Last visit was: 21 Apr 2026, 08:11 It is currently 21 Apr 2026, 08:11
Home
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Back to Forum
Create Topic
 1   2   3   
User avatar
generis
User avatar
Senior SC Moderator
Joined: 22 May 2016
Last visit: 18 Jun 2022
Posts: 5,258
Own Kudos:
37,722
 [220]
Given Kudos: 9,464
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 5,258
Kudos: 37,722
 [220]
Scientists say that by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune c Updated on: 02 Jun 2021, 01:27
Originally posted by generis on 20 Apr 2020, 22:33.
Last edited by Bunuel on 02 Jun 2021, 01:27, edited 1 time in total.
Edited the question.
19
Kudos
Add Kudos
201
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
00:00
Start Timer
Pause Timer
Resume Timer
Show Answer
Hide
Show
History
E
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!

Difficulty:

25% (medium)

Question Stats:

72% (01:22) correct 28% (01:35) wrong based on 7717 sessions

History

Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Scientists say that, by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune cells, that human skin cells in a test tube are made to behave as if they were immune system cells.

A) that human skin cells in a test tube are made to behave as if they were

B) that human skin cells were to behave in a test tube as if they were

C) human skin cells in a test tube were made to behave as if

D) they have made human skin cells in a test tube that were behaving as

E) they have made human skin cells in a test tube behave as if they were

SC80540.02
ShowHide Answer
Official Answer
E
Need more similar questions? Run a 5 to 10 question quiz in GMAT Club Forum Quiz →
Most Helpful Reply
User avatar
itspC
User avatar
Joined: 05 Jul 2017
Last visit: 04 Apr 2026
Posts: 79
Own Kudos:
899
 [42]
Given Kudos: 108
Location: India
GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V41 (Online)
GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V41 (Online)
Posts: 79
Kudos: 899
 [42]
Scientists say that by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune c 29 Apr 2020, 11:04
31
Kudos
Add Kudos
8
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
generis
Scientists say that, by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune cells, that human skin cells in a test tube are made to behave as if they were immune system cells.

A) that human skin cells in a test tube are made to behave as if they were ( same as B)

B)that human skin cells were to behave in a test tube as if they were (that..that is awkward and wordy)

C) human skin cells in a test tube were made to behave as if (incomplete sentence:slice)

D) they have made human skin cells in a test tube that were behaving as ( were already behaving ?? doesn't make sense)

E) they have made human skin cells in a test tube behave as if they were ( Though there's ambiguity in this option this seems best among all options n yeah other options have obvious meaning errors than this)
So on exam day choose the best option even it has pronoun ambiguity
RHETORICAL CONSTRUCTION[/color]

SC80540.02
Show more
User avatar
GMATNinja
User avatar
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Last visit: 21 Apr 2026
Posts: 7,391
Own Kudos:
70,784
 [30]
Given Kudos: 2,126
Status: GMAT/GRE/LSAT tutors
Location: United States (CO)
GMAT 1: 780 Q51 V46
GMAT 2: 800 Q51 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V170
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Products:
GMAT Club Tests
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 2: 800 Q51 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V170
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Posts: 7,391
Kudos: 70,784
 [30]
Scientists say that by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune c 01 May 2020, 07:59
25
Kudos
Add Kudos
5
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
vaibhav99
Hi GMATNinja,

Can you please throw some light on this question. Just want to understand usage of 2 that's and 'if'.

Thanks for your help.

Vaibhav
Show more
I'm not sure that I understand exactly what you're asking, but I'll try to help!

In choice (E), for example, "that" introduces a noun clause. What did the scientists say? They said "that they have made human skin cells in a test tube behave as if they were immune system cells." If you want to get technical: the "that" clause is the object of the verb.

If that isn't clear, consider this example:

    "The scientists say profanities." - What do the scientists say? Profanities. In this case the object of the verb is a simple noun. In choice (E), the object of the verb is a noun clause ("THAT they have made...") - the "that" clause functions as a noun.

Now take a look at choice (A). Ignoring the comma-separated part, we have, "The scientists say that that human skin cells in a test tube are made..." The second "that" shouldn't be there!

The "if" is simply part of "as if", which is the same as "as though." How do the skin cells behave? They behave as if (or as though) they were immune system cells. In other words, they behave as they would if they were, in fact, immune system cells.

I hope that helps!
User avatar
EMPOWERgmatVerbal
User avatar
EMPOWERgmat Instructor
Joined: 23 Feb 2015
Last visit: 17 Feb 2025
Posts: 1,686
Own Kudos:
15,307
 [22]
Given Kudos: 766
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 1,686
Kudos: 15,307
 [22]
Scientists say that by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune c 27 Jul 2020, 15:33
15
Kudos
Add Kudos
7
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hello Everyone!

Let's tackle this question, one thing at a time, and narrow down our options quickly so we know how to answer questions like this when they pop up on the GMAT! To begin, let's take a quick look at the question and highlight any major differences between the options in orange:

Scientists say that, by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune cells, that human skin cells in a test tube are made to behave as if they were immune system cells.

A) that human skin cells in a test tube are made to behave as if they were

B) that human skin cells were to behave in a test tube as if they were

C) human skin cells in a test tube were made to behave as if

D) they have made human skin cells in a test tube that were behaving as

E) they have made human skin cells in a test tube behave as if they were

After a quick glance over the options, there are a few key differences we can focus on:

1. that human skin cells / human skin cells / they have made human skin cells (Construction)
2. are made to behave / were to behave / were made to behave / that were behaving / behave (Verb Tense & Active/Passive Voice)
3. as if they were / as if / as (Idioms)

Let’s start with #1 on our list, which has to do with construction. If we look at the original sentence, we see that there is a non-essential phrase we can remove:

Scientists say that, by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune cells, that human skin cells in a test tube are made to behave as if they were immune system cells.

If we remove this non-essential phrase, what we have left over still needs to make sense. Let’s do a quick check to see if our options are constructed properly. To make this easier to spot, we’re going to add in “Scientists say that” to each option:

A) Scientists say that that human skin cells in a test tube are made to behave as if they were

B) Scientists say that that human skin cells were to behave in a test tube as if they were

C) Scientists say that human skin cells in a test tube were made to behave as if

D) Scientists say that they have made human skin cells in a test tube that were behaving as

E) Scientists say that they have made human skin cells in a test tube behave as if they were

We can eliminate options A & B because they repeat “that” twice, which isn’t necessary or grammatically correct to do here. Now that we have it narrowed down, let’s tackle #2 on our list: Verb Tense & Active/Passive Voice. We need to make sure any option we choose is in active voice, and we also need to make sure the verb tenses make sense for the intended meaning:

C) human skin cells in a test tube were made to behave as if → Passive Voice = WRONG

D) they have made human skin cells in a test tube that were behaving as = OKAY

E) they have made human skin cells in a test tube behave as if they were = OKAY

We can eliminate option C because it uses passive voice, which is a big no-no on the GMAT! Now that we have it narrowed down to only 2 options, let’s tackle #3 on our list: Idioms. The phrases “behave as X” and “behave as if they were X” are slightly different things:

D) they have made human skin cells in a test tube that were behaving as immune system cells.
This is INCORRECT because saying “X behaving as Y” changes the intended meaning. The sentence we have here suggests that the scientists created the human skin cells, which isn’t accurate. The cells already existed - they just put them in a test tube and made them do something. This sentence is also saying that the human skin cells that scientists created were already acting like immune system cells - not that the doctors did anything to make them behave that way!

E) they have made human skin cells in a test tube behave as if they were immune system cells.
This is CORRECT! This clearly shows that the human skin cells already existed, and that the scientists were able to make them do something - behave as if they were a different kind of cell.

There you have it - option E is our winner! It uses clear verbs, wording, and idioms to properly convey the intended meaning!

Don’t study for the GMAT. Train for it.
General Discussion
User avatar
sauravleo123
User avatar
Joined: 27 Dec 2012
Last visit: 04 May 2020
Posts: 108
Own Kudos:
274
 [7]
Given Kudos: 23
Posts: 108
Kudos: 274
 [7]
Scientists say that by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune c 21 Apr 2020, 03:55
4
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Scientists say that, by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune cells, that human skin cells in a test tube are made to behave as if they were immune system cells.

A) that human skin cells in a test tube are made to behave as if they were

B) that human skin cells were to behave in a test tube as if they were

C) human skin cells in a test tube were made to behave as if

D) they have made human skin cells in a test tube that were behaving as

E) they have made human skin cells in a test tube behave as if they were

A. two back to back "that' make the sentence incomprehensible.
B. Same as A
C. By bathing the cells what have they done? The next part of the sentence should say what have the scientists done
D. Were behaving as is wrong tense
E. Correct
User avatar
vishumangal
User avatar
Joined: 27 Jun 2015
Last visit: 22 Dec 2021
Posts: 91
Own Kudos:
49
 [11]
Given Kudos: 57
GRE 1: Q158 V143
GRE 1: Q158 V143
Posts: 91
Kudos: 49
 [11]
Scientists say that by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune c 22 Apr 2020, 03:40
11
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi generis could you please explain how can E be the answer for this Question.

Answer choice E contains Pronoun "they" and They refers to Scientist I guess In first place and second they refers to human skin cells. Logically a pronoun cannot refer to multiple antecedents.
User avatar
TrevorKleeTutor
User avatar
Joined: 20 Jul 2016
Last visit: 24 Jun 2024
Posts: 86
Own Kudos:
78
 [8]
Given Kudos: 9
Posts: 86
Kudos: 78
 [8]
Scientists say that by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune c 29 Apr 2020, 13:10
4
Kudos
Add Kudos
4
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Scientists say that, by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune cells, that human skin cells in a test tube are made to behave as if they were immune system cells.

A) that human skin cells in a test tube are made to behave as if they were

B) that human skin cells were to behave in a test tube as if they were

C) human skin cells in a test tube were made to behave as if

D) they have made human skin cells in a test tube that were behaving as

E) they have made human skin cells in a test tube behave as if they were

Meaning:
Scientists say that...that humans skin cells in a test tube are made to behave as if they were.
You'll notice I crossed out the second that, as the sentence can't make sense with both of them.
Meaning-wise it makes sense to say, "Scientists say [in the present] that [in the past] they made human skin cells behave [general statement].

Grammar:
We should generally avoid passive voice "are made to behave". It'd be better if it were active.

A and B have double that.

C loses the meaning at the end. It should be "as if they were immune cells". "As if immune cells" doesn't make sense.

D loses the meaning by removing "as if", and it doesn't make sense to transform the phrase "they have made human skin cells behave", into a necessary modifier "they have made human skin cells that were behaving". That's not what the scientists did: they made skin cells behave in a certain way.

E is the only one that's correct.

Important note about pronouns for vishumangal: pronouns generally refer to the closest appropriate subject before them. So, using they to refer to scientists and then to skin cells is fine, in the same way I could say "My brother said that he told my friend that he was behaving badly." The first he clearly refers to my brother, the second he clearly refers to my friend (the subject right before it).
avatar
vaibhav99
avatar
Joined: 24 May 2014
Last visit: 20 Feb 2022
Posts: 2
Given Kudos: 248
Posts: 2
Kudos: 0
Scientists say that by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune c 29 Apr 2020, 16:06
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi GMATNinja,

Can you please throw some light on this question. Just want to understand usage of 2 that's and 'if'.

Thanks for your help.

Vaibhav
User avatar
unraveled
User avatar
Joined: 07 Mar 2019
Last visit: 10 Apr 2025
Posts: 2,706
Own Kudos:
2,328
 [1]
Given Kudos: 763
Location: India
WE:Sales (Energy)
Posts: 2,706
Kudos: 2,328
 [1]
Scientists say that by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune c Updated on: 26 Jul 2020, 06:33
Originally posted by unraveled on 01 May 2020, 08:19.
Last edited by unraveled on 26 Jul 2020, 06:33, edited 1 time in total.
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
TrevorKleeTutor
Scientists say that, by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune cells, that human skin cells in a test tube are made to behave as if they were immune system cells.

A) that human skin cells in a test tube are made to behave as if they were

B) that human skin cells were to behave in a test tube as if they were

C) human skin cells in a test tube were made to behave as if

D) they have made human skin cells in a test tube that were behaving as

E) they have made human skin cells in a test tube behave as if they were

Meaning:
Scientists say that...that humans skin cells in a test tube are made to behave as if they were.
You'll notice I crossed out the second that, as the sentence can't make sense with both of them.
Meaning-wise it makes sense to say, "Scientists say [in the present] that [in the past] they made human skin cells behave [general statement].

Grammar:
We should generally avoid passive voice "are made to behave". It'd be better if it were active.

A and B have double that.

C loses the meaning at the end. It should be "as if they were immune cells". "As if immune cells" doesn't make sense.

D loses the meaning by removing "as if", and it doesn't make sense to transform the phrase "they have made human skin cells behave", into a necessary modifier "they have made human skin cells that were behaving". That's not what the scientists did: they made skin cells behave in a certain way.

E is the only one that's correct.

Important note about pronouns for vishumangal: pronouns generally refer to the closest appropriate subject before them. So, using they to refer to scientists and then to skin cells is fine, in the same way I could say "My brother said that he told my friend that he was behaving badly." The first he clearly refers to my brother, the second he clearly refers to my friend (the subject right before it).
Show more
Clearly, A and B are out for repeating 'that' which is illogical in the context that 'Scientist say that(removing the part within comma 'by ... cells') something ....'.
C loses out for not being a complete sentence.
In D the behaving requires 'as if ... clause'. Though clause is there, it misses out on meaning part. As per meaning Scientists made human skin cells behave in a certain manner whereas D says Scientists made human skin cells that were by themselves behaving in that manner. It suggests Scientists didn't made the human skin cells behave instead that behaviour came naturally to these cells.
E is correct but the two 'they' used create, at first sight an ambiguity which it is not.

Please look at
https://gmatclub.com/forum/michelangelo ... s#p2509603
This one has pronoun as one of the deciding factor though.

E is the answer.
User avatar
KaranB1
User avatar
Joined: 17 Aug 2018
Last visit: 22 Oct 2025
Posts: 120
Own Kudos:
201
 [1]
Given Kudos: 153
Location: India
Schools: IIMA WBS '22
GMAT 1: 640 Q46 V32
GMAT 2: 710 Q49 V38
Products:
My Reviews
Schools: IIMA WBS '22
GMAT 2: 710 Q49 V38
Posts: 120
Kudos: 201
 [1]
Scientists say that by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune c 11 May 2020, 05:44
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
GMATNinja VeritasKarishma

Can you please let me know how E is a right answer, even-though this answer choice is changing the intended meaning.

Answer choice E says Scientists themselves have made skin cells behave like immune cells, but original sentence does not say the same.
User avatar
GMATNinja
User avatar
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Last visit: 21 Apr 2026
Posts: 7,391
Own Kudos:
70,784
 [3]
Given Kudos: 2,126
Status: GMAT/GRE/LSAT tutors
Location: United States (CO)
GMAT 1: 780 Q51 V46
GMAT 2: 800 Q51 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V170
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Products:
GMAT Club Tests
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 2: 800 Q51 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V170
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Posts: 7,391
Kudos: 70,784
 [3]
Scientists say that by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune c 14 May 2020, 13:11
3
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
KaranB1
GMATNinja VeritasKarishma

Can you please let me know how E is a right answer, even-though this answer choice is changing the intended meaning.

Answer choice E says Scientists themselves have made skin cells behave like immune cells, but original sentence does not say the same.
Show more
Remember, as explained in this post, there is nothing special about the meaning in choice (A), and (A) does not give us the "intended" meaning! You have to FIND the sentence where the meaning makes the most sense, regardless of how that sentence compares to choice (A).

So if you think (E) makes more sense than the others, you've found the winner.

I hope this helps!
User avatar
abhishekmayank
User avatar
Joined: 26 Apr 2016
Last visit: 28 Jan 2024
Posts: 198
Own Kudos:
61
Given Kudos: 6
GMAT 1: 640 Q44 V33
GMAT 1: 640 Q44 V33
Posts: 198
Kudos: 61
Scientists say that by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune c 20 May 2020, 10:08
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi GMATNinja

Whether it is correct that the a common pronoun (in the given question 'they') have dual antecedents as in option E ?
User avatar
GMATNinja
User avatar
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Last visit: 21 Apr 2026
Posts: 7,391
Own Kudos:
70,784
 [18]
Given Kudos: 2,126
Status: GMAT/GRE/LSAT tutors
Location: United States (CO)
GMAT 1: 780 Q51 V46
GMAT 2: 800 Q51 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V170
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Products:
GMAT Club Tests
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 2: 800 Q51 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V170
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Posts: 7,391
Kudos: 70,784
 [18]
Scientists say that by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune c 31 May 2020, 14:27
10
Kudos
Add Kudos
8
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
abhishekmayank
Hi GMATNinja

Whether it is correct that the a common pronoun (in the given question 'they') have dual antecedents as in option E ?
Show more
Well, (E) is the correct answer here, so, according to GMAT, yes!

As discussed in this video, a little pronoun ambiguity doesn't necessarily make a sentence wrong on the GMAT. In this particular case, it's fairly obvious that the first "they" must refer to the scientists. Who made the skin cells do something in a test tube? A bunch of cells wearing lab coats and safety goggles? No, it was the scientists. :)

And were the "human skin cells in a test tube" made to behave as if the SCIENTISTS were immune system cells? Of course not. The "human skin cells in a test tube" were made to behave as if they were immune system cells.

The intended meaning is totally clear, so in this case having two instances of "they" with different antecedents isn't a major issue.

I hope that helps!
User avatar
SALAKSHYA
User avatar
Schools: Anderson '24 Booth '24 Broad Carlson Columbia CBS '24 Darden '24 Goizueta '24 Foster '24 Fuqua '24 Harvard '24 ISB '23 Johnson '24 Kelley '24 Kellogg '24 Kenan-Flagler '24 LBS '24 Marshall '24 McCombs '24 McDonough '24 NTU Said '23 Ross '24 Rotman '24 Scheller Sloan '24 Smeal Stanford '24 Tepper '24 Tuck '24 Wharton '24 Yale '24
GMAT 2: 740 Q50 V40
Posts: 68
Kudos: 22
Scientists say that by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune c 09 Oct 2020, 11:11
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
GMATNinja
vaibhav99
Hi GMATNinja,

Can you please throw some light on this question. Just want to understand usage of 2 that's and 'if'.

Thanks for your help.

Vaibhav
I'm not sure that I understand exactly what you're asking, but I'll try to help!

In choice (E), for example, "that" introduces a noun clause. What did the scientists say? They said "that they have made human skin cells in a test tube behave as if they were immune system cells." If you want to get technical: the "that" clause is the object of the verb.

If that isn't clear, consider this example:

    "The scientists say profanities." - What do the scientists say? Profanities. In this case the object of the verb is a simple noun. In choice (E), the object of the verb is a noun clause ("THAT they have made...") - the "that" clause functions as a noun.

Now take a look at choice (A). Ignoring the comma-separated part, we have, "The scientists say that that human skin cells in a test tube are made..." The second "that" shouldn't be there!

The "if" is simply part of "as if", which is the same as "as though." How do the skin cells behave? They behave as if (or as though) they were immune system cells. In other words, they behave as they would if they were, in fact, immune system cells.

I hope that helps!
Show more
Hi GMATNinja,
Can you please clarify uses of two verbs in a single clause in Option E that they have made human skin cells in a test tube behave ......
User avatar
GMATNinja
User avatar
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Last visit: 21 Apr 2026
Posts: 7,391
Own Kudos:
70,784
 [2]
Given Kudos: 2,126
Status: GMAT/GRE/LSAT tutors
Location: United States (CO)
GMAT 1: 780 Q51 V46
GMAT 2: 800 Q51 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V170
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Products:
GMAT Club Tests
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 2: 800 Q51 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V170
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Posts: 7,391
Kudos: 70,784
 [2]
Scientists say that by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune c 17 Nov 2020, 08:49
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Quote:
Hi GMATNinja,
Can you please clarify uses of two verbs in a single clause in Option E that they have made human skin cells in a test tube behave ......
Show more
It might help to consider a simple example:

    Tim made his children dance for their supper, tossing fish heads in their general direction as the little scamps popped and locked as though their lives depended on it.

It feels as though you've got two subject-verb pairings within the same clause. One action, "made," is performed by Tim, while the other action, "dance" is performed by the kids. There's nothing inherently wrong with this -- you probably didn't have any difficulty understanding what the sentence conveys.

If I write the sentence like this, "Tim is forcing his children to dance," I'm communicating the exact same information, but now it seems as though "to dance" functions as a modifier, describing what Tim forced his kids to do. So it doesn't really matter whether you want to think of "dance" as an action performed by the kids or as a modifier providing context for what Tim forced his children to do. The important thing is that it makes sense, and it shouldn't have jumped out as concrete error.

Same deal in (E):

Quote:
They have made human skin cells in a test tube behave ..
Show more
You can see "behave" as a modifier for what they forced the skin cells to do, or you can see it as an action performed by the skin cells. Either way, it seems fine.

Put another way, if you ever encounter a construction that seems questionable, and your first thought is, "can we do that?" but the sentence is logical, try not to use that construction as a decision point. There are simply too many valid ways to assemble a given sentence to absorb all of them.

I hope that helps!
User avatar
BLTN
User avatar
Joined: 25 Aug 2020
Last visit: 19 Dec 2022
Posts: 227
Own Kudos:
287
Given Kudos: 215
Posts: 227
Kudos: 287
Scientists say that by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune c 09 Jan 2021, 05:11
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
GMATNinja
Dear Charles,
could you elaborate why B is wrong?

Pursuant to your explanation, "that" can stand for article, signifying "that human skin cells" tantamount to "the human skin cells"

B) Scientists say that that human skin cells were to behave in a test tube as if they were

Thank you in advance.
User avatar
MBAB123
User avatar
Joined: 05 Jul 2020
Last visit: 30 Jul 2023
Posts: 529
Own Kudos:
319
Given Kudos: 150
GMAT 1: 720 Q49 V38
WE:Accounting (Accounting)
Products:
My Reviews
GMAT 1: 720 Q49 V38
Posts: 529
Kudos: 319
Scientists say that by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune c 18 Mar 2021, 20:21
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hey AndrewN , does option D also give an impression that somehow the test tube was performing the action of behaving by adding the word that after test tube. I get that there are other obvious reasons and that test tube is singular here.
avatar
AndrewN
avatar
Volunteer Expert
Joined: 16 May 2019
Last visit: 29 Mar 2025
Posts: 3,490
Own Kudos:
7,660
 [1]
Given Kudos: 500
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 3,490
Kudos: 7,660
 [1]
Scientists say that by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune c 19 Mar 2021, 04:46
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Brian123
Hey AndrewN , does option D also give an impression that somehow the test tube was performing the action of behaving by adding the word that after test tube. I get that there are other obvious reasons and that test tube is singular here.
Show more
Yes, Brian123, it can be jarring to read test tube that, which sets us up to believe that information about the test tube will follow, and then encounter were, a verb that requires us to jump back over the test tube to a plural noun instead. A careful reading of (D) should allow us to see past an interpretation that the test tube itself was behaving a certain way, but that does not mean that the sentence is clear or written well. If the doubts start to stack up on any given answer, you should probably go with a safer bet.

Thank you for thinking to ask me.

- Andrew
User avatar
Tanchat
User avatar
Joined: 31 Jan 2020
Last visit: 20 Jun 2023
Posts: 215
Own Kudos:
21
Given Kudos: 139
Posts: 215
Kudos: 21
Scientists say that by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune c 06 Apr 2021, 01:39
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
I read the answer in OG2020. In choice C. human skin cells in a test tube were made to behave as if.
OG told that human skin cells in a test tube were made is unnecessary and awkward. Why is passive voice here awkward
User avatar
EducationAisle
User avatar
Joined: 27 Mar 2010
Last visit: 21 Apr 2026
Posts: 3,903
Own Kudos:
3,585
 [3]
Given Kudos: 159
Location: India
Schools: ISB
GPA: 3.31
Expert
Expert reply
Schools: ISB
Posts: 3,903
Kudos: 3,585
 [3]
Scientists say that by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune c 06 Apr 2021, 05:31
3
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Tanchat
I read the answer in OG2020. In choice C. human skin cells in a test tube were made to behave as if.
OG told that human skin cells in a test tube were made is unnecessary and awkward. Why is passive voice here awkward
Show more
Hi Tanchat, there is obviously a modifier issue in C: by bathing the skin cells in extracts of immune cells should have modified Scientists, but it's actually nonsensically modifying human skin cells.

Also, the passive voice human skin cells in a test tube were made to behave does not tell us who made human skin cells behave this way. E uses active voice to clearly indicate that scientists made human skin cells behave this way.
 1   2   3   
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7391 posts
AbhishekP220108
494 posts
bhanu29
358 posts