The growing demand for housing, traffic congestion, and longer commuti

the subject is plural as we are talking about 3 things "yoddy...yoddy,and yoddy", hence we have to use plural verb "have"

OA is D.

option e is wrong because we are talking about 3 things here: the growing demand for housing,traffic congestion and longer commuting trips and as well as is used only for 2 things.

ABC are wrong because of S-V agreement

down to D and E

E is wrong because it dictates a singular subject.

a subject along with "as well as" implies singular , so it should had been 'has'

D has three subjects ,so plural verb 'have'or by POE it closes down to D only.

-h

My questions is : Why (E) is wrong? Can we always say that as well as is used for two things and not for more ? Is that a suitable explanation in our case?

Hi Anestists, E uses the additive as well as. The rule is:

When the subject is separated from the verb by expressions such as along with, together with, as well as, in addition to, besides etc., ignore these expressions to determine whether the subject is singular or plural.

So, in E, the subject is growing demand (singular) and hence, the plural verb have is incorrect.

E also has a comparison ambiguity issue, since E can be interpreted as:

The growing demand for housing, as well as (for) traffic congestion and longer commuting trips, have all but eliminated the cost advantage of owning a house in many rural communities.

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses these issues with Subject Verb agreement, its application and examples in significant detail. If someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.

But don't you think a preposition 'for' is required before Traffic Congestion in option E to make is parallel.
The growing demand for housing, as well as for traffic congestion
'Have' is used coz the growing demand..... and longer commuting trips

Hi Manish, responding on behalf of daagh sir.

The way you've articulated the sentence would convey that there is a growing demand for traffic congestion.

That is not the intended meaning of the sentence (who would demand traffic congestion?).

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Ohh. I did not notice that part in this option. You are right. Thanks

The growing demand for housing, traffic congestion,
and longer commuting trips has all but eliminated
the cost advantage of owning a house in many rural
communities.

(A) The growing demand for housing, traffic congestion, and longer commuting trips has --> not parallel
(B) Traffic congestion, the growing demand for housing, and longer commuting trips has
(C) Longer commuting trips, traffic congestion, and the growing demand for housing has
(D) Traffic congestion, longer commuting trips, and the growing demand for housing have --> correct
(E) The growing demand for housing, as well as traffic congestion and longer commuting trips, have

Here's the official explanation provided by the GMAC for this question:

This sentence describes how three factors–traffic congestion, longer commuting trips, and the growing demand for housing–affect rural housing costs. The noun phrases denoting these three factors must be clearly distinguished to avoid implying that there is a growing demand for traffic congestion and for longer commuting trips as well as for housing. The main auxiliary verb has or have must agree with the singular or plural grammatical subject of the sentence.

Option A: The subject The growing demand for housing, traffic congestion, and longer commuting trips, combined with the singular verb form has, oddly indicates that there is a single, unified growing demand for housing, for traffic congestion, and for longer commuting trips--clearly not the intended meaning.

Option B: The plural compound subject Traffic congestion, the growing demand for housing, and longer commuting trips does not agree with the singular verb form has.

Option C: The plural compound subject Longer commuting trips, traffic congestion, and the growing demand for housing does not agree with the singular verb form has.

Option D: Correct. The plural compound subject Traffic congestion, longer commuting trips, and the growing demand for housing agrees with the plural verb form have. The compound subject is worded to unambiguously distinguish between the three factors it lists.

Option E: The singular grammatical subject here is simply The growing demand for housing, which does not agree with the plural verb form have. The parenthetical phrase as well as traffic congestion and longer commuting times does not make the grammatical subject plural. The as well as construction is unnecessarily wordy.

The correct answer is D.

Please note that I'm not the author of this explanation. I'm just posting it here since I believe it can help the community.

(A) The growing demand for housing, traffic congestion, and longer commuting trips has -- "has". SV error. 3 elements in the list require a plural verb since that verb describes the action by 3 different subjects.

(B) Traffic congestion, the growing demand for housing, and longer commuting trips has -- Same as A.

(C) Longer commuting trips, traffic congestion, and the growing demand for housing has -- Same as A.

(D) Traffic congestion, longer commuting trips, and the growing demand for housing have -- No problem

(E) The growing demand for housing, as well as traffic congestion and longer commuting trips, have -- A as well as B and C. Incorrect construction construction. This would have been right had B&C been a compound subject but they're not.

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