SC- Subject/Verb/Pronoun Agreement

Question 1

T or F:
Almost like clones in their similarity to one another, the cheetah species is especially vulnerable to disease because of its homogeneity

Answer 1

F.
verb “is” doesn’t match “their” & plural “clones”

Question 2

T or F: The Neanderthals appear to be equipped to face any obstacle.

Answer 2

F
Here, to be equipped (present infinitive) implies that the Neanderthals are equipped - in the PRESENT – Since the Neanderthals no longer exist, this meaning is nonsensical.
Fix: The Neanderthals appear to have been equipped to face any obstacle

Question 3

T or F: This sentence doesn’t have Subject-Verb agreement correctly
Soaring rates of liability insurance are a force for cutbacks in the operation

Answer 3

F.
Soaring rates = a force is okay.

Question 4

T or F:
As virtually all the nation’s 50 busiest airports are, NY’s were built for an age of propellers

Answer 4

F.
Verb tense is not parallel: are vs were

Question 5

what are some verb constructions that express a hypothetical action in the past?

Answer 5

would + have + participle
might + have + participle

Question 6

T or F. Why hasn’t Congress mandated that the total premium cost are shown as wages on every pay stub but not taxed?

Answer 6

F.
Congress = Mandate is a subjunctive mood verb -> “ infinitive form” after subject
Fix: “total premium cost be shown as wages”

Question 7

What one learns from mistakes (is/are) resilience, will power and courage.

Answer 7

is.
Whenever (noun) clause acts as a subject of the sentence, it is always SINGULAR in GMAT irrespective of whether the verb refers to a singular/plural noun or objects after the verb

Question 8

T or F: Their compliance with laws requiring that turtle-excluder devices be on shrimp nets protect adult sea turtles

Answer 8

F
The plural verb protect doesn’t agree with the singular subject compliance although “their” is a plural pronoun of compliance

Question 9

T or F: Whereas the owner of a condominium apartment has free and clear title to the dwelling, owners of cooperative apartments have shares in a corporation that owns a building and leases apartments to them.

Answer 9

F
it’s incorrect to compare a single owner of a condominium with owners of cooperative apartments.

Question 10

What’s wrong with this sentence?

“Because they are now so heavily plundered in deserts in the southwestern USA, enforcement agencies in five states have created special squads to protect cacti”

Answer 10

“enforcement agencies” are not in the right position - “they” meant to modify “cacti” so “cacti” has to follow after the coma to avoid the ambiguity

Question 11

T or F: These days, the market for articles written by a professional writer, by bloggers and by individual users is expanding rapidly.

Answer 11

F.
the plurality is not parallel between “a professional writer” and “bloggers”

Question 12

Point out the plurals disagreement:
Compact disc manufacturers are attempting to find a replacement for the disposable plastic boxes in which they package their product.

Answer 12

a replacement for the disposable plastic box (not boxes)

Question 13

What do we use Past Perfect Continuous Tense for?

Answer 13

to show an action started in the past and continued until another time in the past
i.e: She had been working at that company for three years when it went out of business.
How long had you been waiting to get on the bus?

Question 14

What do we use Present Perfect Continuous Tense for?

Answer 14

This is used to denote an action that started in the past and continues into the present.

Question 15

T or F: the phrase “By the time X, Y” indicates a time shift. At least one verb must shift to reflect that time shift.

Answer 15

T

Question 16

T or F:
The scientific community remains divided on whether significant warming will occur and what impact will it have if it does.

Answer 16

F - 1) “If it does” is redundant because we already “whether” and “will”
2) hypothetical scenarios for imagining something could happen require “would have”
Fix: …. and “what impact it would have [if it occurred] “

Question 17

To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic determinants of fertility.
(A) have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic
(B) have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical
(C) would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical
(D) would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economic
(E) would have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic

Answer 17

1) Quickly eliminate A & B because LP requires hypothetical situation
2) Eliminate C due to change of meaning - “economical”
3) Between D&E, prefer D) for better clarity

Question 18

T or F: “do” & “unveiled” is not parallel in this sentence

Much as modern day astronomers do, ancient cartographers unveiled vast swaths of areas of which they faintly had any notion

Answer 18

F
due to the indicator “modern day”, “do” is the right verb tense

Question 19

T or F: An avid proponent of the back-to-nature movement, he was intent on living in a remote, uninhabited area where little water or services were available.

Answer 19

F- “little” quantifier doesn’t agree with plural “services”
Fix: where little water or fewer services were available

Question 20

I am unable to forgive a man who fails to return a book he had taken from my shelf.

A. to return a book he had taken from my shelf.
B. returning a book he had taken from my shelf.
C. to return a book he had taken out from my shelf.
D. to return a book he has taken from my shelf.
E. to return a book he took from my shelf.

Answer 20

1) Grammatically we can eliminate A,B & C
2) Due to LP, the sentence indicates a statement that has been true for him/her/them -> Choose D

Question 21

Should the Republican Party become the minority party, its ability to win a presidential election is determined by the number of Democratic and Independent voters it attracts.

A - its ability to win a presidential election is determined by the number of Democratic and Independent voters it attracts.
B - the number of Democratic and Independent voters it attracts will determine its ability to win a presidential election
C - its ability to win a presidential election has been determined by the number of Democratic and Independent voters it attracts.
D - the number of Democratic and Independent voters it attracts determined its ability to win a presidential election
E - the number of Democratic and Independent voters it would have attracted determines its ability to win a presidential election

Answer 21

1) Eliminate C, D due to wrong tense
2) Eliminate E due to meaning
3) prefer B to A due to intended meaning of hypothetical situation

Question 22

T or F:
Pennsylvania Governor William Keith Encouraged the Young Benjamin Franklin to Open His Own Shop printing Because he Perceived That the quality of printing in Philadelphia was poor

Answer 22

Pronoun ambiguity - which antecedent “he” refers to? Governor or young Benjamin Franklin?
Fix: Because he perceived the quality of printing in Philadelphia was poor, Pennsylvania Governor Willian Keith encouraged the young BF to open his own shop printing

Question 23

T or F:
Scientists have recently analyzed glass spherules that were created by the meteor impact near the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and have concluded that the infamous meteor arrived 300,000 years too early to kill the dinosaurs.

Answer 23

F - to kill = present participle is incorrect because meteor killed dinosaurs
Fix: to have killed = past participle

Question 24

The teacher gave example of the great personalities to show that everyone must be held responsible for their actions.

(A) to show that everyone must be held responsible for their actions.
(E) to show that everyone must be held responsible for his actions.

Answer 24

Neither is incorrect: the plural noun they and related form them, their & theirs are sometimes used as a nonspecific, genderless ways of referring to a singular person (OG 2021 p.723)
i.e: Somebody left their notebook on the conference table

Question 25

Every conservative candidate except Smith and she was defeated in the primary election

A. except Smith and she
B. except Smith and her
C. excepting Smith and she
D. but not she and Smith
E. outside of her and Smith

Answer 25

1) Quickly eliminate C,D &E due to incorrect idiom
2) except acts as modifier so pronoun “her” is rather a correct form than “she”

Question 26

the slew of U.S. government programs vs a slew of US government programs

Answer 26

1) “the” acts as subject, so it requires singular verbs
2) “a” acts as a modifier for programs, which needs plural verbs

Question 27

T or F: Quetzalcoatlus had a wingspan of 36 feet, believed to be the largest flying creature the world has ever seen

Answer 27

F - verb form agreement
since the creature already ceased to exist, believed to have been (past participle) is a correct form

Question 28

Judicial rules in many states require that the identities of all prosecution witnesses are made known to defendants so that they can attempt to rebut the testimony, but the Constitution explicitly requires only that the defendant have the opportunity to confront an accuser in court.

(A) that the identities of all prosecution witnesses be made known to defendants so that they can attempt to rebut
(B) making known to defendants the identities of all prosecution witnesses so that they can attempt to rebut

Answer 28

(A) is correct
Reason: without relative pronoun that , they can ambiguously refer to judicial rules
–> Lesson: After relative pronoun that, the subsequent clauses are treated separately from the main subject

i.e: The plot centers on the rivalry that develops between Olive Chancellor and Basil Ransom, when they find themselves drawn to the sam radiant young woman

Question 29

The physical structure of the human eye enables it to sense light of wavelengths up to 0.0005 millimeters; infrared radiation, however, is invisible because its wavelength— 0.1 millimeters—is too long to be registered by the eye.

(A) infrared radiation, however, is invisible because its wavelength—0.1 millimeters—is too long to be registered by the eye
(B) however, the wavelength of infrared radiation—0.1 millimeters—is too long to be registered by the eye making it invisible
(C) infrared radiation, however, is invisible because its wavelength—0.1 millimeters—is too long for the eye to register it
(D) however, because the wavelength of infrared radiation is 0.1 millimeters, it is too long for the eye to register and thus invisible
(E) however, infrared radiation has a wavelength of 0.1 millimeters that is too long for the eye to register, thus making it invisible

Answer 29

1) Eliminate B, C & E due to potential ambiguity of it: infrared radiation or wavelength?
2) D changes the meaning of sentence: wavelength is too long and thus invisble (when the sentence means infrared radiation is invisible)
3) A is the correct anắner

Lesson: Pronoun ambiguity & Logical Predication

Question 30

T or F: them is incorrect pronoun
The number of stars in the universe was unknown until scientists developed highly advance mathematic techniques to quantify them

Answer 30

T - since the subject is about the number of stars that scientists wants to quantify. the use of pronoun they referring to stars is illogical.
Fix: The number of stars…..to quantify it

Question 31

T or F: It should be broadcasts - singular instead of plural broadcast

Although it claims to delve into political issues, television can be superficial, as when the three major networks each broadcast exactly the same statement from a political candidate.

Answer 31

F - Since each is a modifer for three major networks and not a subject, plural verb form broadcast is correct

Question 32

In December of 1987 an automobile manufacturer pleaded no contest to criminal charges of odometer tampering and agreed to pay more than $16 million in civil damages for cars that were test-driven with their odometers disconnected.

(A) cars that were test-driven with their odometers disconnected
(B) cars that it had test-driven with their disconnected odometers
(C) its cars having been test-driven with disconnected odometers
(D) having test-driven cars with their odometers disconnected
(E) having cars that were test-driven with disconnected odometers

Answer 32

Lesson: Understand the intended meaning is crucial to get the correct answer: The automobile manufacturer agreed to pay fine FOR THE ACTION , not THE CARS

1) Eliminate A, B & C
2) E has incorrect present infinitive having
3) D is correct answer with past perfect infinitive having test-driven cars… - THE ACTION

Question 33

He worked as an analyst for as little as, if not less, than two and a half years by the time he had received his first promotion.

A. He worked as an analyst for as little as, if not less, than two and a half years by the time he had received his first promotion

B. His work as an analyst had been for as few, if not fewer than, two and a half years by the time he received his first promotion

C. He had worked as an analyst for as little as two and a half years, if not less, by the time he received his first promotion

D. He has worked as an analyst for as few as two and a half years, if not fewer, by the time he has received his first promotion

E. His work as an analyst was as few as, if not fewer than, two and a half years by the time the first promotion was received by him

Answer 33

From the correct temporal relationship, the answer choice is C

Question 34

During the 1920s, the U.S. stock market had undergone rapid expansion, reaching its peak in August 1929, and by then the production already declined, and unemployment rose, leaving the stocks in great excess of their real value.

A. the U.S. stock market had undergone rapid expansion, reaching its peak in August 1929, and by then the production already declined, and unemployment rose

B. the production had already declined with the rising unemployment, by the time the US stock market underwent rapid expansion reaching its peak in August 1929

C. the U.S. stock market underwent rapid expansion and thereby reached its peak in August 1929, and by then the production had already declined, and unemployment had risen

D. the U.S. stock market reached its peak in August 1929 after undergoing rapid expansion, and by that time the production had already declined, and unemployment had risen

E. with the production already declined and the unemployment already rising, the US stock market underwent rapid expansion, reaching its peak in August 1929

Answer 34

1) Eliminate B & E due to incorrect grammar
2) Eliminate D due to present participle for ST happened in the past
3) Prefer C to A due to correct temporal relationship: production and unemploymented had happened even before the rapid expansion of U.S stock market

Question 35

In the film industry, the first two months of the year are usually a time of tight production budgets, because the advertising demands of the holiday season exact a large toll, and the equally extravagant marketing push leading up to the Oscars strains corporate coffers.

A. toll, and the equally extravagant marketing push leading up to the Oscars strains
B.toll, and their marketing push is equally extravagant leading up to the Oscars, straining
C.toll, with an even more extravagant marketing push leading up to the Oscars straining
D.toll, while the marketing push leading up to the Oscars is more extravagant to strain
E. toll, while their marketing push leading up to the Oscars is equally extravagant and strains

Answer 35

1) Quickly eliminate B & E due to incorrect pronoun their
2) Eliminate D due to change meaning
3) Eliminate C due to the overall misplaced modifiers
4) A - original sentence is correct with conjunction and

Question 36

T or F: With less than thirty thousand dollars in advance ticket sales and fewer acceptances by guest-speakers than expected, the one-day symposium on art and religion was canceled for lack of interest

Answer 36

T - in this case, “30K dollars” is acting as an amount instead of dollar bills, which is a countable noun