Last visit was: 09 May 2026, 10:29 It is currently 09 May 2026, 10:29
Home
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Back to Forum
Create Topic
   1   2   3   4   5   
555-605 (Medium)|   Grammatical/Rhetorical Construction|   Meaning/Logical Predication|   Modifiers|   Modifiers|   Punctuation|                                          
User avatar
ExpertsGlobal5
User avatar
Experts' Global Representative
Joined: 10 Jul 2017
Last visit: 09 May 2026
Posts: 6,297
Own Kudos:
6,329
Given Kudos: 45
Location: India
GMAT Date: 11-01-2019
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 6,297
Kudos: 6,329
The world wildlife fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon 28 Oct 2021, 01:48
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Naptiste
Is there any good gmat educational ressources on possessive. I am often confused whether its use is correct.

For me, using possessive was correct when an element owned an other element. Ex: This is Paul's house.
But, apparently you can use the possessive in other situations such as here, why?

Thanks


BKimball
tonebeeze,

I'd take two lessons from this problem.

1. The plural possessive. C refers to the entire collection of human beings and their burning of fossil fuels, so you need to use the plural possessive. Consider some other examples:

"My three brothers' favorite game growing up was making fun of me." --> Here, the game belongs to all three of my brothers.
"Will you please go to the Smiths' house and ask for a cup of sugar?" --> Here, the house belongs to all of the Smiths, so you need that plural possessive.

2. "Sounds awkward" is less reliable then "is grammatically incorrect."

I agree that C) is written in a way that is not ordinary in everyday speech, but when I'm reading and I notice that, I make only a mental note that it might be wrong. I then go to E) and see the incorrect idiom "agree to be" and then unnecessarily passive tense. The problems with E are therefore worse than the "problems" with C even though C isn't the best sentence in the world.

Does that help?

Brett
Show more

Hello Naptiste,

We hope this finds you well.

Having gone through the question and your query, we believe that we can help clear up your doubts.

In Option C, the possessive noun "human beings'" still functions as is typical of a possessive noun: it denotes possession. However, what is different here is that rather than referring to literal ownership of an object, it refers to a broader sense of belonging related to an action. Please consider this sentence as an example, "The country's people are rich." - here, the "country" does not literally own the "people"; the meaning here is that the people belong to the country, or are of the country. Essentially, possessive nouns can also refer to a less literal sense of "ownership"; here, "human beings" are said to "own" the action "burning" in that they are the ones who did the action.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
avatar
Naptiste
avatar
Joined: 19 Aug 2020
Last visit: 01 May 2023
Posts: 47
Own Kudos:
3
Given Kudos: 77
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 47
Kudos: 3
The world wildlife fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon 28 Oct 2021, 02:41
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Thanks:)

Regarding the question as a hole, I do not understand why answer B, "a phenomenon most scientists agree that is caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings,"is wrong. For me, "that" is rightly placed after "agree" to introduce a subordinate clause.


ExpertsGlobal5
Naptiste
Is there any good gmat educational ressources on possessive. I am often confused whether its use is correct.

For me, using possessive was correct when an element owned an other element. Ex: This is Paul's house.
But, apparently you can use the possessive in other situations such as here, why?

Thanks


BKimball
tonebeeze,

I'd take two lessons from this problem.

1. The plural possessive. C refers to the entire collection of human beings and their burning of fossil fuels, so you need to use the plural possessive. Consider some other examples:

"My three brothers' favorite game growing up was making fun of me." --> Here, the game belongs to all three of my brothers.
"Will you please go to the Smiths' house and ask for a cup of sugar?" --> Here, the house belongs to all of the Smiths, so you need that plural possessive.

2. "Sounds awkward" is less reliable then "is grammatically incorrect."

I agree that C) is written in a way that is not ordinary in everyday speech, but when I'm reading and I notice that, I make only a mental note that it might be wrong. I then go to E) and see the incorrect idiom "agree to be" and then unnecessarily passive tense. The problems with E are therefore worse than the "problems" with C even though C isn't the best sentence in the world.

Does that help?

Brett

Hello Naptiste,

We hope this finds you well.

Having gone through the question and your query, we believe that we can help clear up your doubts.

In Option C, the possessive noun "human beings'" still functions as is typical of a possessive noun: it denotes possession. However, what is different here is that rather than referring to literal ownership of an object, it refers to a broader sense of belonging related to an action. Please consider this sentence as an example, "The country's people are rich." - here, the "country" does not literally own the "people"; the meaning here is that the people belong to the country, or are of the country. Essentially, possessive nouns can also refer to a less literal sense of "ownership"; here, "human beings" are said to "own" the action "burning" in that they are the ones who did the action.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
Show more
User avatar
ExpertsGlobal5
User avatar
Experts' Global Representative
Joined: 10 Jul 2017
Last visit: 09 May 2026
Posts: 6,297
Own Kudos:
6,329
 [2]
Given Kudos: 45
Location: India
GMAT Date: 11-01-2019
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 6,297
Kudos: 6,329
 [2]
The world wildlife fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon 29 Oct 2021, 01:17
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Naptiste
Thanks:)

Regarding the question as a hole, I do not understand why answer B, "a phenomenon most scientists agree that is caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings,"is wrong. For me, "that" is rightly placed after "agree" to introduce a subordinate clause.

Show more

Hello Naptiste,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, we must understand the nature and role of the phrase the word "that" is a part of. The phrase "a phenomenon...of fossil fuels" is a modifying phrase that acts upon the noun "global warming"; primarily it conveys that "global warming" is a "phenomenon" and then acts upon the word "phenomenon" to convey that most scientists agree it is caused by human beings' burning of fossil fuels. Thus, the word "that" must follow "phenomenon" to convey that "most scientists agree is caused by human beings' burning of fossil fuels" conveys information that modifies "phenomenon". Another way to look at it is that here "that" plays the role of a preposition, and preposition must always be followed by a noun or pronoun; in Option B, "that" is followed by the verb "is", so it is incorrect.

Besides the issue with "that", Option B also has a meaning error. The phrase "caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings" incorrectly implies that global warming is caused by fossil fuels that were burned by human beings; the intended meaning is that global warming is caused by the action of burning fossil fuels that is carried out by humans.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
avatar
db8
avatar
Joined: 11 Jul 2021
Last visit: 19 Aug 2022
Posts: 9
Own Kudos:
2
Given Kudos: 12
Posts: 9
Kudos: 2
The world wildlife fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon 07 Nov 2021, 11:39
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Can somebody clarify if this indeed is a 700- Level question? Question is tagged as 700 level but in the textbook it appears as a medium level problem.
avatar
AndrewN
avatar
Volunteer Expert
Joined: 16 May 2019
Last visit: 29 Mar 2025
Posts: 3,490
Own Kudos:
7,681
Given Kudos: 500
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 3,490
Kudos: 7,681
The world wildlife fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon 07 Nov 2021, 12:23
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
db8
Can somebody clarify if this indeed is a 700- Level question? Question is tagged as 700 level but in the textbook it appears as a medium level problem.
Show more
Hello, db8. The algorithm for the difficulty level on this site is not based on what the OG may say the difficulty should be, but rather on member performance. As such, discrepancies can arise. I see this more often in the Quant side of things—I have even seen an OG question designated Hard in the guide categorized as Easy on this site. That is just the way the numbers work out. Looking at this specific question, I see that as of this writing, 65 percent of timer attempts have been successful. That should put the question right on the brink of Medium/Hard. I would place less stock in how the site (or the guide) categorizes a particular question and more in whether I understood the actual question, what makes it tick. I am not ashamed to say that I may practice nothing but Easy questions one day, just to make sure I am grounding my approach in the fundamentals. You can reach all the way into the 700s that way, no problem. One more note: even an official designation should be taken with a grain of salt. Just as a Hard question on this site may say 55 percent, 65, 75, or even 95 percent, an official question almost certainly lands within a range that falls under the same general classification.

Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew
avatar
db8
avatar
Joined: 11 Jul 2021
Last visit: 19 Aug 2022
Posts: 9
Own Kudos:
2
Given Kudos: 12
Posts: 9
Kudos: 2
The world wildlife fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon 08 Nov 2021, 11:43
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
AndrewN
db8
Can somebody clarify if this indeed is a 700- Level question? Question is tagged as 700 level but in the textbook it appears as a medium level problem.
Hello, db8. The algorithm for the difficulty level on this site is not based on what the OG may say the difficulty should be, but rather on member performance. As such, discrepancies can arise. I see this more often in the Quant side of things—I have even seen an OG question designated Hard in the guide categorized as Easy on this site. That is just the way the numbers work out. Looking at this specific question, I see that as of this writing, 65 percent of timer attempts have been successful. That should put the question right on the brink of Medium/Hard. I would place less stock in how the site (or the guide) categorizes a particular question and more in whether I understood the actual question, what makes it tick. I am not ashamed to say that I may practice nothing but Easy questions one day, just to make sure I am grounding my approach in the fundamentals. You can reach all the way into the 700s that way, no problem. One more note: even an official designation should be taken with a grain of salt. Just as a Hard question on this site may say 55 percent, 65, 75, or even 95 percent, an official question almost certainly lands within a range that falls under the same general classification.

Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew
Show more

Thank you for your response Andrew. I completed all of the "easy" level questions from OG 2022(4 wrong out of 67 problems), and as I started to progress towards the medium level problems I noticed that my accuracy took a severe hit and I ended up scoring at a measly 70% (same # of problems). So I clueless as to what went wrong. I told to myself maybe the question was actually harder level but it turns out that's not the case.

Do you have any idea how to go ahead from here on? I just finished the Manhattan SC, Should I just practice more medium level problems or should I fall back to the fundamentals... to strenghten it?
avatar
AndrewN
avatar
Volunteer Expert
Joined: 16 May 2019
Last visit: 29 Mar 2025
Posts: 3,490
Own Kudos:
7,681
 [1]
Given Kudos: 500
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 3,490
Kudos: 7,681
 [1]
The world wildlife fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon 08 Nov 2021, 12:30
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
db8
Thank you for your response Andrew. I completed all of the "easy" level questions from OG 2022(4 wrong out of 67 problems), and as I started to progress towards the medium level problems I noticed that my accuracy took a severe hit and I ended up scoring at a measly 70% (same # of problems). So I clueless as to what went wrong. I told to myself maybe the question was actually harder level but it turns out that's not the case.

Do you have any idea how to go ahead from here on? I just finished the Manhattan SC, Should I just practice more medium level problems or should I fall back to the fundamentals... to strenghten it?
Show more
It sounds as though you are doing pretty well in practice, db8. If you are aiming for a 700-level score, you should target at least 90 percent accuracy on Easy questions, 80 percent on Medium questions, and, believe it or not, roughly two-thirds on Hard questions. In short, the exam punishes mistakes on lower-level questions more severely than it rewards correct responses to difficult questions, so your goal is to make sure you are diminishing the chances of answering incorrectly on anything other than a 700-level question. If you are at 70 percent accuracy right now on Medium questions, then you seem to be all right, nothing a little fine-tuning could not fix. If you are clueless as to what went wrong, though, then you need to address the issue and figure out how to disprove incorrect answers. Look up the questions in the forum and pay attention to responses that Experts and community members provide on the wrong answer choices. If you simply look to justify the correct answer, you will not really learn much from the question; if you take the time to disqualify other answer choices, though, you will start to figure out different patterns to watch for in other questions, and your accuracy will rise accordingly.

I would stick to Medium-level questions if I were you. Do not be afraid to consult the Manhattan guide again on a topic you miss in some question you may come across. A guidebook is not something that most people can internalize on the first read-through, but if you can make the points stick by applying them to actual questions, especially those you have missed, then you will get everything you can out of both the guide and yourself.

Good luck.

- Andrew
User avatar
GMATNinja
User avatar
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Last visit: 07 May 2026
Posts: 7,391
Own Kudos:
70,877
 [1]
Given Kudos: 2,133
Status: GMAT/GRE/LSAT tutors
Location: United States (CO)
GMAT 1: 780 Q51 V46
GMAT 2: 800 Q51 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V170
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Products:
GMAT Club Tests
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 2: 800 Q51 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V170
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Posts: 7,391
Kudos: 70,877
 [1]
The world wildlife fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon 09 Nov 2021, 09:29
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Naptiste
Thanks:)

Regarding the question as a hole, I do not understand why answer B, "a phenomenon most scientists agree that is caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings,"is wrong. For me, "that" is rightly placed after "agree" to introduce a subordinate clause.
Show more
One issue with (B) is that the function of the phrase "most scientists agree" is unclear. Does this mean that most scientists agree that global warming "is a phenomenon"?? As explained in our earlier post:

Quote:
It could be OK to say “scientists agree that X is true”, but we’re trying to modify the phenomenon here: “a phenomenon that is caused by fossil fuels” seems fine, but I can’t make sense of this one.
Show more

The logical meaning is expressed more clearly in (C): what do most scientists agree on? That global warming is a phenomenon caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings. So that gives us one clear vote in favor of (C) over (B).

And we also have the meaning issue explained here by ExpertsGlobal5.

(B) doesn't have any obvious grammatical errors, but (C) is a much better choice.

I hope that helps!
avatar
Naptiste
avatar
Joined: 19 Aug 2020
Last visit: 01 May 2023
Posts: 47
Own Kudos:
3
Given Kudos: 77
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 47
Kudos: 3
The world wildlife fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon 03 Dec 2021, 06:14
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
(A) a phenomenon most scientists agree to be caused by human beings in burning fossil fuels,

I am not a 100% sure why A) is wrong here.

It is because "to be" always imply future ?

Or is it just because, in general, it is better to use present tense to state general facts?

Can anyone explain why A) is definitely wrong and how "to be" works in general please.

Thanks:)


city92
The World Wildlife Fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon most scientists agree to be caused by human beings in burning fossil fuels, will create havoc among migratory birds by altering the environment in ways harmful to their habitats.


(A) a phenomenon most scientists agree to be caused by human beings in burning fossil fuels,

(B) a phenomenon most scientists agree that is caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings,

(C) a phenomenon that most scientists agree is caused by human beings' burning of fossil fuels,

(D) which most scientists agree on as a phenomenon caused by human beings who burn fossil fuels,

(E) which most scientists agree to be a phenomenon caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings,



Show Spoiler
Attachment:
0001.jpg
Attachment:
0002.jpg
Attachment:
0003.jpg
Attachment:
0004.jpg
Attachment:
0005.jpg
Show more
User avatar
ExpertsGlobal5
User avatar
Experts' Global Representative
Joined: 10 Jul 2017
Last visit: 09 May 2026
Posts: 6,297
Own Kudos:
6,329
 [1]
Given Kudos: 45
Location: India
GMAT Date: 11-01-2019
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 6,297
Kudos: 6,329
 [1]
The world wildlife fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon 03 Dec 2021, 06:50
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Naptiste
(A) a phenomenon most scientists agree to be caused by human beings in burning fossil fuels,

I am not a 100% sure why A) is wrong here.

It is because "to be" always imply future ?

Or is it just because, in general, it is better to use present tense to state general facts?

Can anyone explain why A) is definitely wrong and how "to be" works in general please.

Thanks:)


city92
The World Wildlife Fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon most scientists agree to be caused by human beings in burning fossil fuels, will create havoc among migratory birds by altering the environment in ways harmful to their habitats.


(A) a phenomenon most scientists agree to be caused by human beings in burning fossil fuels,

(B) a phenomenon most scientists agree that is caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings,

(C) a phenomenon that most scientists agree is caused by human beings' burning of fossil fuels,

(D) which most scientists agree on as a phenomenon caused by human beings who burn fossil fuels,

(E) which most scientists agree to be a phenomenon caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings,



Show Spoiler
Attachment:
0001.jpg
Attachment:
0002.jpg
Attachment:
0003.jpg
Attachment:
0004.jpg
Attachment:
0005.jpg
Show more

Hello Naptiste,

We hope this finds you well.

"to be" is an infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb"); this verb form is most commonly used to show purpose/intent of action, moderately used to modify adjectives and verbs, and rarely used as a noun. As such, Option A is incorrect because the use of the infinitive verb form seems to convey that most scientists agree for the purpose of global warming being caused by humans. The use of simple present tense here is a far superior option. Further, as GMATNinja has written, "in burning fossil fuels" can also be interpreted to mean global warming is caused by human beings who are inside burning fossil fuels.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
User avatar
GMATGuruNY
User avatar
Joined: 04 Aug 2010
Last visit: 02 Apr 2026
Posts: 1,347
Own Kudos:
3,915
 [3]
Given Kudos: 9
Schools:Dartmouth College
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 1,347
Kudos: 3,915
 [3]
The world wildlife fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon 03 Dec 2021, 06:56
3
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Naptiste
(A) a phenomenon most scientists agree to be caused by human beings in burning fossil fuels,

I am not a 100% sure why A) is wrong here.

It is because "to be" always imply future ?

Or is it just because, in general, it is better to use present tense to state general facts?

Can anyone explain why A) is definitely wrong and how "to be" works in general please.

Thanks:)
Show more

Generally, to be after a verb refers to the SUBJECT of the verb.

The COMPANY claims TO BE profitable.
Question: WHAT claims TO BE PROFITABLE?
Answer: THE COMPANY

MARY wants TO BE rich.
Question: WHO wants TO BE RICH?
Answer: MARY

The BOYS decided TO BE friends.
Question: WHO decided TO BE FRIENDS?
Answer: THE BOYS

A: MOST SCIENTISTS agree TO BE caused by human beings
Question: WHO agree TO BE CAUSED BY HUMAN BEINGS?
Answer: MOST SCIENTISTS
This meaning is nonsensical.
It is not possible for MOST SCIENTISTS to be caused by human beings.
Eliminate A.
User avatar
jabhatta2
User avatar
Joined: 15 Dec 2016
Last visit: 21 Apr 2023
Posts: 1,251
Own Kudos:
328
Given Kudos: 188
Posts: 1,251
Kudos: 328
The world wildlife fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon 08 Dec 2021, 16:21
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi GMATGuruNY - could you talk about the structure of the modifier within the brackets in E ? It sounded okay to my ear but i think grammatically, the modifier in E within the comma's is wrong

Specifically, COMMA +WHICH is a relative clause. But I dont see any verb in this modifier within the commas

I have color coded to pair subjects with their verbs.
-- I dont see any verb for the noun "which" in red
-- I see a verb "to be" but i think that is for the seperate clause in the blue specifically
-- the verb "to be" is not a verb for the noun "which" in red. Instead the verb "to be" is a verb for the noun within the blue clause.


option E)
The World Wildlife Fund has declared that global warming
,which most scientists agree to be a phenomenon caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings,
will create havoc
User avatar
ExpertsGlobal5
User avatar
Experts' Global Representative
Joined: 10 Jul 2017
Last visit: 09 May 2026
Posts: 6,297
Own Kudos:
6,329
Given Kudos: 45
Location: India
GMAT Date: 11-01-2019
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 6,297
Kudos: 6,329
The world wildlife fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon 09 Dec 2021, 07:18
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
jabhatta2
Hi GMATGuruNY - could you talk about the structure of the modifier within the brackets in E ? It sounded okay to my ear but i think grammatically, the modifier in E within the comma's is wrong

Specifically, COMMA +WHICH is a relative clause. But I dont see any verb in this modifier within the commas

I have color coded to pair subjects with their verbs.
-- I dont see any verb for the noun "which" in red
-- I see a verb "to be" but i think that is for the seperate clause in the blue specifically
-- the verb "to be" is not a verb for the noun "which" in red. Instead the verb "to be" is a verb for the noun within the blue clause.


option E)
The World Wildlife Fund has declared that global warming
,which most scientists agree to be a phenomenon caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings,
will create havoc
Show more

Hello jabhatta2,

We hope this finds you well.

Having gone through the question and your query, we believe we can resolve your doubt.

The "which..." phrase here is actually a modifying phrase that conveys extra information about the noun "phenomenon", and the active verb within the phrase is "agree", which acts upon the noun "scientists" to convey that scientists agree about something related to the "phenomenon".

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
User avatar
jabhatta2
User avatar
Joined: 15 Dec 2016
Last visit: 21 Apr 2023
Posts: 1,251
Own Kudos:
328
Given Kudos: 188
Posts: 1,251
Kudos: 328
The world wildlife fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon 09 Dec 2021, 09:59
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Thank you - if GMATGuruNY could also give his thoughts on my original post here,
that would be great !

I am always interested in his thoughts on any issue :)
User avatar
GMATGuruNY
User avatar
Joined: 04 Aug 2010
Last visit: 02 Apr 2026
Posts: 1,347
Own Kudos:
3,915
Given Kudos: 9
Schools:Dartmouth College
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 1,347
Kudos: 3,915
The world wildlife fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon 09 Dec 2021, 10:15
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
jabhatta2
Hi GMATGuruNY - could you talk about the structure of the modifier within the brackets in E ? It sounded okay to my ear but i think grammatically, the modifier in E within the comma's is wrong

Specifically, COMMA +WHICH is a relative clause. But I dont see any verb in this modifier within the commas

I have color coded to pair subjects with their verbs.
-- I dont see any verb for the noun "which" in red
-- I see a verb "to be" but i think that is for the seperate clause in the blue specifically
-- the verb "to be" is not a verb for the noun "which" in red. Instead the verb "to be" is a verb for the noun within the blue clause.


option E)
The World Wildlife Fund has declared that global warming
,which most scientists agree to be a phenomenon caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings,
will create havoc
Show more

Your concern seems justified.

From the Washington Post:
Politicians continue to lack the political will to enact a global carbon tax, which experts agree would lower carbon emissions.
Here, which is standing in for a global carbon tax, and the verb attributed to which -- and thus to THE TAX -- is would lower.
Conveyed meaning:
A global carbon tax...would lower carbon emissions.

E: The World Wildlife Fund has declared that global warming, which most scientists agree to be a phenomenon caused by fossil fuels, will create havoc.
Here, which is standing in for global warming, but no verb is attributed to which, since to be is an INFINITIVE and thus cannot serve as a main verb.
The conveyed meaning seems to be as follows:
Global warming...to be a phenomenon caused by fossil fuels.
The meaning above lacks a verb and thus is incomplete.
The structure in E does not seem viable.
avatar
Karadavid
avatar
Joined: 06 Aug 2021
Last visit: 20 Nov 2022
Posts: 5
Given Kudos: 21
Location: India
Posts: 5
Kudos: 0
The world wildlife fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon 22 Jul 2022, 10:41
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Can you tell me if I'm thinking correctly?

Human beings burning fossil fuels vs fossil fuels burned by human beings.

"Burned" would imply that it's over and no longer being burnt.
"Burning" would imply it's an ongoing action.

Global warming is not caused by some burned fossil fuels in the past, but by the continuous action of burning fossil fuels.

ExpertsGlobal5
Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
city92
The World Wildlife Fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon most scientists agree to be caused by human beings in burning fossil fuels, will create havoc among migratory birds by altering the environment in ways harmful to their habitats.


(A) a phenomenon most scientists agree to be caused by human beings in burning fossil fuels,

(B) a phenomenon most scientists agree that is caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings,

(C) a phenomenon that most scientists agree is caused by human beings' burning of fossil fuels,

(D) which most scientists agree on as a phenomenon caused by human beings who burn fossil fuels,

(E) which most scientists agree to be a phenomenon caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings,

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of the crucial part of this sentence is that global warming is a phenomenon that most scientists agree is caused by the act of human beings burning fossil fuels.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Modifiers

• The infinitive verb form (“to + base form of verb” – “to + be” in this sentence) is the preferred construction for referring to the purpose/intent of an action.

A: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “agree to be caused”; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that global warming is a phenomenon that most scientists agree is caused by the act of human beings burning fossil fuels.

B: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “agree that is”; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that global warming is a phenomenon that most scientists agree is caused by the act of human beings burning fossil fuels. Moreover, Option B further alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “caused by fossil fuels”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that global warming is a phenomenon caused by the fossil fuels, themselves; the intended meaning is that global warming is a phenomenon caused by the act of burning fossil fuels.

C: Correct. This answer choice uses the phrases ”most scientists agree is” and “caused by…burning of fossil fuels”, conveying the intended meaning – that global warming is a phenomenon caused by the act of burning fossil fuels. Further, Option C is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “caused by human beings who”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that global warming is a phenomenon caused by the human beings who burn fossil fuels; the intended meaning is that global warming is a phenomenon caused by the act of burning fossil fuels. Further, Option D uses the needlessly wordy phrase “agree on as a phenomenon”, rendering it awkward and needlessly redundant.

E: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “caused by fossil fuels”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that global warming is a phenomenon caused by the fossil fuels, themselves; the intended meaning is that global warming is a phenomenon caused by the act of burning fossil fuels.

Hence, C is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team
Show more
User avatar
mcepeci
User avatar
Joined: 21 Aug 2018
Last visit: 30 Jun 2025
Posts: 20
Posts: 20
Kudos: 0
The world wildlife fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon 19 Sep 2022, 18:41
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
SHOW TIMER STATISTICS
The World Wildlife Fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon THAT most scientists agree is caused by human beings' burning of fossil fuel, will create havoc among migratory birds by altering the environment in ways harmful to their habitats.

Is the that after "phenomenon" needed in the sentence?
User avatar
ExpertsGlobal5
User avatar
Experts' Global Representative
Joined: 10 Jul 2017
Last visit: 09 May 2026
Posts: 6,297
Own Kudos:
6,329
Given Kudos: 45
Location: India
GMAT Date: 11-01-2019
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 6,297
Kudos: 6,329
The world wildlife fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon 20 Sep 2022, 04:30
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
mcepeci
SHOW TIMER STATISTICS
The World Wildlife Fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon THAT most scientists agree is caused by human beings' burning of fossil fuel, will create havoc among migratory birds by altering the environment in ways harmful to their habitats.

Is the that after "phenomenon" needed in the sentence?
Show more

Hello mcepeci,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, no; "that" is not strictly needed in this sentence, after "phenomenon".

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
User avatar
RonTargetTestPrep
User avatar
Target Test Prep Representative
Joined: 19 Jul 2022
Last visit: 07 Nov 2022
Posts: 429
Own Kudos:
541
Given Kudos: 1
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V51
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V51
Posts: 429
Kudos: 541
The world wildlife fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon 22 Sep 2022, 09:02
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
mcepeci
SHOW TIMER STATISTICS
The World Wildlife Fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon THAT most scientists agree is caused by human beings' burning of fossil fuel, will create havoc among migratory birds by altering the environment in ways harmful to their habitats.

Is the that after "phenomenon" needed in the sentence?
Show more

Strictly speaking, I don't think "that" can be omitted here.

"Most scientists agree..." (an attribution of this opinion) is an adverbial modifier of the following action. The sentence should therefore function properly if it is removed.
Removing the adverbial modifier gives
...global warming, a phenomenon that is caused by... ,
a sentence that is still grammatically sound.

If "that" is removed, though, the same omission of the adverbial modifier yields
...global warming, a phenomenon is caused by... ,
which is ungrammatical (the modifier now appears to be a verb phrase).


If you examine correct GMAC sentences in which that is omitted at the front of a modifier, you'll find that the omission does not compromise the remaining sentence in this kind of way.


Most importantly, this is a multiple-choice test! You are not responsible for knowing WHEN "that" can/can't be omitted; you just need to know that such omissions are sometimes allowed (i.e., that you can't just automatically eliminate choices with such an omission).
User avatar
Tanchat
User avatar
Joined: 31 Jan 2020
Last visit: 20 Jun 2023
Posts: 215
Own Kudos:
21
Given Kudos: 139
Posts: 215
Kudos: 21
The world wildlife fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon 13 Oct 2022, 03:09
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
RonTargetTestPrep
mcepeci
SHOW TIMER STATISTICS
The World Wildlife Fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon THAT most scientists agree is caused by human beings' burning of fossil fuel, will create havoc among migratory birds by altering the environment in ways harmful to their habitats.

Is the that after "phenomenon" needed in the sentence?

Strictly speaking, I don't think "that" can be omitted here.

"Most scientists agree..." (an attribution of this opinion) is an adverbial modifier of the following action. The sentence should therefore function properly if it is removed.
Removing the adverbial modifier gives
...global warming, a phenomenon that is caused by... ,
a sentence that is still grammatically sound.

If "that" is removed, though, the same omission of the adverbial modifier yields
...global warming, a phenomenon is caused by... ,
which is ungrammatical (the modifier now appears to be a verb phrase).


If you examine correct GMAC sentences in which that is omitted at the front of a modifier, you'll find that the omission does not compromise the remaining sentence in this kind of way.


Most importantly, this is a multiple-choice test! You are not responsible for knowing WHEN "that" can/can't be omitted; you just need to know that such omissions are sometimes allowed (i.e., that you can't just automatically eliminate choices with such an omission).
Show more


Hi RonTargetTestPrep,

I have two questions and one of them relates to this response :)

First, This book is the book I borrowed from my friend. I think this example is correct. Why can we omit "that" in this case?

Second, The World Wildlife Fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon that most scientists agree is caused by human beings' burning of fossil fuel, will create havoc among migratory birds by altering the environment in ways harmful to their habitats. Does the "most scientists are" make the clause run-on ? There is no comma between "most scientists agree".
   1   2   3   4   5   
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7391 posts
AbhishekP220108
547 posts
bhanu29
363 posts