After reading two different poems, she couldn't decide which poem was

Question

After reading two different poems,  she couldn't decide which poem was the most beautiful, since each had their own  unique and features.

(A) she couldn't decide which poem was the most beautiful, since each had their own
(B) she couldn't decide which poem was the more beautiful, since each had their own
(C) she couldn't decide which poem was the most beautiful, since each had its own
(D) she couldn't decide which poems were the most beautiful, since each had their own
(E) she couldn't decide which poem was the more beautiful, since each had its own

I dont understand why E is the answer, i prefered C over E
pls explain

thanks !

aditi1903 · Answer

I would say that THE is used before most and not more...we are coparing two things here so its a comparative degree that we have to use...
Even i would go with C..
what is the source of the question?

prasadkhadpe · Answer

comparing two poems----requires  more  not most
each of the poem----so singular  its  not plural their
hope it helps...

methevoid · Answer

+1 to Prasad, perfect explanation.

piyatiwari · Answer

I agree that more should be used when comparing two entities. 
but 'the' should only be used for superlative form.

the more seems wrong.

I would still go with C.

C.she couldn't decide which poem was the most beautiful,since each had its own

jaiswalamrita · Answer

"The more" is correct expression

following well known expressions might convince you.

The more I see the less I know
The more the merrier
The more you know, the more you realise how much you don't know

Hope that helps

piyatiwari · Answer

Oops! I feel stupid! I completely agree with you now. Got my mistake. Thanks!

Capricorn369 · Answer

My answer is E.
SC is talking about 2 poems. Hence, "more" is required. A,C & D out.
"Each" is singular. Hence, "Its" is required in 2nd half of the SC. E is correct.

Cheers!

fameatop · Answer

As explained earlier by many others, answer has to be E, but i doubt the use of "THE" before comparative degree "MORE". It's like choosing the Best among the Worst. 
Anyway I believe, if the source is correct, either it is a experimental question or authors are incorrect.

TooLong150 · Answer

"The more" is still suspect when used to compare two items. Given that this was not found on MGMAT's website under the GMATPrep section, I doubt that this is a true GMATPrep question.

ynk · Answer

My Views--

When we are comparing between two things we should use comparative from (more) & when we compare between more than two things superlative form is used (most).
Also use of "their" is not right here as each is "singular".Moreover whenever in doubt in GMAT we should think singular.

techiesam · Answer

Superlatives cannot compare two items; there must be at least three items.Hence,it shold be more but not most.And E has the correct sub-verb agreement so E is the right answer choice.

anje29 · Answer

Yeah one part is correct that to compare 2 things we need 'more' but are we comparing here ? If yes then where is 'than' indicator. I doubt this question. If anyone knows the correct source , please provide.

anje29 · Answer

Please clarify between choice C and E . Which is correct here 'more' or 'most'.

abhimahna · Answer

Hi  anje29  ,

A cannot be the correct answer because we have used each as the subject. Using each require us to use singular pronoun. Hence, "their" is incorrect in option A.

I would also prefer more here because Most is used for more than 2 items in the list.

Also, please note that it is not always necessary to use 'than' with 'more'. It depends on the usage.

So, when I am saying which poem is more beautiful, I donot need to use than. It implicitly implies that I am comparing two poems and one is more beautiful than the other.

P.S: I doubt about the usage of "the" with more. I rejected my option initially when I saw this usage. I think there is something wrong with choice E.

anje29 · Answer

Thanks

I was confused between C and E not A ( I typed wrong).

abhimahna · Answer

Sounds cool. I hope I was also able to make your doubt on C cleared. 1. The most --> For more than 2 objects. 2. More --> For two objects. 3. Than is not always required with more. Let me know in case of any concern.

JS1290 · Answer

I have some confusion with option E. I know we have to use "more" here but what's the significance of "the". "the more" in option E is troubling me. Could you please help me out?

gmatexam439 · Answer

Point to remember: We never use a superlative degree when comparing 2 things/people. We don't say between burger and pizza, pizza is the MOST delicious food, instead we say between burger and pizza, pizza is MORE delicious .

After reading two different poems,  she couldn't decide which poem was the most beautiful, since each had their own  unique and features

A. she couldn't decide which poem was the  most beautiful , since each had their own - As explained above, it's wrong usage .
B. she couldn't decide which poem was the more beautiful,since  each had their  own - With each we need a singular pronoun .
C. she couldn't decide which poem was the most beautiful,since each had its own - As explained above, it's wrong usage .
D. she couldn't decide which poems were the most beautiful,since each had their own - As explained above, it's wrong usage .
E. she couldn't decide which poem was the  more beautiful ,since  each had its own  - Correct usage of comparative degree and correct usage of "its" .

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Kudos if it helps!

DmitryFarberMPrep · Answer

It's fairly common to use "the more" in this way. To make sense of it, imagine that "poem" appears after "beautiful": "she couldn't decide which poem was the more beautiful poem." The author has just removed the redundant word, since the meaning is clear without it. Most of use would probably rather just say "which poem was more beautiful," but someone (not me!) could complain that this is unclear. "More beautiful than what?" The form used in E prevents this objection.

After reading two different poems, she couldn't decide which poem was

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After reading two different poems, she couldn't decide which poem was

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