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shridhar786
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Posts: 322
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
65%
(hard)
Question Stats:
39% (01:01) correct
61%
(01:04)
wrong
based on 1032
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
The best evidence that we have is the statistics from the Government and the opinions of scientists at leading universities.
(A) that we have is the statistics from the Government
(B) which we have is the Governmental statistics
(C) that we have are the Government's statistics
(D) that we have are the statistics from the Government
(E) which we have are the Governments statistics
(A) that we have is the statistics from the Government
(B) which we have is the Governmental statistics
(C) that we have are the Government's statistics
(D) that we have are the statistics from the Government
(E) which we have are the Governments statistics
The word evidence is singular, so it should be followed by the singular verb "is" rather than "are."
Governmental is ambiguous when it modifies statistics because it could mean "made by" or "about."
Also, "that" is preferred over "which" in this case. Thus, Choice A is the best choice.
Governmental is ambiguous when it modifies statistics because it could mean "made by" or "about."
Also, "that" is preferred over "which" in this case. Thus, Choice A is the best choice.
Dear chrtpmdr, dear Pranjal3107, dear mukherjeeabhish, dear Divyanshumishra, dear Aruni1991, dear community,
this question got me as well! But I looked into the matter a bit deeper and don't want to keep want I learned to myself!
1. The subject is "The best evidence", which is singular. Evidence is an uncountable noun and is always singular (there is no plural form, but you could say "pieces of evidence"). Therefore, evidence is always followed by a singular verb (as is the case in choices A&B)
(Source: https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/evidence)
2. The verb is a linking verb. I believe that adds to the confusion. We know that linking verbs describe not what a subject does BUT WHAT IT IS or in what condition it is in. The nouns linked by linking verbs are supposed to be similar in the function and meaning. For this reason I thought that nouns being linked both have to be either singular or plural BUT THIS IS FALSE as it turns out:
" Linking verbs such as be, seem, look, and appear are followed by a complement, and a noun complement should not be confused with a subject. Make the verb agree with the subject stated before the linking verb, not with the noun complement that follows the verb."
Other examples:
"Rare books are her passion."
plural subject / plural verb / singular complement
("Rare books" are being linked to "her passion". The subject of the setence is rare books and not "her passion" and therefore the verb takes the plural form of the subject)
"Her passion is rare books."
singular subject / singular verb / plural complement
("Her passion" is being lined to "rare books". The subject of the sentence is "her passion" and not "rare books" and therefore the verbs takes the singular form of the subject)
(Source: https://college.cengage.com/english/rai ... bject4.htm)
If this helped you please give me a kudos
this question got me as well! But I looked into the matter a bit deeper and don't want to keep want I learned to myself!
1. The subject is "The best evidence", which is singular. Evidence is an uncountable noun and is always singular (there is no plural form, but you could say "pieces of evidence"). Therefore, evidence is always followed by a singular verb (as is the case in choices A&B)
(Source: https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/evidence)
2. The verb is a linking verb. I believe that adds to the confusion. We know that linking verbs describe not what a subject does BUT WHAT IT IS or in what condition it is in. The nouns linked by linking verbs are supposed to be similar in the function and meaning. For this reason I thought that nouns being linked both have to be either singular or plural BUT THIS IS FALSE as it turns out:
" Linking verbs such as be, seem, look, and appear are followed by a complement, and a noun complement should not be confused with a subject. Make the verb agree with the subject stated before the linking verb, not with the noun complement that follows the verb."
Other examples:
"Rare books are her passion."
plural subject / plural verb / singular complement
("Rare books" are being linked to "her passion". The subject of the setence is rare books and not "her passion" and therefore the verb takes the plural form of the subject)
"Her passion is rare books."
singular subject / singular verb / plural complement
("Her passion" is being lined to "rare books". The subject of the sentence is "her passion" and not "rare books" and therefore the verbs takes the singular form of the subject)
(Source: https://college.cengage.com/english/rai ... bject4.htm)
If this helped you please give me a kudos
General Discussion
siddharthkapoor
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Products:
shridhar786
Error Analysis:
No error.
Process of Elimination:
A. Correct.
B. Wrong. "Government statistics" is an ambiguous term in the context of the sentence as it could mean either statistics on the government or the statistics made available by the government.
C. Wrong. "evidence" is a singular verb, so usage of plural verb "are" to describe it is incorrect. Also, this option has the same error as in option B.
D. Wrong. Subject-Verb agreement error as in previous option.
E. Wrong. As explained in above options.
chrtpmdr
Current Student
Joined: 23 Jul 2019
Last visit: 05 Oct 2022
Posts: 197
Schools: HSG MBF "23 (A) UniBocconi MFin "23 (A)
GMAT 1: 730 Q46 V45
GPA: 3.9
The best evidence that we have is the statistics from the Government and the opinions of scientists at leading universities.
(A) that we have is the statistics from the Government
(B) which we have is the Governmental statistics
(C) that we have are the Government's statistics
(D) that we have are the statistics from the Government
(E) which we have are the Governments statistics
Ambigous if you ask me.
Which answers are of course out of the race. But the S/V agreement is in question.
Statistics could be plural as well.
_________________
(A) that we have is the statistics from the Government
(B) which we have is the Governmental statistics
(C) that we have are the Government's statistics
(D) that we have are the statistics from the Government
(E) which we have are the Governments statistics
Ambigous if you ask me.
Which answers are of course out of the race. But the S/V agreement is in question.
Statistics could be plural as well.
_________________
Let's get some
arvind910619
Joined: 20 Dec 2015
Last visit: 18 Oct 2024
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Status:Learning
Location: India
Concentration: Operations, Marketing
GMAT 1: 670 Q48 V36
GRE 1: Q157 V157
GPA: 3.4
WE:Engineering (Manufacturing)
Products:
chrtpmdr
Statistics could be plural as well but here the context tells that it is indeed singular. "The best evidence" is singular.
Pranjal3107
Current Student
Joined: 13 Apr 2020
Last visit: 06 Jul 2022
Posts: 132
Location: India
Schools: NTU (A) ISB '23 (D)
GMAT 1: 710 Q45 V41
GPA: 3
Can someone explain the SV agreement here ? If we invert the sentence A and B are the best evidence. Shouldn't "are" be used ?
Posts: 31
The best evidence that we have is the statistics from the Government and the opinions of scientists at leading universities.
What is wrong in the below sentence :
"The statistics from the Government and the Opinions of scientists are the best evidence that we have"
What is wrong in the below sentence :
"The statistics from the Government and the Opinions of scientists are the best evidence that we have"
please explain the S-V agreement
shauryahanda
Joined: 14 Jan 2020
Last visit: 05 Nov 2024
Posts: 88
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Concentration: Marketing, Technology
Schools: Goizueta '24 (S) Rotman '24 (S) Foster '24 (S)
GMAT 1: 700 Q49 V37
GPA: 4
For all those getting confused between A and D
so the subj in this case will be best evidence. Although I do agree it should have been the best evidences , this statement might be referring to them together as 1 single group
so the subj in this case will be best evidence. Although I do agree it should have been the best evidences , this statement might be referring to them together as 1 single group
Posts: 259
[The best evidence that we have is] the statistics from the government and [the best evidence that we have is] opinions ...
Super tricky and a headbanger when you get these types of questions wrong.
A is correct because 'best evidence' is singular.
The best evidence that we have is the statistics from the Government and the opinions of scientists at leading universities.
(A) that we have is the statistics from the Government CORRECT
(B) which we have is the Governmental statistics
(C) that we have are the Government's statistics
(D) that we have are the statistics from the Government
(E) which we have are the Governments statistics
A is correct because 'best evidence' is singular.
The best evidence that we have is the statistics from the Government and the opinions of scientists at leading universities.
(A) that we have is the statistics from the Government CORRECT
(B) which we have is the Governmental statistics
(C) that we have are the Government's statistics
(D) that we have are the statistics from the Government
(E) which we have are the Governments statistics
Posts: 91
OA given is A
But somewhere in GMAT club I have seen its good idea sometimes to rephrase the question to see whether the answer makes sense.
As in this case, Statistics from the Government and the opinions of scientists at leading universities are the best evidence that we have.
Hence answer should be D
Kindly confirm if I am going wrong somewhere or if I am missing something.
TIA
But somewhere in GMAT club I have seen its good idea sometimes to rephrase the question to see whether the answer makes sense.
As in this case, Statistics from the Government and the opinions of scientists at leading universities are the best evidence that we have.
Hence answer should be D
Kindly confirm if I am going wrong somewhere or if I am missing something.
TIA
Posts: 6,486
ShaikhMoice
Hello ShaikhMoice,
We hope this finds you well.
To answer your query, in the OA "evidence" is the subject, so the singular verb "is" is used; "are" is the correct verb in the sentence you have constructed, but only because you have reversed the sentence, making the plural noun phrase "Statistics from the Government and the opinions of scientists at leading universities" the subject.
We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
_________________
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