Ashish, thanks. Very clear. It's funny how a simple rule - pronoun reference - can sometimes become so deceptive. What "sounds right" to the ear can sometimes be detrimental.EducationAisle wrote:It is not wrong to say:stormier wrote:Is it wrong to say that a singular item resembles multiple items, as in - My television resembles the televisions of my neighbors?
Neandrethals had a vocal tract that resembled those (vocal tracts) of the apes ?
My television resembles the televisions of my neighbors.
But, it is wrong to say:
My television resembles those of my neighbors.
In the above sentence, those is intended to refer to televisions, but there is no televisions mentioned in the sentence, only television. Hence, you must repeat televisions.
Similarly, the correct sentence would be:
Neandrethals had a vocal tract that resembled vocal tracts of the apes.
Neanderthals had a vocal tract
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sg7007 wrote:I have the same question.bluementor wrote:I understand that to refer to a singular, you can't use 'those'...
but my question here is why is vocal tract singular in the first place? Why is it not plural as follows:
Neanderthals had vocal tracts....
by having plural 'vocal tracts', we are decribing the inherent nature of the vocal tracts (of the Neanderthals) in general, which I think what the passage is all about.
From the OA, Neanderthals had a vocal tract... seems to refer to a single vocal tract 'shared' by all Neanderthals which I find illogical.
Can someone please clearify this. Thanks.
BlueMentor
Hi the way I understood it is -
(1) "and so were probably without language" means that the subject must be Neanderthals and not the vocal tracts. Therefore options C, D and E are out
(2) Option #a says, "Neanderthals had a vocal tract that resembled those of the apes" a vocal cord can't be compared to "those" - hence this option is OUT
(3) The only possibility is left is (B) - so this must be the right option
(4) Lets evaluate #B - "Neanderthals had a vocal tract resembling an ape's and so were probably without language, a shortcoming that may explain why they were supplanted by our own species. "
note that we are not talking about a single vocal cord or group of individual vocal cords belonging to Neanderthals; rather we are talking about an individual organ in Neanderthals' body. hence grammatically it makes sense.
best,
M
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I think the answer is B too.
But i do not understand how the reasoning behing these questions work.Sometimes they all seem right and sometimes none. Is there a sure shot way of understanding that a particular answer is correct. I don't think so.
But i do not understand how the reasoning behing these questions work.Sometimes they all seem right and sometimes none. Is there a sure shot way of understanding that a particular answer is correct. I don't think so.
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