The steel industry has changed radically over the last two decades, as

This is purely a test of sentence structure. The basic point is that there can be only one verb for a clause.

A. as large, integrated companies such as Bethlehem Steel --- Two verbs for the sub-clause--- 1. Conducted. 2. Downsized. So wrong

B. as large, integrated companies, such as Bethlehem Steel, that -------
after the introduction of the connector' that', the verb ‘conducted’ belongs to the modifier clause that modifies the sub-clause. The correct choice.

C. with large, integrated companies, such as Bethlehem Steel, that ---When we change the sub clause to a prepositional phrase converting the entire sentence into a simple clause, then we cannot have a verb for the modifier phrase. The verb downsized should be changed to having downsized or in some cases having shut down altogether.


D. while large, integrated companies, such as Bethlehem Steel, that--- While is an inappropriate contrast marker here as there is no contrast involved. The second part is simply affirming the first part. If it wants to mean simultaneous happening, then as is the apt conjunction


E. and large, integrated companies such as Bethlehem Steel --- a clear run-on

going with B here is why:

A and E are out because to describe "Bethlehem Steel" we need to use a relative pronoun "that"

to decide between BCD look at the carcass of the sentence:

industry has changed with companies shut down - doesn't make sense, so C out
industry has changed while companies shut down - doesn't make sense, so D out
industry has changed as companies shut down - makes sense thus B

The steel industry has changed radically over the last two decades, as large, integrated
companies such as Bethlehem Steel once conducted operations from mining at one
end of the process to shipping at the other have greatly downsized, or in some cases
shut down altogether.
A. as large, integrated companies such as Bethlehem Steel
B. as large, integrated companies, such as Bethlehem Steel, that
C. with large, integrated companies, such as Bethlehem Steel, that
D. while large, integrated companies, such as Bethlehem Steel, that
E. and large, integrated companies such as Bethlehem Steel

Here the usage of that is necessary. Let us consider choice A to understand this better. Choice A has three clauses.

Clauses:
1.The steel industry has changed radically over the last two decades,
2. as large, integrated companies such as Bethlehem Steel once conducted operations from mining at one
end of the process to shipping at the other
3.have greatly downsized, or in some cases shut down altogether.

Here, integrated companies is the subject and "conducted" as well "have downsized" are the verbs. However, if you observe closely, you would see that there is no subject for "have greatly downsized". To assign it a subject we need to ensure that the first part of the sentence should be connected by "that".

Hope this helps!

Hi,
The sentence needs "that" in order to correctly refer to the primary subject of the sentence large, integrated
companies. Otherwise the subject becomes "Bethlehem Steel", which is wrong. We are left with options B , C & D. C&D are wrong because of the highlighted portions.

The steel industry has changed radically over the last two decades, as large, integrated
companies such as Bethlehem Steel once conducted operations from mining at one
end of the process to shipping at the other have greatly downsized, or in some cases
shut down altogether.


B. as large, integrated companies, such as Bethlehem Steel, that

C. with large, integrated companies, such as Bethlehem Steel, that

D. while large, integrated companies, such as Bethlehem Steel, that

Answer - B

The steel industry has changed radically over the last two decades, as large, integrated companies such as Bethlehem Steel once conducted operations from mining at one end of
the process to shipping at the other have greatly downsized, or in some cases shut down altogether.

as provides the reason hence as is correct

A. as large, integrated companies such as Bethlehem Steel

That is required as we are introducing a dependent clause. If that is not there, the subject becomes integrated companies and there are two verbs "conducted" and "have downsized or shut". Either I need a conjunction "and" to make the actions parallel or I need a that to make a dependent clause.

B. as large, integrated companies, such as Bethlehem Steel, that -> that is required and hence correct
C. with large, integrated companies, such as Bethlehem Steel, that -> with is not providing reason and hence is not correct. With seems to modify how the steel industry have radically changed and it has changed "with integrated steel industries". Actually, radically changed because large integrated steel industries have done X.
D. while large, integrated companies, such as Bethlehem Steel, that -> While can be used for two reasons:
1) Contrast
2) simultaneous actions
None of the usage make sense here.
E. and large, integrated companies such as Bethlehem Steel -> Cause and effect relationship is changed to parallelsim

Radhika11
‘That’ has several uses, the main ones being as a pronoun, as a relative pronoun an adjective or as a subordinate conjunction.

As a pronoun:
When used as a pronoun, ‘that’ is used singular items and those is used for plurals. Eg:
He saw a movie that was produced in Bollywood. Movie is singular hence ‘that’
He sees a lot of movies especially those made in Kerala. Movies is plural hence ‘those’

As a relative pronoun.
But ‘that’ can also stand for plurals as a relative pronoun: Eg: He sees a lot of movies that are made in Chennai. The relative pronoun ‘that’ stands for the plural 'movies' and is acceptable. But because ‘those’ cannot be used as a relative pronoun, even in plural cases only ‘that’ is used as a relative pronoun.

As subordinate conjunction:
‘That’ can also act as a subordinate conjunction to introduce a relative clause, especially in reported speeches. Eg: Many find that IAS is a tough exam. Here ‘that’ introduces the subordinate clause ‘that IAS is a tough exam’. As conjunction, ‘that’ is not subject singular - plural rules.

I think if you look into the structure and meaning of lot of sentences that use ‘that’, then things will clear up. Certain usages are decided more by contexts than by thumb rules.

Hi,

The key word as you have noticed is 'as', this is a close synonym for 'because'.

As is correct here because we are looking to link a statement

The steel industry has changed radically over the last two decades

With an explanation for that statement (the rest of the question).

Neither 'with' nor 'while' are appropriate here. I could go into length as to their usage, but this sort of general question is better served via google.

All the best,

James

The steel industry has changed radically over the last two decades, as large, integrated companies such as Bethlehem Steel once conducted operations from mining at one end of the process to shipping at the other have greatly downsized, or in some cases shut down altogether.

C. with large, integrated companies, such as Bethlehem Steel, that

"With" does not require an ing form.

"with" is wrong compared to "as" because with cannot introduce a sentence here.
"with large, integrated companies (...) once conducted" is wrong
"as large, integrated companies (...) once conducted" is correct

Hope it's clear, let me know

Radhika11
I am afraid you have missed out on the parsing of the sentence. ‘Large, integrated’ are co-ordinate adjectives that modify the noun ‘companies’. Since they both modify the same noun, rules allow their separation by a comma rather than being joined by the conjunction ‘and’. The comma there is not the comma that sets off inessential elements.

On the other hand, the phrase ‘, such as Bethlehem Steel,’ is a modifier that modifies large integrated companies as an example. As you know, examples are not critical mission carriers. So if you want to drop something, then you must drop the phrase ‘, such as Bethlehem Steel,’ and read further on.
B. as large, integrated companies, such as Bethlehem Steel, that
B. (revised) as large, integrated companies, such as Bethlehem Steel, that

You can see B makes sense now.

My 2 cents.

The steel industry has changed radically over the last two decades, as large, integrated companies such as Bethlehem Steel once conducted operations from mining at one end of the process to shipping at the other have greatly downsized, or in some cases shut down altogether.

Intended meaning:
1:The steel industry has changed radically over the last two decades. [Clause-1]
2:How/Why did this happen? [Clause-2 begins]
Because large Integrated companies
---such as Bethlehem Steel
conducted operations from mining at one end of the process to shipping at the other [....]
have greatly downsized, or in some cases shut down altogether.
Two verbs r not connected correctly.
Possible ways to fix it:
add appropriate conjunction or move one of the two verb into a clause.

A. as large, integrated companies such as Bethlehem Steel

B Vs C:
B. as large, integrated companies, such as Bethlehem Steel, that
C. with large, integrated companies, such as Bethlehem Steel, that

We need to introduce the reason, so D and E doesn't fit.
D. while large, integrated companies, such as Bethlehem Steel, that
E. and large, integrated companies such as Bethlehem Steel

Bethlehem Steel once conducted --> Implied we need one conjunction ..to correct this run on sentence. A &E are out.
Among BCD,
d) two decades, while large, integrated--> While indicates that there should be change in the direction of the statement.
This is not the case here. Hence ruled out.
two decades, as large, integrated -->
two decades, with large, integrated -->
Confused between B&C, but would pick B. As with large .. looks incomplete to me.

Hi Rajat, as suggested in one of the posts above, with cannot connect two clauses. For example, following would be incorrect:

The world cup will be interesting to watch, with 14 teams are vying for the coveted title of the world champion.

with is trying to connect two independent clauses:
i) The world cup will be interesting to watch
ii) 14 teams are vying for the coveted title of the world champion.

Better way would be:

The world cup will be interesting to watch, as 14 teams are vying for the coveted title of the world champion.

Radhika

Further to what I said in my previous reply, I am attaching a file that gives a list of GMAT examples in which 'that' is used as a relative pronoun and as a subordinate conjunction. Search for these examples in the forum and look for the correct usage of 'that' from the OAs.

The main thing to keep in mind here is that without a that, the first verb there will take companies as its subject.

... companies (a) once conducted operations (b) have greatly downsized...

This is like saying (ignore any other issues in the examples below):

... questions were once tough are now easy...

We have two verbs for questions, without anything to join them. We could use an and or a but, but we'd end up with something other than the intended meaning.

... questions were once tough and are now easy...
... questions were once tough but are now easy...

Another way to fix this is to "give" the first verb to something else, like that.

... questions that were once tough are now easy...

We should think twice before marking an option that introduces a comma between a that and the noun that the that refers to. This means that the following structure is incorrect:

1. An event, that greatly reduced their numbers... ← Putting a comma between event and that is non-standard. We would really not want to mark an option like this one.
2. An event that, greatly reduced their numbers... ← This one is also incorrect.

However, there is an "exception" to this. If we need a modifier near the that, we may use commas to "bracket" the modifier.

3. An event that, in our opinion, greatly reduced their numbers... ← Yes, we can see commas here, but those commas are for "in our opinion".
4. An event that, in our opinion, greatly reduced their numbers... ← (3), without the "in our opinion"

Similarly, in this question:

5. ... as large, integrated companies, such as Bethlehem Steel, that once conducted operations... ← The commas are for "such as Bethlehem Steel".
6. ... as large, integrated companies, such as Bethlehem Steel, that once conducted operations... ← The that refers to large, integrated companies.

Hi custodio,

That's a great question. We can look at the example you found, but first, let's take a look at this sentence:
1a. They read the message that was written by us yesterday. ← Here we've used a (passive) verb after the that. We cannot drop the that (they read the message was written by us yesterday).

1b. They read the message that we wrote yesterday. ← In this case, we've used both a subject and a verb after the that. We can drop the that (they read the message we wrote yesterday).

Now, we can replace the entire that-clause in (1a) with a past participle (another type of modifier):
2. ... the message written by us yesterday ← There is no verb in this entire phrase!

The reason we used written is that the verb write changes form (past tense: wrote, past participle: written), while intend does not (past tense: intended, past participle: intended). The difference is easier to see with written. That is, in going from (1a) to (2), we didn't just assume that the that is there. We replaced the entire modifier.

Finally, let's get to the phrase you found in the OG:
3. ... steps intended to protect the fish ← This intended is not a (complete) verb. It is a past participle modifier.

If we were to use a that-clause instead of a past participle, we'd get:
4. ... steps that are intended to protect the fish ← Now we have an actual (complete) verb after the that. This form ({is/was/are...} + intended) means ~ "designed to do something", not ~ "plan to do something".

So, that's the change we need to make in your example. Steps intended to protect the fish is not steps that intended to protect the fish. It is steps that are intended to protect the fish.

Hi sevenplusplus, that refers to large, integrated companies.

The simple reason is to note that there is a comma before that. In normal situations, that does not have a comma preceding it.

This comma is actually a delimiter for the following non-essential phrase: such as Bethlehem Steel.

So, the core of the sentence is:

....large, integrated companies that once conducted operations from...

Now, it is clear that that is referring to large, integrated companies.