The computer company’s present troubles are a result of technological

Hi, that modifies the list technological stagnation, marketing missteps, and managerial blunders.


Not necessarily. If that modifies something that is the object of the corresponding clause, then there will not be a verb immediately after that.

For example:

This is the car that Peter owns.

Here, that is modifying car. The relative clause is that Peter owns. In this clause:

i) Peter is the subject
ii) owns is the verb (corresponding to the subject Peter)
ii) that (car) is the object.
_________________

TheUltimateWinner

You can have a defining relative clause with 'which' too though writers favour 'that'.

... blunders that several attempts have failed to correct.
... blunders which several attempts that failed to correct.

If you use 'which' without commas, it is an essential (defining) relative clause.

https://www.gmatclub.com/forum/veritas-prep-resource-links-no-longer-available-399979.html#/2013/1 ... at-debate/

AndrewN

'That' is surely causing some headache here. Can you help ?? To what is 'that' exactly referring to??

Hello, warrior1991. To be honest, I do not think we can ever know for sure whether the relative clause definitively modifies just managerial blunders or the entire list. Consider the sentence with answer choice (D) inserted:


Now, could it be the case that attempts were made to fix technological stagnation, marketing missteps, and managerial blunders? Sure. We do not need to be overly fastidious about specifying exactly what the relative clause refers to either, perhaps by altering the ending to something like ... blunders, each of which several attempts... But it could also be the case that previous attempts were made only to correct the managerial blunders. All we can say for sure is that, because of the placement of the relative clause, that cannot modify either technological stagnation or marketing missteps exclusively. I prefer to interpret the sentence as a statement that the company has previously made attempts to address several issues, but I cannot rule out the possibility of a narrower interpretation. All this fuss is more trouble than it is worth, in my view. Nevertheless, thank you for calling my attention to the question. I hope my thoughts may prove helpful to you and others.

- Andrew
_________________

at revising is clearly wrong : B C D are out

It dont have any refents in A, so it's out

only D is left

Hello experts,
Can anyone please explain "in that" to me.
I am seeing this for the first time.
does it mean "inside that" ?
I picked 'C' for this one!

You can think of 'in that' as 'in the way that,' or 'for the reason that.'

"The boxer might have lost the championship, but he reaped more benefits than did the winner in that his grit and determination in the face of sure defeat inspired the nation and made him star."
_________________

So whats wrong with C?

in that- means a further explanation or reason

SO as per C, companies troubles are the result of A,B and C- because/ the reason is /in that/in a way - several attempts at revising corporate strategies have failed to correct them. and hence companies troubles are the result of A,b and C. MartyTargetTestPrep. what "in that" precisely means?

Hello dcoolguy,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, the use of "in that" is incorrect because it incorrectly implies that the fact that several attempts to revise corporate strategies failed to correct them is an intrinsic property of the computer company’s present troubles being a result of technological stagnation, marketing missteps, and managerial blunders; the intended meaning is that the computer company’s present troubles are a result of technological stagnation, marketing missteps, and managerial blunders, and several attempts to revise corporate strategies have failed to correct these blunders; remember, “in that” is used to reflect an intrinsic property.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
_________________

Bare minimum technique
Problems..... are a result of 3 things that attempts to revise strategies have failed to correct.

Correct - D

Hi Experts, KarishmaB, GMATNinja and AndrewN

Can "that" be used to modify people?

"I am in love with my car and the girlfriend that I met last week."

Is the "that" used to refer to "girlfriend" correct here?

Thanks in advance.
_________________

ChandlerBong - You are treading on dangerous waters here. When you use a restrictive clause for 'girlfriend,' you are clarifying 'which girlfriend,' implying a number more than 1.

I adore my car and my sister who you met last week.
means I have more than 1 sisters and I am talking about the sister you met last week.

I adore my car and my sister, who you met last week.
means I have only one sister or you already know which sister. This is a non restrictive relative clause. Additional information about my sister.

More to your point - In spoken English, we do use 'that' for people too. Nothing wrong with it. It is quite acceptable as per most grammarians but GMAT does prefer to use 'who' for people. Will I eliminate an option that uses 'that' for people? No. But I will prefer another which is correct and uses 'who.'