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It is well know in the supermarket industry that how items are placed on shelves and the frequency of inventory turnovers can be crucial to profits.

D) how frequently is the inventory turned over are often
E) how frequently the inventory turns over can be

E is correct as it maintains the STRUCTURAL PARALLELISM(noun-verb relationship) as in 'items are placed" BUT MY QUERY is: D maintains PASSIVE voice as in "items are placed" whereas E is ACTIVE. Can i say STRUCTURAL PARALLELISM weighs more than maintaining VOICE parallelism



The question is not about whether the sentence is active or passive (i am talking about both the parallel structures).

The question is about the meaning being conveyed.

Option D is redundant. It means something like 'to try to attempt'.

Option E is perfectly right representing only one verb required..

At the same time please observe the tenses used between both the 'and's.

It is simple present tense 'are placed' is parallel to 'turns over' and not 'turned over'.

Hence the correct answer is E and not D...

hope this really helped you man...

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What is redundant here. In case you think 'often' and 'frequently' are redundant then i would say both of these are used to convey different meanings. E.g. How many wickets Zaheer takes and how frequently Sachin scores are often crucial to chances of winning the match.

PRESENT Tense is used in both options. Tense in D = 'is' and hence present. "Turned over" is because of passive construction. E.g. A works for his project on this own, but since B is less intelligent than A, he is helped by his teacher

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We cannot say that as a rule. It depends on the context.

how items are placed - noun followed by verb.
how frequently is the inventory turned over are often - verb followed by noun.
how frequently the inventory turns over can be - noun followed by verb.

You are comparing two different aspects. This question is based on structure (noun verb) but if you get another question with two clauses involving passive construction then to maintain parallelism you need to choose the one with passive construction for the parallelism to be proper. You cannot apply the structure preceding over voice in that question. Hope you get what I am trying to convey.

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how to decide which question is using which approach. We came to know that this question is based on structure after knowing the answer. If D were correct then we would say that voice parallelism is preferred

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It is well know in the supermarket industry that how items are placed on shelves and the frequency of inventory turnovers can be crucial to profits.


Now kindly break the above sentence.

It is well known in the supermarket industry - Main clause

that how items are placed on shelves and - Subordinate clause
the frequency of inventory turn overs
can be crucial to profits.

and now in the second clause see each and every nouns or subject. In the 'items are placed' items is plural, and hence a plural verb is used.

For the 'the frequency of inventory' is a singular subject, and hence singular verb.

I am sorry for the previous post written by me. My mistake. This is a case of Subject - verb agreement.

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It depends on the meaning. We have to use passive voice wherever necessary and GMAT doesn't prefer passive voice unless its necessary. The passive construction in 'How items are placed' is because this needs to be done by someone. But for 'how frequently the inventory turns over can be' - we don't need a doer here. Hence active voice is preferred. Hope this clears your doubt

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But inventory cannot turn on its own, it needs to be done by someone.

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I don't think so How frequently the inventory turns over can be is referring to the frequency of inventory turn overs and not the inventory turn over itself, only the latter needs a doer.

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Thanks Mitch. Also i realized that D does not have passive construction . It is an interrogative construction which is not parallel to previous construction.

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