Twenty-two feet long and 10 feet in diameter, the AM-1 is one of the

Hi, aren't "one of the" and "the number of" supposed to make the subjects following them singular and hence the verb should be singular as well.
Can you please help with this?

One of the students in my class is a top performer.

Gylmitul
Yes, "one" is always singular, but in this case it isn't the subject of a verb. The sentence core is "The AM-1 is one of the satellites." Which satellites? The satellites that are part of a 15-year effort. This is a bit of a trick the GMAT likes to pull from time to time. If we modify a noun directly, the modifier should match the singular/plural nature of the noun: "This is a book that interests me." But if we say "One of X," the modifier can apply to the X part and match that instead: "This is one of the books that interest me."

GMATNinja
Hello sir,
Thanks for the nice explanation.
B. Twenty-two feet long and 10 feet in diameter, the AM-1 is one of the many new satellites, which is a part of a 15-year effort to subject how Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and land surfaces interact to detailed scrutiny from space.

C. Twenty-two feet long and 10 feet in diameter, the AM-1 is one of the many new satellites, part of 15 years effort of subjecting how Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and land surfaces are interacting to detailed scrutiny from space.
In choice B and C, the highlighted parts are just important part of the sentence, but they are kept with non-essential modifier! So, can we cancel choice B and C as the important parts are kept with 'non-essential' modifier?
Thanks__

As we discussed in the post that you've quoted, it is not great that essential information is shoved into a non-essential modifier in (B) and (C).

Is that enough to eliminate (B) and (C) on its own? Maybe. But luckily, you don't have to make that decision -- there is a fairly egregious subject-verb agreement issue in (B), and in (C) there are are some strange idioms and an unnecessarily complex tense near the end.

In all, it is good to notice how essential vs. non-essential modifiers impact the meaning of the sentence, but it's way more efficient to focus on outright errors first, such as the subject-verb issue in (B). For answer choices like (C), make a note of any subtle shifts in meaning and clarity, and see whether other answer choices "fix" those subtle issues.

I hope that helps!

Thank you so much for confirming the issue!
I've asked this question because I've seen so many official questions where the essential modifier has been kept with non-essential mode. I, normally, knock out those choice instantly, and it works most of the cases. But in few cases, those things does not work-maybe, the GMAC has made those questions in another way, or it could be the difficulty in my understanding.

Why are we using "are" instead of "is"? Doesn't one of the makes the subject singular?

Hi Akshita, generally, the way to read/interpret such sentences is:

i) There are many satellites that are part of a 15-year effort
ii) The AM-1 is one of them

Let's take another sentence:

Akshita is one of the many students who are preparing for GMAT.

Again, the way to read/interpret this sentence is:

i) There are many students who are preparing for GMAT
ii) Akshita is one of them

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses this usage of "one", its application and examples in significant detail. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.

This is a common source of confusion, so thank you for asking!

Consider two examples:

1) One of the dogs is barking for Scooby snacks

.
Here, "one" is the subject, so the associated verb, "is" should be singular.

2) One of the dogs that are barking for Scooby snacks is kind of a jerk.

Notice that this sentence is different. The verb "are" is associated with a modifier beginning with "that." Because "that" is referring to the plural "dogs," it requires a plural verb as well.

Put another way, in the first example, "is barking" was the main verb phrase of the sentence, and the subject was "one." In the second, "are barking" was part of a modifier beginning with the subject, "that." The modifier impacts both the meaning and the grammar.

(E) is more like the second example. Look again at the relevant portion:


Again, we see the subject, "that," so we need to ask ourselves what the modifier is describing. It certainly appears to be describing the "new satellites" -- logically, ALL of those "many new satellites" are part of the 15-year effort. So we want the plural verb "are" to go with it.

The takeaway: the difference between "one of the satellites is," and one of the satellites that are," is the presence of the modifier, "that" in the second construction. So don't go on autopilot! Make sure you're always aware of the details and context you're evaluating.

I hope that clears things up!

(A) satellites that is a part of 15 years effort of subjecting the interactions of Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and land surfaces
since the satellites are plural we cannot use is since it doesn't convey the right numbers

(B) satellites, which is a part of a 15-year effort to subject how Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and land surfaces interact
Similar reasoning as A

(C) satellites, part of 15 years effort of subjecting how Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and land surfaces are interacting
interacting isn't the right word and it distorts the meaning and tense of the sentence

(D) satellites that are part of an effort for 15 years that has subjected the interactions of Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and land surfaces
an effort for 15 year is akward and isn't the right usage therefore out

(E) satellites that are part of a 15-year effort to subject the interactions of Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and land surfaces
This is the only option left and conveys the right meaning

Therefore IMO E

A) ……the AM1 is one of many new satellites that is a PART OF 15 YEARS effort of subjecting the interactions to scrutiny.

(1st) the use of the singular verb (“is”) in the relative “that” clause doesn’t agree with the logical referent noun: ‘satellites’

It is the ‘satellites’ (plural) that ARE part of the effort.

(2nd) the construction in caps is imprecise and it’s not quite clear what meaning is intended.

Since “15 years” is not written to be a noun-adjective modifying ‘effort’, is the intent to say that the satellites are A PART of 15 years? (A time period)

To correctly have ‘15 years’ modify the following noun as a noun-adjective, something along the lines of the following would be correct:

‘a 15-year effort’

in which the determiner ‘a 15-year’ functions as a noun-adjective modifying ‘effort’

(3rd) Often, a prepositional phrase beginning with “of” serves to modify the preceding noun.

‘…….the AM1 is a part of (an) effort OF SUBJECTING the interactions to scrutiny.”

ex: The food drive IS part of a city-wide effort TO ERADICATE hunger among the homeless.

The infinitive modifier in caps (‘to eradicate’) serves to modify the verb/action of the sentence.

WHY is the food drive part of a city-wide effort? (in order) to eradicate hunger among the homeless

Instead, if one were to write:

ex: *The food drive is part of a city-wide EFFORT OF ERADICATING hunger among the homeless.

The phrase in caps is a Noun Phrase. In addition to being an Unidiomatic phrase, “effort of eradicating” does not precisely convey the intended message: that the goal or purpose of the food drive is to eradicate hunger among the homeless.

The same issue occurs in (A) with respect to “(an) effort of subjecting”

Eliminate A

(B)……the AM1 is one of many new satellites, which is a part of a 15-year effort to subject how Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, and land surfaces interact to detailed scrutiny from space.

(1st) Same Verb Agreement issue that is present in version (A) (…..one of many new satellites, which IS A part of a 15-year effort…)

Logically, the many new “satellites” (plural) are part of this 15-year effort

(2nd) the Meaning is problematic
According to version (B), the 15-year effort is described as:

…..(an) effort to subject HOW Earth’s (X, Y, and Z) INTERACT to scrutiny from space.

—> The intended meaning is to view how the Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, etc interact among one other. These interactions will be scrutinized via the AM1 from space.

However, the meaning conveyed by (B) is that the 15-year effort is to see not how these things interact among one another but how these things interact with ‘scrutiny from space.’ It is not exactly clear what this entails.

(Furthermore, “interact TO ____” is the wrong Idiom)

(3rd) the core message of the sentence is placed, mostly, in a non essential descriptive modifier. If removed, we are left with:

‘…….the AM1 is one of many new satellites.’

Version B doesn’t convey a complete thought.

(C) ……the AM1 is one of many new satellites, part of 15 years effort of subjecting how Earth’s (X, Y, and Z) are interacting to scrutiny from space.”

(1st) same issue regarding the noun-adjective “15 years effort’ and the use of the prepositional phrase ‘of______’ that is present in (A)

(2nd) same issue that is present on (B) regarding the use of the non essential modifier

(3rd) Verb Tense Error and Meaning

The endeavor is described as:

‘……(an) effort of HOW Earth’s……ARE interacting to scrutiny from space.”

In addition to the same illogical meaning that is present in version (B), the use of the present progressive tense is problematic as well.

Even though the endeavor is described as a 15-year effort, its focus is on how Earth’s atmosphere, land surface, and oceans are CURRENTLY interacting (right now, in the present time). This does not appear to be the likely intent of the mission.

(D)’……..the AM1 is one of many new satellites that are part of an effort for 15 years THAT HAS subjected the interactions of Earth’s (X, Y, and Z) to scrutiny from space.’

(1st) Use of ‘THAT’ Relative Clause

As written, ‘an effort for 15 years’ is not one Noun Phrase. The prepositional phrase ‘for 15 years’ is an adverbial modifier of time:

‘…….the AM1 IS one of many new satellites that are part of an effort FOR 15 YEARS that has subjected the interactions….’

Since we have an intervening adverbial modifier between the modifier (‘that has subjected….’) and it’s referent noun (‘an effort’), the placement of the modifier is less than ideal

(2nd) the use of the Present Perfect is problematic.

The simple present tense (‘are’) is used to describe the effort.

‘Has subjected’ is a point event written in the present perfect tense: one that has occurred at points in the past, but not necessarily in a continuous state.

The commingling of the simple present and the present perfect results in the following meaning:

This new satellite, along with many other new satellites, is (currently) a part of ‘an effort for 15 years.’

Therefore, even if the noun modifier properly refers to ‘effort’, it is an effort that is described as something that HAS ALREADY occurred. This ‘mixing’ of tenses leads to an illogical meaning

(3rd) “an effort for 15 years THAT has subjected……’

VS

‘a 15-year effort TO SUBJECT…..’’ (version D)

The endeavor described in this sentence is an effort with a purpose. The infinitive phrase ‘to subject’, as described above under version (A), correctly serves as an adverbial modifier conveying that purpose: ‘to subject Earth’s ……to detailed scrutiny from space.’

In (D), the use of the relative clause (‘that has subjected….’) does not convey the purpose of the whole endeavor as version (E) does.

(E) since I’ve run out of room, version E corrects the issues stated above and is thus the correct answer.

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"One of the many new satellites" is the point of doubt. As far as I know, if a subject is preceded by One of the/The number of, the verb has to be singular.

AcesA

That issue isn't always as clear as you might think. It depends on the intended meaning: is the verb being performed by the ONE in particular or by the whole group? Take a look at my brief explanation above, or this worthy explanation by daagh:

Adding my two cents, partly because it's fun to pick on Elon Musk's appetite for destruction.

• "One of the satellites is broken." - The verb applies to only one of the satellites, not all of them (only one is broken).
• "One of the satellites that are scheduled to be blown up belongs to Elon Musk." - The verb in the "that" clause ("are") is plural because it describes ALL of the satellites (they are ALL scheduled to be blown up). But the main verb ("is") is singular, because only ONE of those exploding satellites belongs to Elon Musk.

In this case, ALL of the satellites are part of the 15-year effort, so we need a plural verb in the "that" clause.

For more on that point, check out this post: https://gmatclub.com/forum/twenty-two-f ... l#p2838342

And for a couple of other questions with similar decision points, check out these threads:

• https://gmatclub.com/forum/with-a-new-park-stadium-and-entertainment-complex-along-the-delaware-89983.html
• https://gmatclub.com/forum/biologists-believe-that-they-have-found-one-of-the-substances-that-tel-83179.html

Structure:
one of [plural] [that/who] [plural]
one of [plural] [no that/who] [singlular]

A is out.

We are specifically talking about the satellites that are part of something.
so use of which (non restrictive modifier) is iscorrect -> B out

C-> Twenty-two feet long and 10 feet in diameter, the AM-1 is one of the many new satellites, part of 15 years effort of subjecting how Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and land surfaces are interacting to detailed scrutiny from space.

Simplify: the AM-1 is one of the many new satellites, part of something. [incorrect structure] -> C out.

an effort that has subjected the interactions of atmosphere to detailed scrutiny from space -> seems to imply that effort is already over. (we do not know)
an effort to subject the interactions of atmosphere to detailed scrutiny from space. -> explaining what the effort is all about. (doesn't implies if the effort is already over or not, this option is just explaining what the effort is all about)

I will go with E.