Sentence Correction

John thinks Miss Marple, heroine of Agatha Christie's murder mystery novels, to be the definitive English detective whereas Jane thinks Sherlock Holmes and his famous pipe epitomizes the symbol of British deduction.

A. to be the definitive English detective whereas Jane thinks Sherlock Holmes and his famous pipe epitomizes the symbol of British deduction

B. deserve the title of the definitive English detective whereas Jane thinks Sherlock Holmes, with his famous pipe, epitomize the symbol of British deduction

C. to be the definite English detective, but Jane thinks Sherlock Holmes and his famous pipe is the symbol of British deduction

D. embodies the very essence and spirit of English detectives whereas Jane thinks Sherlock Holmes and his famous pipe epitomize the symbol of British deduction

E. is the definitive English detective whereas Jane thinks Sherlock Holmes and his famous pipe epitomize British deduction


Please explain your answers, OA later.

IMO D.

I would like to know the source before detailing out the errors.

IMo C
A) not llel
b),d) and e) s+v error

thephoenix wrote:IMo C
A) not llel
b),d) and e) s+v error

@thephoenix,

What is the SVA error which you found in D?

niksworth wrote:

thephoenix wrote:IMo C
A) not llel
b),d) and e) s+v error

@thephoenix,

What is the SVA error which you found in D?

in D epitomize a plural verb is used for sherlok homes a singular subject

thephoenix wrote:

niksworth wrote:

thephoenix wrote:IMo C
A) not llel
b),d) and e) s+v error

@thephoenix,

What is the SVA error which you found in D?

in D epitomize a plural verb is used for sherlok homes a singular subject

Actually epitomize, a plural verb, is in agreement with Sherlock Holmes and his famous pipe, a compound subject.

niksworth wrote: Actually epitomize, a plural verb, is in agreement with Sherlock Holmes and his famous pipe, a compound subject.

yeah true..but there is an exception to this rule if the noun phrases joined by the compound refer to one and the sme person or thing then the verb is singular.....

imo the above rule holds here.....

i might be wrong..
let us c whats the oa

By POE [spoiler](E)[/spoiler]

(A) think X to be.. is unidiomatic
(B) Miss Maple deserve... is wrong verb
(C) same as A
(D) wordy + redundant use of words
(E) my choice

thephoenix wrote: yeah true..but there is an exception to this rule if the noun phrases joined by the compound refer to one and the sme person or thing then the verb is singular.....

imo the above rule holds here.....

i might be wrong..
let us c whats the oa

Hmmm, I don't think that applies here.

These 2 things, Sherlock Holmes and his pipe, together epitomize the symbol of British deduction.

By the way, C uses definite incorrectly. The correct adjective is definitive. Also, the two parts lack parallelism.

Anyways, @suchoudh please provide the OA and the source.

D is good here. Good question though, Source and OA please

suchoudh wrote:John thinks Miss Marple, heroine of Agatha Christie's murder mystery novels, to be the definitive English detective whereas Jane thinks Sherlock Holmes and his famous pipe epitomizes the symbol of British deduction.

A. to be the definitive English detective whereas Jane thinks Sherlock Holmes and his famous pipe epitomizes the symbol of British deduction - Need working verb and not 'to be'. 'Sherlock Holmes and his famous pipe' plural nedd 'epitomize' and not 'epitomizes', eliminate

B. deserve the title of the definitive English detective whereas Jane thinks Sherlock Holmes, with his famous pipe, epitomize the symbol of British deduction - need 'deserves' and not 'deserve'. 'Sherlock Holmes' singular 'epitomize' plural, eliminate

C. to be the definite English detective, but Jane thinks Sherlock Holmes and his famous pipe is the symbol of British deduction - Same as A. We need 'are' and not 'is', eliminate

D. embodies the very essence and spirit of English detectives whereas Jane thinks Sherlock Holmes and his famous pipe epitomize the symbol of British deduction - Correct

E. is the definitive English detective whereas Jane thinks Sherlock Holmes and his famous pipe epitomize British deduction - Not parallel, eliminate


Please explain your answers, OA later.

Can you please shed some light on this rule. I am learning some thing new. Examples will be helpful

thephoenix wrote:

niksworth wrote: Actually epitomize, a plural verb, is in agreement with Sherlock Holmes and his famous pipe, a compound subject.

yeah true..but there is an exception to this rule if the noun phrases joined by the compound refer to one and the sme person or thing then the verb is singular.....

imo the above rule holds here.....

i might be wrong..
let us c whats the oa

OA is E. The question is taken from MasterGMAT. However, I think E is not parallel and that's the reason I am posting this here.

I think E is correct as the OA here.

Epitomizes means symbolises so epitomize the symbol is unnecessarily wordy similar to a decreased redution or higher increase etc.

What is the OE for rejecting D?

suchoudh wrote:John thinks Miss Marple, heroine of Agatha Christie's murder mystery novels, to be the definitive English detective whereas Jane thinks Sherlock Holmes and his famous pipe epitomizes the symbol of British deduction.

A. to be the definitive English detective whereas Jane thinks Sherlock Holmes and his famous pipe epitomizes the symbol of British deduction

B. deserve the title of the definitive English detective whereas Jane thinks Sherlock Holmes, with his famous pipe, epitomize the symbol of British deduction

C. to be the definite English detective, but Jane thinks Sherlock Holmes and his famous pipe is the symbol of British deduction

D. embodies the very essence and spirit of English detectives whereas Jane thinks Sherlock Holmes and his famous pipe epitomize the symbol of British deduction

E. is the definitive English detective whereas Jane thinks Sherlock Holmes and his famous pipe epitomize British deduction


Please explain your answers, OA later.

Quickest approach:
In A, epitomizes should be plural to match the compound subject Sherlock Holmes and and his famous pipe. For this same reason, is should plural in answer choice C. Eliminate A and C.

In B, epitomize should be singular to match the singular subject Sherlock Holmes. (The phrase with his famous pipe is a modifier and is not part of the subject.) Eliminate B.

In D, Sherlock Holmes and his famous pipe are two things; they cannot epitomize one symbol. Eliminate D.

The correct answer is E.

Thanks, I don't know what is 'epitomize' is. Therefore, got trapped. As per the MS word 'epitomize' means 'specify'

GMATGuruNY wrote:

suchoudh wrote:John thinks Miss Marple, heroine of Agatha Christie's murder mystery novels, to be the definitive English detective whereas Jane thinks Sherlock Holmes and his famous pipe epitomizes the symbol of British deduction.

A. to be the definitive English detective whereas Jane thinks Sherlock Holmes and his famous pipe epitomizes the symbol of British deduction

B. deserve the title of the definitive English detective whereas Jane thinks Sherlock Holmes, with his famous pipe, epitomize the symbol of British deduction

C. to be the definite English detective, but Jane thinks Sherlock Holmes and his famous pipe is the symbol of British deduction

D. embodies the very essence and spirit of English detectives whereas Jane thinks Sherlock Holmes and his famous pipe epitomize the symbol of British deduction

E. is the definitive English detective whereas Jane thinks Sherlock Holmes and his famous pipe epitomize British deduction


Please explain your answers, OA later.

Quickest approach:
In A, epitomizes should be plural to match the compound subject Sherlock Holmes and and his famous pipe. For this same reason, is should plural in answer choice C. Eliminate A and C.

In B, epitomize should be singular to match the singular subject Sherlock Holmes. (The phrase with his famous pipe is a modifier and is not part of the subject.) Eliminate B.

In D, Sherlock Holmes and his famous pipe are two things; they cannot epitomize one symbol. Eliminate D.

The correct answer is E.