Hippopotamuses allow their hides and teeth to be cleaned by carp

Question

Hippopotamuses allow their hides and teeth to be cleaned by carp, members of the genus  labeo ,  which, in turn, benefit by eating the algae and parasites on the giant mammals .

(A) which, in turn, benefit by eating the algae and parasites on the giant mammals
(B) which benefits by eating the algae and parasites on the giant mammals in turn
(C) benefiting, in turn, by eating the algae and parasites on the giant mammals
(D) to benefit, in turn, by eating the algae and parasites on the giant animals
(E) who benefits by eating the algae and parasites on the giant mammals in turn

Source : Princeton Review, Cracking the GMAT Premium 2020

Xin Cho · Accepted Answer

Hi  himanshurajawat

the 'carp' is modified by the 'members of the genus labeo'. This signals that the subject is plural. Thus, the plural verb benefit agrees with the  irregular plural  subject carp.

If the sentence said 'carp, the member of the genus labeo', then the verb would be singular.

AcetheGMAT2019 · Answer

Hippopotamuses allow their hides and teeth to be cleaned by carp, members of the genus labeo, which, in turn, benefit by eating the algae and parasites on the giant mammals.
 (A) which, in turn, benefit by eating the algae and parasites on the giant mammals - Correct - correctly modifies carp 
(B) which benefits by eating the algae and parasites on the giant mammals in turn - Incorrect - placement of 'in turn' is awkward
(C) benefiting, in turn, by eating the algae and parasites on the giant mammals - Incorrect - this incorrect modifies Hippos and distorts meaning - carps are benefiting but this sentence states that Hippos are benefiting
(D) to benefit, in turn, by eating the algae and parasites on the giant animals - Incorrect - to benefit is incorrect - it is not clear who is benefiting
(E) who benefits by eating the algae and parasites on the giant mammals in turn - Incorrect - Not clear what "who" refers to - whether carps or hippos?

himanshurajawat · Answer

Shouldn't it be 'benefits' as carp is singular?

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Chethan92 · Answer

Here the benefit is for members, which is plural. members benefit. Hope this helps.

Verbal33 · Answer

Hippopotamuses allow their hides and teeth to be cleaned by carp, members of the genus  labeo ,  which, in turn, benefit by eating the algae and parasites on the giant mammals .

(A) which, in turn,  benefit  by eating the algae and parasites on the giant mammals
which refers to the members so plural benefit is correct.

(B) which  benefits  by eating the algae and parasites on the giant mammals in turn
which refers to the members so verb should be plural and not singular benefits. Incorrect

(C)  benefiting , in turn, by eating the algae and parasites on the giant mammals
benefitting is v+ing modifier which modifies the previous clause which is incorrect in this context. Incorrect.

(D)  to benefit , in turn, by eating the algae and parasites on the giant animals
to is incorrect here. It is an incomplete sentence.

(E)  who  benefits by eating the algae and parasites on the giant mammals in turn
who is used for people and not animals or anything else. Incorrect.

Pakman33 · Answer

Hippopotamuses allow their hides and teeth to be cleaned by carp, members of the genus labeo, which, in turn, benefit by eating the algae and parasites on the giant mammals.

(A)  which , in turn,  benefit  by eating the algae and parasites on the giant mammals

which , properly refers to to subjuct + Proper use of "in turn" + Subject-Verb Agreement.

(B) which  benefits  by eating the algae and parasites on the giant mammals in turn

Subject-Verb Agreement , carp is plural as specified by the use of " Members  of the genus labeo"

(C)  benefiting , in turn, by  eating  the algae and parasites on the giant mammals

Allow + Cleaned =/= benefiting + eating  Not Parallel

(D)  to benefit , in turn, by eating the algae and parasites on the giant animals

"to benefit" in ungrammatical and skews the meaning

(E) who  benefits  by eating the algae and parasites on the giant mammals in turn

Subject-Verb Agreement , carp is plural as specified by the use of " Members  of the genus labeo"

ahabib · Answer

(A) which, in turn, benefit by eating the algae and parasites on the giant mammals

Looks good.

(B) which  benefits  by eating the algae and parasites on the giant mammals  in turn

1) SVA error. By saying "Benefits", we could interpret this as referring to a specific carp, which changes the meaning.
2) "In turn" at the end doesn't make much sense

(C)  benefiting , in turn, by eating the algae and parasites on the giant mammals

Incomplete sentence

(D)  to benefit , in turn, by eating the algae and parasites on the giant animals

Sentence just doesn't make sense..

(E)  who benefits  by eating the algae and parasites on the giant mammals  in turn

"Who" can only modify humans.. Not animals
"In turn" should be earlier in the sentence, this sort of composition doesn't make sense.

VerbalBot · Answer

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Hippopotamuses allow their hides and teeth to be cleaned by carp

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Hippopotamuses allow their hides and teeth to be cleaned by carp

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