In 1978 only half the women granted child support by a court received

Question

In 1978 only half the women granted child support by a court received the amount awarded;  at least as much as a million and more others had not any  support agreements whatsoever.

(A) at least as much as a million and more others had not any

(B) at least as much as more than a million others had no

(C) more than a million others had not any

(D) more than a million others had no

(E) there was at least a million or more others without any

The Official Guide for GMAT Review, 10th Edition, 2003

Practice Question  
Question No.: SC 59
Page: 662

https://www.nytimes.com/1983/04/29/opinion/women-s-issues-are-american-issues.html

In 1978, only half the women granted child support by a court received the full amount;  more than a million others had no  support agreements whatsoever. In 1979, only 14 percent of all divorced or separated women had any award or agreement to receive alimony or maintenance money; of that already small percentage, 3 of 10 never actually received it. A broken marriage significantly increases a white mother's chances for economic hardship and, given the income differential between white and black families, virtually guarantees it for a black mother.

TraderAK · Accepted Answer

Answer D

(A) "much" for countable things is wrong; usage of "had not" signifies "had" as a verb. "had" should have meaning of possessive.
(B) "much" for countable things is wrong
(C) usage of "had not" signifies "had" as a verb. "had" should have meaning of possessive
(D) 
(E) "at least" and "more" redundant.

GMATNinja · Answer

Unfortunately the issue with (C) is largely idiomatic. Consider some simple examples:

"Tim had any money in the piggy bank."  - Not okay
 "Tim had some money in the piggy bank."  - Okay
 "Tim had no money in the piggy bank."  - Okay
 "Tim did not have any money in the piggy bank."  - Okay

Here are some similar examples that look a bit more like what we have in this question:

"The women had any support agreements."  - Not okay... and (C) has the same incorrect structure (the only difference is the "not", which makes the verb negative). 
 "The women had some support agreements."  - Okay
 "The women had no support agreements."  - Okay... and this is pretty much what we get in (D).
 "The women did not have any support agreements."  - Okay

Another problem with the "had not" in (C) is that it causes the reader to anticipate a past perfect verb. For example:

"Tim had not finished getting dressed when his Zoom meeting began."

"Had not" anticipates a participle ("finished") to complete the past perfect verb ("had finished").

So, the "had not any" in (C) is not idiomatic and, more importantly, it's confusing. That makes (D) a better choice.

Also, keep in mind that this question is OLD. Probably older than most people reading this thread. So don't lose too much sleep over it.

I hope that helps a bit!

success4sure · Answer

In 1978 only half the women granted child support by a court received the amount awarded; at least as much as a million and more others had not any support agreements whatsoever. 
(A) at least  as much as  a million and more others had not any
  should be many 
(B) at least  as much as  more than a million others had no  should be many 
(C) more than a million others had not any 
(D) more than a million others had no 
(E) there was at least a million or more others without any 
  should be were at least 

Between C and D..go with D as it is better than C.

success4sure · Answer

hurray,,ur snap is threat to my concentration.. somehow i cant stop laughing..

rishi2377 · Answer

A. at least.....as much as a million and more others. (Redundant. Same expressionsused twice )
B.same as above. (porblem of redundancy)
E.  there was at least a million or more ....again same problem.


so it cut downto C and D
Dscores cause "had no support" is far better than "had not any support"

sreehari1250 · Answer

IMo D

A) At least as much as is unidiomatic and awakward
B) Same as Above
C) More than solves the problem in above two but the "had not any" not clrealy represents the women those don't have the support agreements
D) Simplea and clearly mention the women, don't have the support agreements
E) "Million or more others" doesn't represent the other set of the group who don't have s.a

OA plz??

raghupara · Answer

Hi people,

I am quite happy with D, as the best answer.

But, I always think that the sentence after a semicolon, should be actually independent. Considering all other choice, though i hate the "there" in E, the 2nd half of the sentence stands as an independent sentence. So, I'm forced to preach 'E' here

?

Could someone throw light here?

? Could someone throw light here?

tuanquang269 · Answer

More than million is the correct usage. Although I choose D, it is always "have no" is better than "have not any". I choose base one the shortest sentence, which is preferred in GMAT.

nechets · Answer

Your reasoning seems accurate to the question at hand, but you can also dump answer (e) because of redundancy. The usage of "at least" and "more than" is redundant. Also, the usage of "any" and "whatsoever" is redundant.

I hope it helps,

sivasanjeev · Answer

One of the functions of a semicolon is to link two independent   clauses   closely connected in idea.

In, option D,  more than a million  others   had  no support  agreements   whatsoever   is a clause and is related in idea to the preceding clause. Also note that a semicolon can link clauses connected by  conjunctive adverbs  or transitional phrases

Usage of semicolon seems proper.

ydmuley · Answer

I will do with D

A and B - Usage of much is incorrect
C - usage of not any is incorrect
E - wordy and awkward

D is CORRECT IMO

CrackverbalGMAT · Answer

We need only look at the options to figure out the right answer in no time!

This question tests your understanding of verb agreement and redundancy.

The errors are highlighted in red:

(A) at least as  much  as a million and more others  had not  any

(B) at least as  much  as more than a million others had no

(C) more than a million others  had not  any

(D)  more than a million others had no

(E) there was  at least  a million or  more  others without any

Options A  and  C  use ‘had not’ which is incorrect. Plus, A has ‘much’ for a countable noun which is also incorrect.

Options B  and  E  use ‘more’ and ‘at least’ which is confusing and incorrect.

Eliminate Options A, B, C, and E.

Option D is the best choice.

Hope this helps!

h31337u · Answer

In 1978 only half the women granted child support by a court received the amount awarded; at least as much as a million and more others had not any support agreements whatsoever.

(A) at least as much as a million and more others had not any
—> “more” needs “than”
—> not any does not make sense

(B) at least as much as more than a million others had no
—> as much as more is wrong.

(C) more than a million others had not any
—> not any seems double negative.

(D) more than a million others had no
—> correct

(E) there was at least a million or more others without any
—> necessarily wordy.
—> more needs “than”

mba757 · Answer

What is the precise reason "had not" is wrong within answer choices A and C? Does it change the meaning? Does "had not" need to refer to a verb?

AliciaSierra · Answer

Hello GMATNinja,

In this sentence does "at least as much as a million and more" represent all women?

ramlala · Answer

Hi  AliciaSierra ,

"at least as much as a million and more" shall not represents all women.

Here we can use Either "at least million" (as much as shall not be used for countable things) or "more than a million" because we don't know total number of women.

I hope it may help you.

Teitsuya · Answer

Hi CrackVerbalGMAT,

Can you elaborate more "had not is incorrect"?
why?

Sneha2021 · Answer

Hi Experts,

VeritasKarishma   GMATNinja 
(C) more than a million others had not any
(D) more than a million others had no

What's the difference between "had no" and "had not any" in D & E? 
The usage in D sounds familiar but I am looking for a good reason to reject C

Thanks!

SUV0508 · Answer

Should "NO" always be succeeded by a plural noun?

In 1978 only half the women granted child support by a court received

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

In 1978 only half the women granted child support by a court received

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