The direction and length of the bee’s dance

Question

The direction and length of the bee’s dance  tells the bee's fellow foragers where honey will be found out . 
(A)tells the bee's fellow foragers where honey will be found out
(B)tells the bee's fellow foragers where they will find honey 
(C)tells where honey will be found out by the bee's fellow foragers
(D)tell where honey will be found to the bee's fellow foragers 
(E)tell the bee's fellow foragers where they will find honey

sarphant123 · Answer

Kaplan's Explanation - 
Read the Original Sentence Carefully, Looking for Errors:

Note the verb "tells" in the underlined portion. Here the GMAT is testing a common error in a classic way, by assessing our ability to determine the correct subject-verb agreement by placing the subjects as far as possible from the verb to disguise the error. The singular "tells" does not agree with the plural subjects "direction and length." Always pay attention to verbs in underlined portions of GMAT Sentence Correction questions, and also pay attention to how the underlined portion ends, because that will likely be a source of variation among the answer choices.

Scan and Group the Answer Choices:

We know the first choice has incorrect subject-verb agreement, so we can throw out choice (A). Two other choices, (B) and (C), also have this incorrect subject-agreement, so we can eliminate them, too. Choices (D) and (E) both use a plural verb. One of them must be the correct answer.

Eliminate Choices Until Only One Remains:

We are left with choices (D) and (E). While choice (D) correctly uses "tell," the wording after the verb is awkward and confusing. The phrase "found to" is idiomatically incorrect. Only Choice (E) has the correct subject-verb agreement and is clearly written. Thus, Answer Choice (E) is correct.

navderm · Answer

GMATNinja  or other pros here :

Any better explanation than just "idiomatically incorrect/awkward/confusing" ? I can't explain rejecting D properly.

Gauriii · Answer

@Moderators- Can some give an explaination why answer is E & not D

vicky2019 · Answer

you tell "someone"something. In E, it correctly follows the order. tell "the bee's fellow foragers" where they will find honey even if this rule is not absolute, In E, the active voice construction "will find" is better than "will be found" construction in D. I hope this helps..

sanjayparihar16 · Answer

Why is B incorrect?

As per my understanding, the usage of definite article "THE" with "DIRECTION AND LENGTH" would need "TELLS"

Anyone?

ravigupta2912 · Answer

You're thinking of D & L as a compound subject. Whether it is "direction" and "length" OR "the direction" and "the length", in both the cases, we would need the plural verb since the subject as such is plural.

RICHA1189 · Answer

The direction and length of the bee’s dance tells the bee's fellow foragers where honey will be found out .

Direction and length .. plural . Eliminate A B C incorrect SV Agreement
D - tell where .. wrong modifier
E - correct construction . Correct modifier

Hence E is the correct answer

(A)tells the bee's fellow foragers where honey will be found out
(B)tells the bee's fellow foragers where they will find honey 
(C)tells where honey will be found out by the bee's fellow foragers
(D)tell where honey will be found to the bee's fellow foragers 
(E)tell the bee's fellow foragers where they will find honey

The direction and length of the bee’s dance

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

The direction and length of the bee’s dance

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