The Diary of Anne Frank tells the true story of a young girl

Question

The Diary of Anne Frank tells the true story of a young girl and her family  that were hidden during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands by a gentile Dutch couple, though they were eventually discovered .
 
A. that were hidden during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands by a gentile Dutch couple, though they were eventually discovered
 
B. that were hidden by a gentile Dutch couple during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, though they were eventually discovered
 
C. whom a gentile Dutch couple hid during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands but were eventually discovered
 
D. who were hidden by a gentile Dutch couple during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands but were eventually discovered
 
E. who were hidden by a gentile Dutch couple during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands even though they were eventually discovered

lgon · Accepted Answer

that refers to lifeless things while who refers to people..so A&B are clearly out.
whom is also out of place..so C is out.
out of D&E, E changes the meaning.. and also is wordy..
So IMO its D.
who -- Refers to people
that -- refers to objects
but -- when you have to refer to contrasting things or change of situation in 180degree direction
though -- it is milder than but.... but.. is also used in the opposite of the given situation.

ps_dahiya · Answer

OA is D.

Look the OE for choice E. Is "they" ambiguous? Dutch couple is a singular. It means "they" is clearly referring to family.
Also don't we have to show a little contrast here, as shown in E?

OE:
The original sentence uses the relative pronoun "that" where "who" is preferred because the antecedent is a group of people. Also, the prepositional phrase "by a gentile Dutch couple" is placed in such a way as to suggest that the occupation was carried out by the couple. Finally, the pronoun "they" is ambiguous â€“ it could refer to the family or to the couple.

(A) This choice is incorrect as it repeats the original sentence. 

(B) This choice incorrectly uses the relative pronoun "that" to refer to a group of people. Additionally, the pronoun "they" is ambiguous - it could refer to the family or to the couple.

(C) The use of the object pronoun "whom" makes "a girl and her family" the object of the clause "a gentile Dutch couple hid;" however "a girl and her family" are the subject of the next clause "were eventually discovered." This is a mismatch.

(D) CORRECT. It correctly uses the pronoun "who" to refer to a girl and her family. Additionally, the phrase "by a gentile Dutch couple" is placed immediately after "who were hidden" to clarify the meaning. Finally, the ambiguous pronoun issue is avoided altogether.

(E) The pronoun "they" is ambiguous - it could refer to the family or to the couple.

vivek123 · Answer

Was just feeling uneasy on this.

Looks like "couple" can take a singular verb or a plural verb, it depends how you are using it. If you consider it as a single unit it needs singular verb otherwise it needs plural verb.

Here are some reference links:
https://dictionary.reference.com/browse/couple --> Read complete page, especially the "Usage Note"
https://www.asne.org/index.cfm?ID=6001
https://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/edu/ ... 090204.htm

Goes straight into my log file. Very good SC Parmender :good

vishy007 · Answer

A) that were hidden during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands by a gentile Dutch couple, though they were eventually discovered

Pronoun Reference Issue

B) that were hidden by a gentile Dutch couple during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, though they were eventually discovered
 Pronoun Reference Issue

C) whom a gentile Dutch couple hid during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands but were eventually discovered
 Construction is not parallel

D) who were hidden by a gentile Dutch couple during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands but were eventually discovered
 Must be the answer, though indirect speech makes it wordy.

E) who were hidden by a gentile Dutch couple during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands even though they were eventually discovered 
 Pronoun Reference Issue

reply2spg · Answer

The Diary of Anne Frank tells the true story of a young girl and her family  that were hidden during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands by a gentile Dutch couple, though they were eventually discovered .

(A) that were hidden during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands by a gentile Dutch couple, though they were eventually discovered 
(B) that were hidden by a gentile Dutch couple during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, though they were eventually discovered 
(C) whom a gentile Dutch couple hid during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands but were eventually discovered 
(D) who were hidden by a gentile Dutch couple during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands but were eventually discovered 
(E) who were hidden by a gentile Dutch couple during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands even though they were eventually discovered

what is the difference between who and that, and but and though?

x2suresh · Answer

I will go with D.

Who refers to people. That refer to groups or things.

in E, "they" is amgibous.. it can refer to "young girl and family " or Dutch couple.

vaibhavtripathi · Answer

"young girl and her family" is the object of the the sentence, but for the modifier in the later part of the sentence, "young girl and her family" is the subject ; since "they were discovered". so for the modifier part "whom" cant be correct.

Hence D

tuanquang269 · Answer

"that" cannot refer to human like "family and young girl"

In choice E, "they" is ambiguous pronoun. Although or even though are wrong usage here because we need the chronological events, and "but" is necessary for chronological events.

choice D is correct.

carcass · Answer

Read this. It is useful https://www.f1gmat.com/using-whom-and-wh ... tions-gmat

veenu08 · Answer

Can someone please explain why E is incorrect.

plumber250 · Answer

Hi Veenu,

Few issues with E.

who were hidden by a gentile Dutch couple during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands  even  though  they  were eventually discovered

I've highlighted a couple of words that are an issue.

even  - this is inferior to the 'but were eventually' in the correct answer as it gives no sense of chronology. x happened then y happened

they  - as people have pointed out before it is not gramatically clear who this refers to.

Hope this makes sense.

James

OreoShake · Answer

Shouldnt relative pronoun 'who' be repeated in the option D as ......but who were eventually discovered.?

sayantanc2k · Answer

When two verbs are added, only a conjunction (without a comma) is required.

I read and write.... correct
I read, and write....wrong

When two clauses are added, comma + conjunction is required.

I read, and I write.... correct
I read and I write...wrong

Here notice that two verbs ("were hidden" and " were") are joined by a conjunction ("but") without a comma. Therefore adding a subject "who" before the second verb would make the sentence wrong. If there were a comma before "but",then "who" would be required before the second verb.

BillyZ · Answer

gentile (noun) = a person who is not Jewish

Official answer from Manhattan Prep.

The original sentence uses the relative pronoun " that " where " who " is preferred because the antecedent is a group of people. Also, the prepositional phrase "by a gentile Dutch couple" is placed in such a way as to suggest that the occupation was carried out by the couple. Finally, the pronoun " they " is ambiguous – it could refer to the family or to the couple.

(A) This choice is incorrect as it repeats the original sentence.

(B) This choice incorrectly uses the relative pronoun "that" to refer to a group of people. Additionally, the pronoun "they" is ambiguous - it could refer to the family or to the couple.

(C) The use of the object pronoun "whom" makes "a girl and her family" the object of the clause "a gentile Dutch couple hid;" however "a girl and her family" are the subject of the next clause "were eventually discovered." This is a mismatch.

(D) CORRECT . It correctly uses the pronoun " who " to refer to  a girl and her family . Additionally, the phrase "by a gentile Dutch couple" is placed immediately after "who were hidden" to clarify the meaning. Finally, the ambiguous pronoun issue is avoided altogether.

(E) The pronoun "they" is ambiguous - it could refer to the family or to the couple.

OreoShake · Answer

The concept makes sense. However in D isnt the part before the parallelism marker 'but' - i.e 'who were hidden...' - a clause? 'who' is a pronoun, 'were hidden' is a verb. The part after marker 'but' is a verb yes. To apply above concept, it should verb and verb, or clause and clause. Or is it that 'who' is ignored because it acts a modifier?

sayantanc2k · Answer

The construction is verb + verb:

.. who were hidden but were discovered.... (Subject "who" has 2 verbs: "were hidden" and "were discovered". These two verbs are joined by the conjucntion "but" - no comma required.)

Alternative construction could be clause + clause:
.. who were hidden, but who were discovered.... (Clauses "who were hidden" and "who were discovered" are joined by Comma + "but")

VerbalBot · Answer

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The Diary of Anne Frank tells the true story of a young girl

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The Diary of Anne Frank tells the true story of a young girl

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