The fact that the two great athletes face each other in each of the se

mondirachakraborty wrote



Never worry about whether to use ‘which’ or ‘that’. Both are acceptable in GMAT. This is a controversial topic according to GMAT and the correct choice is chosen on eliminating other errors in the given choice.

Official Example:
Carnivorous mammals can endure what would otherwise be lethal levels of body heat because they have a heat-exchange network which kept the brain from getting too hot.

(A) which kept
(B) that keeps
(C) which has kept
(D) that has been keeping
(E) having kept

Verb form; Rhetorical construction

OE.
The use of the past tense (kept) is incorrect because a current situation is discussed; the present tense (keeps) is consistent with the other verbs in the sentence. In (A) and (C), which introduces a restrictive clause. Some writers follow the convention that which can only be used for nonrestrictive clauses, but the insistence on this rule is controversial, and both (A) and (C) can be rejected on other grounds.

A Kept is the wrong tense.

B Correct. The verb keeps indicates a current situation and is consistent with the other verbs in the sentence. The sentence is clear and concise.

C Mistaken shift in tense: In this sentence, the present tense expresses a timeless general principle; in contrast, has kept indicates a more definite context and time period and suggests that the heat-exchange network may no longer have this effect.

D Has been keeping is the wrong tense.

E Having is awkward and imprecise; kept is the wrong tense.

Of course, there are lot explanations available about the restrictive or non- restrictive nature of these pronouns. However, to GMAT, they do not seem to matter much.

Answer should be B.
The fact that is "singular"
A. face each other in each of the season’s three largest events – the Olympics, the World Championships, and the European Open – give the sport a rare tension, which
B. face each other in each of the season’s three largest events – the Olympics, the World Championships, and the European Open – gives the sport a rare tension that (Correct)
C. face each other in each of the season’s three largest events – the Olympics, the World Championships, and the European Open – give the sport a rare tension that
D. have faced each other in each of the season’s three largest events – the Olympics, World Championships, and the European Open – will give the sport a rare tension that (meaning ambiguity)
E. have faced each other in each of the season’s three largest events – the Olympics, the World Championships, and the European Open – are giving the sport a rare tension, which (Wrong)

Option B fits is the answer

The Fact is singular

We need singular verb for singular subject "the fact". So A and C are out.
"have faced" is wrong in D and E.
So B should be answer.

The fact that the two great athletes will face each other in each of the season’s three largest events – the Olympics, the World Championships, and the European Open – give the sport a rare tension, which is certain to create increased interest.

A. face each other in each of the season’s three largest events – the Olympics, the World Championships, and the European Open – give the sport a rare tension, which
B. face each other in each of the season’s three largest events – the Olympics, the World Championships, and the European Open – gives the sport a rare tension that
C. face each other in each of the season’s three largest events – the Olympics, the World Championships, and the European Open – give the sport a rare tension that
D. have faced each other in each of the season’s three largest events – the Olympics, World Championships, and the European Open – will give the sport a rare tension that
E. have faced each other in each of the season’s three largest events – the Olympics, the World Championships, and the European Open – are giving the sport a rare tension, which

Of course, grammatically-that a substantive phrase acts as a singular subject and therefore entails a singular verb such as 'gives' -is perhaps ok as per grammar. B is the preferred answer.
But I am rather amused by the logic of this topic. Who is to say that these great athletes will face each other in any one given event, leave alone in each of these great events, unless they are pitted against by Draw in the very first round? No large tournament may draw two great athletes in the very first round face to face. How can one conclude they will face each other in the subsequent rounds, probably by arrangement?

D and E offer a more preposterous rationale. If they have faced each other already, why is the tension or the anticipated interest?

Isn't SC after all an aspect of verbal "reasoning"?

A : give is wrong for singular subject 'the fact'.
B : correct choice
C : same as A
D : Will give is wrong tense because the fact that two players are going to clash in future is giving tension right away.
E: Multiple mistake but the simplest to point out is are giving is wrong for singular subject 'the fact'

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Official explanation from Veritas

This problem is designed in part to "hide the proper decision point," a testmaker device via which there are obvious - but inconsequential - differences between answer choices (here the first words are verb tense differences and the last words are that vs. which differences, none of which provide an absolute distinction) to distract your focus from a less obvious, but very consequential, difference. Here the operative difference is related to subject-verb agreement right after the dashed modifier: "give" vs. "gives" (vs. "will give" vs. "are giving").

What is the subject of that verb? It's "the fact," meaning that you need a singular verb ("gives" or "will give") and allowing you to eliminate A, C, and E. From there, the verb tenses are different but the even more fatal flaw for choice D is within the modifier itself: since two of the items (the Olympics and the European Open) have articles "the" preceding them, but the middle (World Championships) does not, D violates parallelism and is consequently wrong. The correct answer is B.

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