Although the gig economy remains modest—employing a small fraction of

Question

Although the gig economy remains modest—employing a small fraction of the nation’s workers, according to recent studies at several leading think tanks—the technologies that power them are  likely to disrupt the American labor market at an increasing rate.

(A) Although the gig economy remains modest—employing a small fraction of the nation’s workers, according to recent studies at several leading think tanks—the technologies that power them are

(B) Because the gig economy remains modest—it employs a small fraction of the nation’s workers, according to recent studies at several leading think tanks—the technologies powering them are

(C) Because the gig economy remains modest—employing a small fraction of the nation’s workers, according to recent studies at several leading think tanks—the technologies powering it is

(D) Although the gig economy remains modest—employing a small fraction of the nation’s workers, according to recent studies at several leading think tanks—the technologies powering it are

(E) With the gig economy remaining modest—it employs a small fraction of the nation’s workers, according to recent studies at several leading think tanks—the technology that powers them is

Bunuel · Accepted Answer

Veritas Prep Official Explanation

This problem serves you two major decision points: the decision between "it" and "them" as a pronoun, and the decision between "is" and "are" as the verb. And, importantly, the two do not modify the same noun.

The pronoun "it/them" is a stand-in for "the gig economy." You can ask yourself "what is being powered by technology" and the only logical referent is that gig economy. Therefore, with a singular referent you need the singular pronoun "it."

The verb "is/are" belongs to the subject "technologies." Because of that, you need a plural verb "are." (Note that choice E changes that subject to the singular "technologies" but has the incorrect pronoun "them" and can therefore be eliminated without consideration of the verb.)

The only sentence that properly pairs "it" (for the gig economy) with "are" (for technologies) is answer choice D, the correct answer.

olivia1909 · Answer

When reading the sentence it appears that it conveys two main things: the gig economy is modest and the technologies powering it is going to be disrupting/impactful/etc. These facts appear to not be "logically" sequential or cause/effect in nature, i.e one leads to the other, and i therefore removed B and C that use "Because" and E that uses "With".

From there I was only left with A and D. The only difference I could spot here was "the technologies powering it are" versus "the technologies that power them are". Regarding the choice between it and them, I picked it because this refers back to the gig economy, which is singular. So choice D it is for me

Ajl11101991 · Answer

I think is D

(A) The technologies that power them are --> technologies power the gig economy so them is incorrect, it should be singular

(B) and (C) begin with Because, this is not logical in my opinion.

(E) same as (A)

For me it's D

Posted from my mobile device

GMATE1 · Answer

There are multiple splits in this question but I always prefer subject-verb agreement because it is something I feel very comfortable with as it seems very logical to me. For this question it is really beneficial to quickly glance over the question at the beginning to spot the various splitt and choose the one you are most comfortable with. If you choose choose subject-verb agreement as your first split it is the only one you need for this question.

Although the gig economy remains modest—employing a small fraction of the nation’s workers, according to recent studies at several leading think tanks—the technologies that power them are likely to disrupt the American labor market at an increasing rate.

(A) Although the gig economy remains modest—employing a small fraction of the nation’s workers, according to recent studies at several leading think tanks—the technologies that power them are

1. Them (plural) is supposed to refer to "the gig economy" (singular), therefore we have subject-verb disagreement.
(Sidebar: I guess you could make the argument that "them" refers to "think tanks" or any other plural noun, but from the meaning this would be illogical)

(B) Because the gig economy remains modest—it employs a small fraction of the nation’s workers, according to recent studies at several leading think tanks—the technologies powering them are

1. Them (plural) is supposed to refer to "the gig economy" (singular), therefore we have subject-verb disagreement.

(C) Because the gig economy remains modest—employing a small fraction of the nation’s workers, according to recent studies at several leading think tanks—the technologies powering it is

2. "Technologies" (plural) needs a plural verb but this option uses "is" (singular).

(D) Although the gig economy remains modest—employing a small fraction of the nation’s workers, according to recent studies at several leading think tanks—the technologies powering it are

Does not repeat mistakes --> keep

(E) With the gig economy remaining modest—it employs a small fraction of the nation’s workers, according to recent studies at several leading think tanks—the technology that powers them is

(This is my favorite one as it has two mistakes

)
1. Them (plural) is supposed to refer to "the gig economy" (singular), therefore we have subject-verb disagreement.
2.b Technology is not necessarily wrong, but from the meaning it is very strange. The gig economy uses multiple technologies such as communication technologies, such as e-mail, instant messages; plattform technologies such as mobile app development,

) 1. Them (plural) is supposed to refer to "the gig economy" (singular), therefore we have subject-verb disagreement. 2.b Technology is not necessarily wrong, but from the meaning it is very strange. The gig economy uses multiple technologies such as communication technologies, such as e-mail, instant messages; plattform technologies such as mobile app development,

VerbalBot · Answer

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Although the gig economy remains modest—employing a small fraction of

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Although the gig economy remains modest—employing a small fraction of

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615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

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