While all states face similar industrial waste problems, the predomina

Question

While  all states face similar industrial waste problems, the predominating industries and regulatory environment of the states obviously determines  the types and amounts of waste produced, as well as the cost of disposal.

(A) all states face similar industrial waste problems, the predominating industries and regulatory environment of the states obviously determines

(B) each state faces a similar industrial waste problem, their predominant industries and regulatory environment obviously determine

(C) all states face a similar industrial waste problem: their predominating industries and regulatory environment obviously determines

(D) each state faces similar industrial waste problems, the predominant industries and regulatory environment of each state obviously determines

(E) all states face similar industrial waste problems, the predominant industries and the regulatory environment of each state obviously determine

sdrandom1 · Accepted Answer

While all states face similar industrial waste problems, the predominating industries and the regulatory environment of the states obviously determines the types and amounts of waste produced, as well as the cost of disposal.

A. all states face similar industrial waste problems, the predominating industries and the regulatory environment of the states obviously  determines  -  the verb "determines" is singular while the subject is plural - "the predominating industries and the regulatory environment ". Hence S+V don't agree in number. 
B. each state faces a similar industrial waste problem,  their  predominant industries and regulatory environment obviously determine -  "their" is plural but the subject is "each state" which is singular. Again S+V disagreement in number 
C. all states face a similar industrial waste problem; their predominating industries and regulatory environment obviously determines -  unnecessary semicolon. 
D. each state faces similar industrial waste problem, the predominant industries and the regulatory environment of each state obviously determines  - same explanation as A 
E. all states face similar industrial waste problems, the predominant industries and the regulatory environment of each state obviously determine - Everything is correct.  "Determine" is plural and agrees with plural subject "the predominant industries and the regulatory environment "

I think the answer should be E. What is the OA please?

sayantanc2k · Answer

Although there is no S-V error, option D is wrong because of meaning issues:

Each has a different problem.. correct. ( Problem of X is different from problem of Y. Problem of X is different from problem of Z, problem of Z is different from problem of X . .. meaning is clear)
All have similar problems .... correct. (Problem of X, problem of Y and problem of Z are all similar........ meaning is clear)
Each has a similar problem...awkward (Problem of X is similar....similar to what is not clear, since only one problem is referred to in the sentence).

In general, "different" works for "each" ; "similar" works for "all".

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem: 
Understanding the intended meaning of this sentence is key to solving the question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that all states face similar industrial waste problems, but the predominant industries and the regulatory environment of each state obviously determine the types and amounts of waste produced, as well as the cost of disposal.

Concepts tested here: Subject-Verb Agreement + Meaning + Grammatical Constructions + Pronouns

• Commas are used to join dependent clauses to independent clauses, and colons are used to join two independent clauses when the second explains or illustrates the first.

A:  This answer choice incorrectly refers to the plural noun phrase "the predominating industries and regulatory environment" with the singular verb "determines".

B:  This answer choice suffers from a pronoun error, as the plural pronoun "their" lacks a clear and logical referent. Further, Option B alters the meaning of the sentence through the clause "each state faces a similar industrial waste problem"; the construction of this clause incorrectly implies that there is   one   similar industrial waste problem that all states face; the intended meaning is that all states face   multiple  , similar industrial waste problems.

C:  This answer choice incorrectly refers to the plural noun phrase "their predominating industries and regulatory environment" with the singular verb "determines". Further, Option C alters the meaning of the sentence through the clause "all states face a similar industrial waste problem"; the construction of this clause incorrectly implies that there is   one   similar industrial waste problem that all states face; the intended meaning is that all states face   multiple  , similar industrial waste problems. Additionally, Option C incorrectly uses a colon to join the dependent clause "While all states face a similar industrial waste problem" to the independent clause "their predominating industries and regulatory environment obviously determines the types and amounts of waste produced, as well as the cost of disposal"; remember, commas are used to join dependent clauses to independent clauses, and colons are used to join two independent clauses when the second explains or illustrates the first.

D:  This answer choice incorrectly refers to the plural noun phrase "the predominating industries and regulatory environment" with the singular verb "determines".

E:   Correct.  This answer choice correctly refers to the plural noun phrase "the predominant industries and the regulatory environment" with the plural verb "determine". Further, Option E uses the clause "all states face similar industrial waste problems", conveying the intended meaning - that all states face   multiple  , similar industrial waste problems. Additionally, Option E correctly uses a comma to join the dependent clause "While all states face similar industrial waste problems" to the independent clause "the predominant industries and the regulatory environment of each state obviously determine the types and amounts of waste produced, as well as the cost of disposal". Besides, Option E avoids the pronoun error seen in Options B and C, as it uses no pronouns.

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

To understand the use of punctuations on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~9 minutes):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWwVPnWryBM

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

bmwhype2 · Answer

While  all states face similar industrial waste problems, the  predominating industries  and  regulatory environment  of the states obviously  determines   the types and amounts of waste produced, as well as the cost of disposal.

predominating industries AND regulatory environment.... determine
Therefore, ACD are wrong.

B is wrong in that  their  refers back to  each state .  each  state  is singular and  their  is plural.

Therefore, E is correct.

daagh · Answer

Two - step solution; 1. ‘ Determines ’ is wrong- ACD are gone. In B,  each state  and the pronoun ‘ their’  do not tally. Hence, E is correct

whamberto · Answer

I have chosen E for the answer:

The main point of this sentence is to compare the industrial problems that "ALL STATES" have with the industries and regulatory environment of "EACH STATE."

A. There is SV agreement error here. The subject of the sentence is the compound subject "The predominating industries and the regulatory environment." Therefore, the plural verb "determine" must be used for agreement. Also, the answer has omitted "each state." This leads to some confusion because we are trying to compare what occurs in "all states" to what occurs in "each state."

B. The pronoun "their" does not have an antecedent because "each state" is singular.

C. There is subject verb agreement error here - the plural subject and singular "determines" do not agree. Also, the use of the semicolon creates a fragment because "while" introduces a subordinate clause, which must be connected to an independent clause.

D. Again, we have subject verb agreement error here.

E. This sentence accurately describes the contrast between "all states" and "each state." Also, the plural subject and plural verb are in agreement.

daagh · Answer

IMO ‘problems’ should be ok with similar

Similar is a comparison marker. Similar to what is the question. There must be more than one factor if one wants to use similar.

If there was only one problem, then it would be more appropriate to use the term ‘the same’ as in “all the states or each state faces the same problem”.

Please note that the article ‘the’ refers to a single item.

DeepikaV · Answer

hi,

is choice D right answer, without subject-verb error?

jjindal · Answer

Just a quick doubt, what is the subject in 'their predominating industries and regulatory environment obviously determines'.

A quick word would be appreciated. 
Thanks in advance.

EducationAisle · Answer

Hi jjindal,  predominating industries and regulatory environment  is the subject, and it is a plural subject.

zoezhuyan · Answer

any expert can help me solve the SVA problem

IMO, I can understand that compound subject need a plural verb, 
eg: Lin and Guy drive to work, (MANHATTAN P 43),
but this case,
although compound subject is connect by "and", I view "the predominant industries and the regulatory environment " as a singular subject, because it is a group , "of each state" is modifier, it means each state has the group issue, so the subject is singular noun, that's why I pick up D rather than E.

please point out my fault

thanks in advance
have a nice day
>_~

sayantanc2k · Answer

Each state has multiple  predominant industries . Each state has one regulatory environment as well. Although  each state  is singular, the industries within the state is plural. Moreover when you add "environment" to the already plural "industries", it becomes even  more plural  . Consider this way: The industries and the environment of state X .... this is a plural subject.

sthakur24 · Answer

In E, is there a subject-Verb Error between 'All states' and 'problems' ?? 
Shouldn't it be 'problem' ?? :/

Where am i wrong??

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi  sthakur24 ,

Problems  is a noun, not a verb.

...  all  states    face  similar industrial waste problems...

Here  face  is the verb for  all states .

anbknaga · Answer

C - Why is it unnecessary semicolon. Both the clauses are independent and it is correct to join them using a semicolon right? Only the verb usage is wrong here.
Can anyone tell me if i am correct?

daagh · Answer

anbk
 cool. cool, please. The problem is the haste with which you are handling the problem. Please see the original script and you will find that you have ignored the word 'while' in the non-underlined part, which is common for all the choices That is the reason you feel both are independent clauses. However, the first is a dependent clause. Therefore the use of a semicolon is ungrammatical in C. 
 I hope you can see the point.

StarTrooper · Answer

Hello  sayantanc2k 
Option D has an S-V error in the latter part of the underlined portion - "determines" is a singular verb for the plural subject "the predominant industries and regulatory environment" .

TBT · Answer

"the predominant industries and regulatory environment of each state obviously determines" in option D does presence of each before determines makes it correct? or the subject is still p and r?

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Hello  TBT ,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, in Option D the subject is still the plural noun phrase "the predominant industries and regulatory environment", making the use of the singular verb "determines" incorrect.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team

While all states face similar industrial waste problems, the predomina

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While all states face similar industrial waste problems, the predomina

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