Question from OG 10th edition
43. In the minds of many people living in England, before Australia was Australia, it was the antipodes, the
opposite pole to civilization, an obscure and unimaginable place that was considered the end of the world.
(A) before Australia was Australia, it was the antipodes
(B) before there was Australia, it was the antipodes
(C) it was the antipodes that was Australia
(D) Australia was what was the antipodes
(E) Australia was what had been known as the antipodes
The og explanation is as under
"Choice A is best, for A alone makes clear that the land now known as Australia was considered the antipodes before it was developed. In B, it has no logical referent, because the previous clause describes a time when there was no Australia. Nor does it have a referent in C: substituting Australia for it produces a nonsensical statement. D is wordy, with the unnecessary what was, and imprecise in suggesting that Australia was considered the antipodes after it became Australia. E similarly distorts the original meaning, and the past perfect had been is inconsistent with the past tense used to establish a time frame for the rest of the sentence."
just can't make out what this means 
.. i read E as "to the people of england .. australia was what the used to refer to as antipodes .. an obscure ..."
Can someone brighten this up for me?
Hi puys, Just started with my GMAT prep day before yesterday..... planning to take GMAT in Feb.....
Can ne one suggest what would be the correct option? May be it is a bit elementary......
Sentence
"A majority of railway commuters read/s or listen/s to music while travelling."
I am bit confused, whether the verbs should be plural as we are using 'majority" or the verbs would be singular as we are using "A majority"
Thanks in advance for ur suggestions.....
Hi puys, Just started with my GMAT prep day before yesterday..... planning to take GMAT in Feb.....
Can ne one suggest what would be the correct option? May be it is a bit elementary......
Sentence
"A majority of railway commuters read/s or listen/s to music while travelling."
I am bit confused, whether the verbs should be plural as we are using 'majority" or the verbs would be singular as we are using "A majority"
Thanks in advance for ur suggestions.....
Hi,
"A majority of people" is a collective noun. Collective nouns can take either singular or plural verbs.
e.g. team, government
Experts please give your opinions.
Regards,
Rohit.
Hi puys, Just started with my GMAT prep day before yesterday..... planning to take GMAT in Feb.....
Can ne one suggest what would be the correct option? May be it is a bit elementary......
Sentence
"A majority of railway commuters read/s or listen/s to music while travelling."
I am bit confused, whether the verbs should be plural as we are using 'majority" or the verbs would be singular as we are using "A majority"
Thanks in advance for ur suggestions.....
i think,the key word is "A majority".hence,singular would be preferred.
so,read/listen.
hey prateek,
thanks for your response.
Pardon my ignorance but whats the reported speech gotta do with the verb tense?
Whenever we say anything in reported speech, present tense is changed to past tense.
For ex. is - was, has - had, will - would, shall - should
Refer Wren & Martin for more info on reported speech.
Hi puys, Just started with my GMAT prep day before yesterday..... planning to take GMAT in Feb.....
Can ne one suggest what would be the correct option? May be it is a bit elementary......
Sentence
"A majority of railway commuters read/s or listen/s to music while travelling."
I am bit confused, whether the verbs should be plural as we are using 'majority" or the verbs would be singular as we are using "A majority"
Thanks in advance for ur suggestions.....
Hey guys,
'A majority' here refers a collective group so the verb following it will be singular, so it should be 'reads' & 'listens'
If it had been 'The majority of ....' then it would have been 'read' & 'listen'
I found something on net for your info -
Majority is one of those words that can be either singular or plural. Common sense works pretty well in deciding which. If you mean the word to describe a collection of individuals, then the word should be treated as plural: The majority of e-mail users are upset about the increase in spam. If the word is used to describe a collective group, then consider it singular: A 90% majority is opposed to scheduling the next meeting at 6:00 A.M. If you are uncertain which you mean, then choose whatever form sounds best to you; its not likely to bother many people.
Hey guys,
'A majority' here refers a collective group so the verb following it will be singular, so it should be 'reads' & 'listens'
If it had been 'The majority of ....' then it would have been 'read' & 'listen'
I found something on net for your info -
Majority is one of those words that can be either singular or plural. Common sense works pretty well in deciding which. If you mean the word to describe a collection of individuals, then the word should be treated as plural: The majority of e-mail users are upset about the increase in spam. If the word is used to describe a collective group, then consider it singular: A 90% majority is opposed to scheduling the next meeting at 6:00 A.M. If you are uncertain which you mean, then choose whatever form sounds best to you; its not likely to bother many people.
Thanks, for all the prompt responses..... They make sense and it helped....
Besides as a preposition means "in addition to, or "plus".
Except as a preposition means with exclusion, rejection, or exception; everything other than; it carries the meaning of "minus".
So mostly there will be no common usage, but in case the situation is of an exception (i.e like the one you quoted above), then you can use them interchangeably.
The problem in the question highlighted is of a "being" be added in the Besides option which makes it incorrect
The delinquency rates on mortgages for office buildings, hotels, shopping malls, and other commercial properties held by the nation's insurance companies in recent months have increased sharply, leading to predictions that foreclosures on these types of loan could double over the next three years.
(A) in recent months have increased sharply, leading to predictions that foreclosures on these types of loan could double over the next three years
(B) have increased sharply in recent months, leading to predictions that foreclosures on these types of loans could double over the next three years
(C) have increased sharply in recent months, leading to predictions that doubling of foreclosures on these types of loans could occur over the next three years
(D) has increased sharply in recent months, and lead to predictions that over the next three years doubling of foreclosures on this type of loan could occur
(E) in recent months has increased sharply, and this leads to predictions that foreclosures on that type of loan in the next three years could double
I dont think this sentence is correct. - "The majority of e-mail users are upset about the increase in spam". A better way to put this would be "Majority of the email users..."
"The majority of.." doesnt sound right. Anyone?
The delinquency rates on mortgages for office buildings, hotels, shopping malls, and other commercial properties held by the nations insurance companies in recent months have increased sharply, leading to predictions that foreclosures on these types of loan could double over the next three years.
(A) in recent months have increased sharply, leading to predictions that foreclosures on these types of loan could double over the next three years
(B) have increased sharply in recent months, leading to predictions that foreclosures on these types of loans could double over the next three years
(C) have increased sharply in recent months, leading to predictions that doubling of foreclosures on these types of loans could occur over the next three years
(D) has increased sharply in recent months, and lead to predictions that over the next three years doubling of foreclosures on this type of loan could occur
(E) in recent months has increased sharply, and this leads to predictions that foreclosures on that type of loan in the next three years could double
I think choice B is the answer......
The delinquency rates on mortgages for office buildings, hotels, shopping malls, and other commercial properties held by the nations insurance companies in recent months have increased sharply, leading to predictions that foreclosures on these types of loan could double over the next three years.
(A) in recent months have increased sharply, leading to predictions that foreclosures on these types of loan could double over the next three years
(B) have increased sharply in recent months, leading to predictions that foreclosures on these types of loans could double over the next three years
(C) have increased sharply in recent months, leading to predictions that doubling of foreclosures on these types of loans could occur over the next three years
(D) has increased sharply in recent months, and lead to predictions that over the next three years doubling of foreclosures on this type of loan could occur
(E) in recent months has increased sharply, and this leads to predictions that foreclosures on that type of loan in the next three years could double
It is a tough call b/w B & C, as i am not sure which usage 'doubling of foreclosures' or 'foreclosures....could double' is correct.
But for the sake of giving answer i will go with C.
'doubling of foreclosures' makes more sense for me than 'foreclosures....could double'
whats the correct answer??
Dear All,
I have just joined pagalGuy and need an URGENT piece of advice.
I gave my GMAT recently and got a 700 score but didnt get any proof of score from the exam centre due to some technical glitch.
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Kindly throw some light on this issue and suggest any alternatives in such a scenario.
Thanks in advance for all your help !!!
Best Regards
sandy
(A) Although dozens of New Yorks small museums are either devoted to local history or various ethnic groups, there are
(B) Although dozens of New Yorks small museums are devoted to local history or various ethnic groups,
(C) Dozens of New Yorks small museums are devoted to local history or various ethnic groups, but there are
(D) Dozens of New Yorks small museums are devoted to local history or various ethnic groups, and there are also
(E) Devoted to local history or various ethnic groups, dozens of New Yorks small museums and also
@rohit- dude i think option b is the right answer!!
what is the answer given as per the keys
btw puys i am new to this part of pg
is there a system that someone will post a certain number of questions each day ??
1. Although dozens of New Yorks small museums are either devoted to local history or various ethnic groups, there are many one-of-a-kind museums from Manhattan to the Bronx that are open for exploration on summer weekends.
(A) Although dozens of New Yorks small museums are either devoted to local history or various ethnic groups, there are
(B) Although dozens of New Yorks small museums are devoted to local history or various ethnic groups,
(C) Dozens of New Yorks small museums are devoted to local history or various ethnic groups, but there are
(D) Dozens of New Yorks small museums are devoted to local history or various ethnic groups, and there are also
(E) Devoted to local history or various ethnic groups, dozens of New Yorks small museums and also
The OA is (D). What logic/rule should be used here?
Thanks,
Rohit.
1. Although dozens of New Yorks small museums are either devoted to local history or various ethnic groups, there are many one-of-a-kind museums from Manhattan to the Bronx that are open for exploration on summer weekends.
(A) Although dozens of New Yorks small museums are either devoted to local history or various ethnic groups, there are
(B) Although dozens of New Yorks small museums are devoted to local history or various ethnic groups,
(C) Dozens of New Yorks small museums are devoted to local history or various ethnic groups, but there are
(D) Dozens of New Yorks small museums are devoted to local history or various ethnic groups, and there are also
(E) Devoted to local history or various ethnic groups, dozens of New Yorks small museums and also
My response is A. No error is there.
B - the use of 'that are open for ....' makes the use of 'there are' inevitable
C - Although is missing, without it the sentence is not making sence
D - the use of 'and' removes the contrary feeling that is required in the sentence
E - wiered
It is a tough call b/w B & C, as i am not sure which usage 'doubling of foreclosures' or 'foreclosures....could double' is correct.
But for the sake of giving answer i will go with C.
'doubling of foreclosures' makes more sense for me than 'foreclosures....could double'
whats the correct answer??
I think B should be the answer, because doubling is continuous and does not seem to fit in here...simple present is better.
pm me with your ID.. shall forward you the same.
Best
Vandan
can u please forward the same to [email protected]k u in advance
abhishekaseth SaysI think B should be the answer, because doubling is continuous and does not seem to fit in here...simple present is better.
The OA stumped me....its E :eyepop:..