steel 
--> one of the widely used construction metals, (modifier.blah blah blah)
--> gives foundations their strength
choice B tells that construction metals gives strength rather than steel, so this is worng
C - repeats the error as in B
D - that seems to refer to alloy of car and iron, maybe give is correct, but still there is a meaning issue telling that carbon and iron give strength to foundation
 E - only left choice and this is correct

generis · Answer

santorasantu  , thanks. +1 
Do you know whether B is transcribed correctly? (From that OE, I think not.)

(E cannot be transcribed correctly.)

santorasantu · Answer

generis , I just read your answer and noticed that in E has metal instead of metals

. As per my understanding I do not see any mistake in this. E would read as follows: After removing the modifiers we would be left with the following sentence: Metal referring to steel --> Steel is one of the widely used construction metal. --> Steel gives foundations their strength I guess there is an error in B as you rightly pointed out. Thats my understanding,maybe some egmat expert can correct the typos. Rgds, Santora

generis · Answer

santorasantu , I can see how you might think that the phrasing were correct, but it isn't. This phrasing is not correct: one of the widely used construction metal

one of the metal

These examples are not correct: -- Grey's Anatomy is one of the widely viewed TV show

-- The baker at that patisserie bakes one of the best cookie I have ever tasted.

-- He is one of the most powerful executive in the world.

Correct : Grey's Anatomy is one of the most widely viewed TV shows Correct : The baker at that patisserie bakes one of the best cookies I have ever tasted. Correct : He is one of the most powerful executives in the world. • one OF implies more than one

I have a copy of this question from a different source. I'll edit. Thank you for the help!

santorasantu · Answer

Thanks for the correction and detailed explanation. I somehow missed this on choice E. I was too quick in eliminating other choices and I was fixed on back of my mind that E is correct. One of the + PLURAL NOUN

+1 for correcting me.

Hanzel101 · Answer

It is pertinent to note that when you come across two answer choices which are grammatically correct, however, you aren’t unable to decide which one to chose - ALWAYS GO WITH THE ORIGINAL MEANING OF THE SENTENCE.

Even though C is grammatically correct, it changes the entire meaning of the sentence.

Thanks

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Even though C is grammatically correct, it changes the entire meaning of the sentence.

Thanks

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Steel is one of the most widely used construction metals, which is an

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