While the relative costs of concrete and steel are a predominant consi

Question

While the relative costs of concrete and steel are a predominant consideration in the design of a skyscraper,  of no less importance to civil engineers is the time needed to fabricate the structural elements  and the distance of the project site from the production sites of the raw materials.

A. of no less importance to civil engineers is the time needed to fabricate the structural elements

B. of no less importance to civil engineers are the time needed to fabricate the structural elements

C. of equal civil-engineering importance are the time in which the structural elements are fabricated

D. for a civil engineer, of no less importance are how long it takes to fabricate the structural elements

E. of equal importance to a civil engineer is the amount of time needed for fabricating the structural elements

Bunuel · Accepted Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

While the relative costs of concrete and steel are a predominant consideration in the design of a skyscraper,  of no less importance to civil engineers is the time needed to fabricate the structural elements  and the distance of the project site from the production sites of the raw materials.

A. of no less importance to civil engineers is the time needed to fabricate the structural elements

Incorrect.

This answer choice is grammatically incorrect. The singular verb  is  does not agree with the plural subject  the time needed...and the distance, etc .

What helps you identify this question as a Subject Verb Agreement question as well as identify the mistake are the following Stop Signs:

Verb precedes subject

and

Plural subject built of singular nouns connected by and

B. of no less importance to civil engineers are the time needed to fabricate the structural elements

This answer choice corrects the Subject Verb Agreement mistake in the original question by changing the singular verb  is  to the plural verb  are .

C. of equal civil-engineering importance are the time in which the structural elements are fabricated

Incorrect.

While this answer choice corrects the Subject Verb Agreement mistake in the original question by changing the singular verb  is  to the plural verb  are , it is stylistically flawed.

The phrase  civil-engineering importance  is awkward and changes the meaning of the original sentence. The importance of an issue for the professionals -  civil engineers  - may be different from the  importance  of the issue for the profession or discipline of  civil-engineering .

Also, the phrase  in which the structural elements are fabricated  is stylistically inferior because it unnecessarily changes the noun phrase  time needed for the fabrication, etc . into a passive sentence.

What helps you identify this question as a Subject Verb Agreement question as well as identify the mistake are the following Stop Signs:

Verb precedes subject

and

Plural subject built of singular nouns connected by  and

D. for a civil engineer, of no less importance are how long it takes to fabricate the structural elements

Incorrect.

While this answer choice corrects the Subject Verb Agreement mistake in the original sentence, by changing the singular verb  is  to the plural verb  are , it introduces a Parallelism mistake which makes it grammatically incorrect. The construction A and B requires that A and B belong to the same part of speech. In this answer choice, B is a noun ( distance ) whereas A is a complete clause ( how long it takes ).

E. of equal importance to a civil engineer is the amount of time needed for fabricating the structural elements

Incorrect.

This answer choice repeats the Subject Verb Agreement mistake in the original sentence. The singular verb  is  does not agree with the plural subject t he amount of time needed...and the distance, etc.

In addition, the phrase  amount of time needed  in the corrected sentence is wordy. It is not necessary to use the words  amount of  -- the phrase  time needed  expresses the same meaning.

zhanbo · Answer

My answer is (B). It took me 01:30.

(A) In this sentence, the main clause is inverted. Without inversion, it should read as:
the time needed to fabricate the structural elements and the distance of the project site from the production sites of the raw materials   is   of no less importance to civil engineers.
It is clear that "is" should be "are".

(B) "are" is used. Keep for now.

(C) "are" is also used. Keep for now.

(D) "are" is used, but "how long it takes to fabricate the structural elements" are not in parallel with "the distance of the project site from the production sites of the raw materials". Eliminated
(E) "are" is not used. Eliminated.

Between (B) and (C), “B” is more in parallel with "the distance of the project site from the production sites of the raw materials". What's more, "of equal civil-engineering importance" is too creative a writing to win over (B).

I picked (B) at last.

100mitra · Answer

Correct Answer B

Sentence Exam on:
- SV Agreement 
- Parallelism 
- Intended meaning

Option A  
While the relative   costs   of concrete and steel   are   a predominant consideration in the design of a skyscraper, 
 of no less importance to   civil engineers     is   
 the time  needed to fabricate the structural elements  and 
 the distance  of the project site from the production sites of the raw materials.
  Wrong:   
- SV Agreement

Option B 
While the relative   costs   of concrete and steel   are   a predominant consideration in the design of a skyscraper,
 of no less importance to   civil engineers     are   
 the time  needed to fabricate the structural elements  and 
 the distance  of the project site from the production sites of the raw materials.
   Correct

Option C  
While the relative   costs   of concrete and steel   are   a predominant consideration in the design of a skyscraper,
  of  equal civil-engineering   importance   are   
  the time in which  the structural elements are fabricated   and 
 the distance  of the project site from the production sites of the raw materials.
  Wrong:   
- SV agreement 
- Parallelsim Error 
- Intended Meaning flaw

Option D  
While the relative   costs   of concrete and steel   are   a predominant consideration in the design of a skyscraper,
 for a civil engineer,  ............ 
  of no less importance are how long it takes to   fabricate the structural elements  and 
 the distance  of the project site from the production sites of the raw materials.
  Wrong:   
- SV agreement 
- Parallelsim Error 
- Intended Meaning flaw

Option E 
While the relative   costs   of concrete and steel   are   a predominant consideration in the design of a skyscraper,
 of   equal importance to a civil engineer     is   
 the amount of  time needed for fabricating the structural elements  and 
 the distance of  the project site from the production sites of the raw materials.
  Wrong:   
- SV agreement 
- Parallelsim Error 
- Intended Meaning flaw

sivatx2 · Answer

A. of no less importance to  civil engineers is  the time needed to fabricate the structural elements 
 "civil engineers(plural) is(singular)" don't agree. Eliminate

B. of no less importance to  civil engineers are  the time needed to fabricate the structural elements 
 The problem in option A is fixed and there is no other flaws. Keep

C. of equal civil-engineering  importance are  the time in which the structural elements are fabricated 
 'importance(singular) are(plural)'don't agree. Eliminate

D. for a civil engineer, of no less  importance are  how long it takes to fabricate the structural elements 
 'importance(singular) are(plural)'don't agree. Eliminate

E. of equal importance to a civil engineer is the  amount  of time needed for fabricating the structural elements 
 'amount of time' amount is unnecessary and redundant in this choice. Eliminate

So B is the best answer choice.

aishu0091 · Answer

I got this answer wrong but from my understanding these are the following reasons why answer choice (B) is correct:

While the relative costs of concrete and steel are a predominant consideration in the design of a skyscraper,  of no less importance to civil engineers is the time needed to fabricate the structural elements  and the distance of the project site from the production sites of the raw materials.

of no less importance to civil engineers is  the time  needed to fabricate the structural elements  
and  the distance  of the project site from the production sites of the raw materials
Here there are 2 subjects- Time and distance. 
Considering this we need to use the plural verb 'are'. 
X and Y are going shopping. 
While the relative costs of concrete and steel are a predominant consideration in the design of a skyscraper,  Time and distance are  of no less importance to civil engineers.

A. of no less importance to civil engineers is the time needed to fabricate the structural elements - Eliminate as wrong verb 'is'

B. of no less importance to civil engineers are the time needed to fabricate the structural elements' - keep looks good.

C. of equal civil-engineering importance are the time in which the structural elements are fabricated- I've read through the other answers, but the first thing that came to mind was that civil engineering is kind of an adjective here and the noun is importance but importance to who? so it didn't really make sense to keep this as an option. (If anyone sees this, please let me know if this is even correct, thanks!) - Eliminate

D. for a civil engineer, of no less importance are how long it takes to fabricate the structural elements- does not seem correct because it would make more sense to use the words 'to' in this sentence to indicate purpose than for. The goal is to design a skyscraper. (Again, it could be incorrect) Further, importance is singular noun so it should be followed by the verb 'is' and not 'and' -eliminate

E. of equal importance to a civil engineer is the amount of time needed for fabricating the structural elements - we don't need to use amount of time here. we can use the noun in its standard form as distance is in its standard noun form. - eliminate

Learnt quite a bit with this question!

VerbalBot · Answer

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