12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 8: The Battle of Crecy was

Experts' Global Official Explanation

Pronouns + Tenses + Redundancy/Awkwardness

• Collective nouns (such as “unit” in this sentence) are always singular.
• When the chronology is clear because of terms such as before/after/when/earlier/later…or because of a clear mention of dates, the use of past perfect tense is not required, though not incorrect either.

A. This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun “unit” with the plural pronoun “they”; please remember, collective nouns (such as “unit” in this sentence) are always singular. Further, Option A needlessly uses the past perfect tense verb “had been”, rendering it needlessly wordy and awkward; this usage is unnecessary, as the word “earlier” clearly denotes the order of events.

B. This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun “unit” with the plural pronoun “their”; please remember, collective nouns (such as “unit” in this sentence) are always singular. Further, Option B needlessly uses the past perfect tense verb “had been”, rendering it needlessly wordy and awkward; this usage is unnecessary, as the word “earlier” clearly denotes the order of events.

C. This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun “unit” with the plural pronoun “they”; please remember, collective nouns (such as “unit” in this sentence) are always singular. Further, Option C needlessly uses the past perfect tense verb “had been”, rendering it needlessly wordy and awkward; this usage is unnecessary, as the word “earlier” clearly denotes the order of events.

D. This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun “unit” with the plural pronoun “their”; please remember, collective nouns (such as “unit” in this sentence) are always singular.

E. Correct. This answer choice avoids the pronoun error seen in Options A, B, C, and E, as it employs no pronouns. Further, Option D is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

E is the best answer choice.