The European Union announced that cod and mackerel are the only fishes that exceeds their new requirements for dioxin level and that they allow fishermen to catch.


A. exceeds their new requirements for dioxin level and that they allow
B. exceed its new requirements for dioxin level and that they allow
C. exceeds its new requirements for dioxin level and that it allows
D. exceed its new requirements for dioxin level and that it allows
E. exceed their new requirements for dioxin level and that they allow

D

Cod and mackerel are plural and hence needs plural verbs. A and C out. European Union is a single body and hence it needs singular pronoun. E out.
Now between B and D, B has the plural pronoun “they” eliminate B. Hence D

Posted from my mobile device

Correct Answer must be (D) for the highlighted errors in other options...
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I think the two pronouns 'their' and 'they' in underlined portion are referring to European Union. I mistakenly thought they are referring to the plural fish.
Hence, I thought the answer could be E but after reading the comments, I am satisfied that the answer is D

In my opinion it should be E. The usage of 'its' and 'it' for a plural noun is completely wrong. It has to be 'their', "they allow".


Sent from my Lenovo K53a48 using GMAT Club Forum mobile app

1. EU is singular ---> it, not they ---> a,b,e are out
2. A little tough one between C and D.
But cod and mackerel are plural ---> fish - plural (types of fish is plural) ---> C is out

D

This question is such a classic trap of hiding the subject. You need to spot the ARE used for fish which makes the first verb as exceed and then for EU we have to use it allows. D is the right answer. I don't feel OA is debatable.
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can somebody explain why that can't refer to closest nount "fish" and fish is singular so why not exceed?

jrk23
Just look at the mention of C and M. It works as a compound noun. And to help substantiate it the sentence is already using ARE. Hence it should be treated as plural.
I hope it helps.
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My reply is not specific to this question, but fish is normally used as the plural form of fish.
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KAPLAN OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Attention to the Right Detail and Pattern Recognition are both essential to success on
Sentence Correction questions. You want to check the sentence very carefully for errors,
giving special consideration to the recurring patterns that the GMAT testmaker is so
fond of. In this sentence, there are two underlined pronouns plus an underlined verb.
Both underlined pronouns, “their” and “they,” refer to the European Union, which is
a singular noun. These pronouns are therefore incorrect; the sentence should use “its”
and “it,” respectively. Only (C) and (D) get both pronouns right, so one of these choices
has to be the correct answer. The difference between (C) and (D) is the use of “exceeds”
versus “exceed.” Since there are two kinds of fish, “cod and mackerel,” you need the
plural verb. Choice (D) is correct.

The European Union announced that cod and mackerel are the only fish that exceeds their new requirements for dioxin level and that they allow fishermen to catch.

Answer is D. 'its' refers to the European Union; we need the plural form 'exceed' for cod and mackerel.

a. exceeds their new requirements for dioxin level and that they allow

b. exceed its new requirements for dioxin level and that they allow

c. exceeds its new requirements for dioxin level and that it allows

d. exceed its new requirements for dioxin level and that it allows

e. exceed their new requirements for dioxin level and that they allow
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