OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
Project SC Butler: Sentence Correction (SC2)
For SC butler Questions Click HereQuote:
The growth in the human population of the Amazon, along with the inevitable spread of pollution and destruction of habitats, poses many problems for the ecologists struggling to preserve the region’s biodiversity.
A) The growth in the human population of the Amazon, along with the inevitable spread of pollution and destruction of habitats, poses many problems
B) The growing human population of the Amazon, along with the inevitable spread of pollution and destruction of habitats, is posing many problems
C) The growth in the human population of the Amazon, along with inevitably spreading pollution and the destruction of habitats, pose many problems
D) The growth in the human population of the Amazon, along with the inevitable spread of pollution and the destruction of habitats, are posing many problems
E) In the Amazon, a growing human population, as well as the inevitable spread of pollution and the destruction of habitats, are posing many problems
• Split 1 - ALONG WITH, AS WELL AS, and TOGETHER WITH do not act as coordinating conjunctions and do not make the subject plural. Correct: The president, along with her security detail, exercises every morning.
Wrong: The president, along with her security detail, exercise every morning.
The singular subject in options C and D is
growth, and in E is
population.
"
Along with ... pollution and destruction of habitats" does not change the fact that "growth" or "population" is each a singular subject that requires a singular verb.
Options C, D, and E incorrectly pair a singular subject with a plural verb: pose, are posing, and are posing, respectively.
Eliminate C, D, and E
• Split #2 - Meaning and Diction / Verb tenseMeaning and Diction
→ Option A states, "The growth of the human population . . ."
→ Option B states, "The
growing human population . . .
The phrasing in Option A is better than option B.
Option B can be read as the "growing human" population—as in, the part of the population that consists of maturing humans.
That meaning is absurd.
Option A is better than option B.
Verb
→ The simple present tense in option A ("pose") is ideal for expressing
general truths and unchanging situations.If we are dealing with a calcified situation that will not go away anytime soon, we should use simple present.
→ THe present continuous in option B ("is posing") is used to describe temporary, immediate, or future situations.
This much is true: the verb in option B is not exactly ungrammatical. But it's not as apt as the verb in option A.
Finally, GMAC tends to prefer simple past and simple present.
Part of that inclination is a preference for concision: one word is shorter than two.
Another part of that inclination is a preference for active voice:
poses is punchier and livelier than the verb
is posing.
Poses is active;
is posing is passive.
The sentence discusses an alarming situation; the active verb
poses imparts a sense of alarm and urgency better than its verb counterpart in option B.
Eliminate B
• Split #3: "Fuzzy" Parallelism that creates superior style→ Option A uses
growth, spread, and
destruction—all "action nouns."
It is not required that these nouns be parallel;
along with is not a coordinating conjunction.
That said, if we look at rhetorical effectiveness, the use of three similar nouns (all action nouns) and a direct, active verb create a better sentence than does a sentence without three parallel nouns and without an active verb.
→ Option B uses
population, spread, and
destruction.The first noun, population, is an inert (or "concrete") noun; the other two are action nouns.
Again, these nouns do not need to be parallel, but when we compare the three parallel action nouns in A to the different types of verbs in option B that lack parallelism, the verb construction in A creates cadence, flow, and that elusive thing call "rhetorical effectiveness."
If you read a decent bit, you should pick option A pretty easily.
Game this test: eliminate as quickly as you can, and if you are stuck on two remaining choices, ask yourself both "Which is worse? and "Which is better?".
You'll find that most of the time, you really do know the answer.
Eliminate B
The answer is A.COMMENTSVIGHNESHKAMATH,
acf840 and
theichimaru90 , welcome to SC Butler.
(EDIT:
theichimaru90 , good catch on the "growing human" issue. I didn't see your post earlier.)
We are always glad to have new participants.
All aspirants have a standing invitation to post.
If you've been hesitant to post, give posting a go; you'll learn the material better—and you'll notice details that you normally do not, details that also get into your "test brain" more quickly and more deeply.
This question is not easy.
So -- kudos to all for effort or excellence or both.