The chairman of the board of directors have decided that

Question

The chairman of the board of directors  have decided that this year's profits will be used  for research and development, rather than for a shareholder dividend.

(A) have decided that this year's profits will be used
(B) has decided that this year's profits will be used
(C) have decided on using this year's profits
(D) has decided on using this year's profits
(E) decided this year's profits will have been used

sa2222 · Accepted Answer

Explanation from Brian on BeatThe GMAT -

Hey guys,

Good thread - and just because "unidiomatic" is such a vague way to explain an error (curse the OG solutions for using that word so often!), let me weigh in on that difference.

When you're connecting two verbs, like "deciding" and "use", you need to either set up an independent clause with a new subject:

decided THAT the profits will be used for... ("the profits" become the subject of that new clause)

OR

Keep the same subject and make the second verb an infinitive:

Decided TO USE the profits for... (the chairman is the one who, at least indirectly, will use the profits for that purpose so he/she is the subject)

You'll see this come up a fair amount in GMAT questions, so be aware of these two tools for connecting verbs. "Decided on" is fine if the next word is a noun (We've decided on the case) but not a verb ("We've decided on convicting" is wrong; "We've decided to convict" is correct).

_________________
Brian Galvin 
GMAT Instructor 
Director of Academic Programs 
Veritas Prep

saurabhmalpani · Answer

Ya can somebody please explain me why is D wrong? 
I am kind of confused.

Thanks
Saurabh Malpani

mun23 · Answer

The chairman of the board of directors  have decided that this year`s profits will be used   for research and development,rather than for a shareholder dividend.

(A)have decided that this year`s profits will be used

(B)has decided that this year`s profits will be used

(C)have decided on using this year`s profits

(D)has decided on using this year`s profits

(E)decided this year`s profits will have been used

I picked D but OA is B.Need explanation why d is wrong and b is correct.

If you find my post helpful don`t forget to give kudos

DoItRight · Answer

The chairman is singular so "has" is correct. 
That leaves us with B and D. 
D does not flow. (D)...has decided on using this year`s profits research and development... 
It is missing a "for" so B is the correct answer.

Valerun · Answer

The chairman of the board of directors have decided that this year's profits will be used for research and development, rather than for a shareholder dividend.

"the board of directors" is singular so A and C are discarded

(A)  have decided that this year's profits will be used 
(B) has decided that this year's profits will be used
(C)  have decided on using this year's profits 
(D) has decided on using this year's profits- has decided on + "noun/noun phrase" would need to be "the use of"
(E) decided this year's profits will have been used - the tenses do not make sense

govindsowrirajan · Answer

A and C are out because chairman is singular. E is out because it is weird.(Can't Explain)

Between B and D, In D, use of -ing form is unnecessary. Why add an -ing form unnecessarily and complicate it when a straightforward and simple option is there in B? Cheers Govind

gmantri18 · Answer

'for' is not underlined in the question. So, your explanation about option 'D' is incorrect

sayantanc2k · Answer

Yes, your observation is correct. Option D is wrong for another reason:

The idiom to  decide on  is used to mean  to choose one option among others  - We decided on watching movie. This sentence implies that we had other options (e.g., going to a restaurant, playing tennis etc.), but we chose  watching movie. .

Option D implies that the chairman chose  using this year's profit  among other options (e.g.  not using this year's profit ). This is not the intended meaning.

However the sentence could be as follows: The chairman decided on R & D as...... this would imply that the chairman chose R&D among all the departments.

daagh · Answer

The chairman of the board of directors for research and development, rather than for a shareholder dividend.

(A) have decided that this year's profits will be used
(B) has decided that this year's profits will be used
(C) have decided on using this year's profits
(D) has decided on using this year's profits
(E) decided this year's profits will have been used

Fairly simple question. In one stroke, we can do away with choices A and C.
 Then ‘decided’ is inappropriate in E since the effect of the decision is still pervading. Between B and D, D is out because of the unidomatic ‘on using’. B remains.

Of course, the best choice would be :' has decided to use this year's profits'

arirux92 · Answer

Hey Sanyantan, I believe Decided on is used only for nouns : As in decided on the case
but any clause requires a decided that (as in this case)

sayantanc2k · Answer

Decide / Decide on:

The difference between  decide  and  decide on  is not based on whether the object is a noun or a clause. 
"Decide on" is used when the intended meaning is to choose one among many.

We decided on playing. (sense: We considered other choices - e.g. going to movie, staying home etc... but we decided on playing)
We decided to play. (sense: Whether we considered other choices or not is not specifically conveyed)

We decided on the colour. (sense: We considered many colours and then selected one of them.)
We decided the colour. ( Sense: Whether we considered other colors is not specifically conveyed.)

Thus if a clause conveys a sense of choosing one among many choices, then we may use "decide on":

We decided on which way we should take. (clause)
OR
We decided on the way we should take. (noun)

In both cases the conveyed meaning is the same: we considered many ways and then decided on a particular way.

Shiv2016 · Answer

The chairman of the board of directors have decided that this year's profits will be used for research and development, rather than for a shareholder dividend.

Meaning analysis:
The chairman has decided something about this year's profits i.e. this year's profits will be used for R&D rather than for a shareholder dividend.

Error:
1) Subject verb: Chairman is the singular subject of the plural verb have decided and thus is wrong.
Correct verb here is has decided
2) Idiom: The correct idiom in this case is "decide that".

(A) have decided that this year's profits will be used
(B)  has decided that this year's profits will be used 
(C) have decided on using this year's profits
(D) has decided on using this year's profits
(E) decided this year's profits will have been used

lary301254M7 · Answer

Pretty sure if option (E) says:

"decided that this year's profit will be used"

it would also be correct

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Hi lary301254M7,

Yes, you are correct - if the verb was different, that would have been an acceptable answer! The problem with saying "will have been used" suggests the funds were already used, but the chairman is just now deciding why they were used - which doesn't make sense, unless the chairman's intending to lie to cover up what the funds were really used for.

Great question!

GMATBusters · Answer

Decide on  Someone/Something (Noun):

to choose something or someone after careful thought:

I've decided on blue for the bathroom.
I am having trouble deciding on a gift for them.

Source: dictionary.cambridge.org

Bunuel · Answer

KAPLAN OFFICIAL EXPLANATION:

B

GMAT likes to introduce errors by separating the subject and verb. Practice with sentence corrections, so you anticipate and ignore distracting phrases like “of the board of directors.”“Have” has to agree with the singular subject “chairman,”rather than with the plural “directors.” (B) is right because the correct idiom is “decided that,”not “decided on.”

VerbalBot · Answer

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The chairman of the board of directors have decided that

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