Sentence Correction

Below is a question from an official practice exam where E is correct answer. I think this has to do with the use of which versus that - it needs to use "that" because it is a restrictive clause. Is this accurate?

For many revisionist historians, Christopher Columbus has come to personify devastation and enslavement in the name of progress that has decimated native peoples of the Western Hemisphere.

A/ devastation and enslavement in the name of progress that has decimated native peoples of the Western Hemisphere

B/ devastation and enslavement in the name of progress by which native peoples of the Western Hemisphere have been decimated

C/ devastating and enslaving in the name of progress those native peoples of the Western Hemisphere that have been decimated

D/ devastating and enslaving those native peoples of the Western Hemisphere which in the name of progress are decimated

E/ the devastation and enslavement in the name of progress that have decimated the native peoples of the Western Hemisphere.

melanie.espeland wrote:Below is a question from an official practice exam where E is correct answer. I think this has to do with the use of which versus that - it needs to use "that" because it is a restrictive clause. Is this accurate?

For many revisionist historians, Christopher Columbus has come to personify devastation and enslavement in the name of progress that has decimated native peoples of the Western Hemisphere.

A/ devastation and enslavement in the name of progress that has decimated native peoples of the Western Hemisphere

B/ devastation and enslavement in the name of progress by which native peoples of the Western Hemisphere have been decimated

C/ devastating and enslaving in the name of progress those native peoples of the Western Hemisphere that have been decimated

D/ devastating and enslaving those native peoples of the Western Hemisphere which in the name of progress are decimated

E/ the devastation and enslavement in the name of progress that have decimated the native peoples of the Western Hemisphere.

There is much more going on than that versus which, including subject verb agreement and the generally nutty structure and unclear meaning of many of the choices.

Part of what GMAT sentence correction is testing is beyond grammar; it's about optimal expression. In this case choice E is a well constructed, clear statement, better than the other choices in multiple ways.

Look carefully. Among other things, should the verb be have or has? Notice the the before devastation.

For many revisionist historians, Christopher Columbus has come to personify devastation and enslavement in the name of progress that has decimated native peoples of the Western Hemisphere.

a) devastation and enslavement in the name of progress that has decimated native peoples of the Western Hemisphere
b) devastation and enslavement in the name of progress by which native peoples of the Western Hemisphere have been decimated
c) devastating and enslaving in the name of progress those native peoples of the Western Hemisphere that have been decimated
d) devastating and enslaving those native peoples of the Western Hemisphere which in the name of progress are decimated
e) the devastation and enslavement in the name of progress that have decimated the native peoples of the Western Hemisphere

Generally:
that + SINGULAR VERB should refer to the nearest preceding SINGULAR noun.
that + PLURAL VERB should refer to the nearest preceding PLURAL noun.

A: progress that has decimated native peoples
B: progress by which native peoples...have been decimated
Here, both that and which seem to refer to progress.
The implication is that PROGRESS has decimated the native peoples, a distortion of the intended meaning.
The intended meaning is that DEVASTATION AND ENSLAVEMENT have decimated the native peoples.
Eliminate A and B.

C: native peoples...that have been decimated
D: native peoples...which...are decimated
On the GMAT, that and which cannot serve to refer to people.
Eliminate C and D.

The correct answer is E.

OA: THE DEVASTATION AND ENSLAVEMENT in the name of progress that HAVE DECIMATED the native peoples.
Here, the verb attributed to that -- HAVE decimated -- is PLURAL.
Thus, the referent for that must be THE DEVASTATION AND ENSLAVEMENT, the nearest eligible PLURAL antecedent.
Conveyed meaning:
The devastation and enslavement that have decimated the native peoples.

Because the verb attributed to that is plural, the referent for that CANNOT be progress, which is singular.

GMATGuruNY wrote:
C: native peoples...that have been decimated
D: native peoples...which...are decimated
On the GMAT, that and which cannot serve to refer to people.
Eliminate C and D.

That sounds wrong, Mitch.

While it is good to be aware of the rule you cite, this is not a that or a which referring to people. Rather than referring to people, the that and which above refer to native peoples, which is a synonym for native nations or native tribes. So just as it would make sense to say native tribes which, it would make sense to say native peoples which.

So an elimination of those two choices based on the use of that and which seems debatable at best.

Marty Murray wrote:

GMATGuruNY wrote:
C: native peoples...that have been decimated
D: native peoples...which...are decimated
On the GMAT, that and which cannot serve to refer to people.
Eliminate C and D.

That sounds wrong, Mitch.

While it is good to be aware of the rule you cite, this is not a that or a which referring to people. Rather than referring to people, the that and which above refer to native peoples, which is a synonym for native nations or native tribes. So just as it would make sense to say native tribes which, it would make sense to say native peoples which.

So an elimination of those two choices based on the use of that and which seems debatable at best.

I rely on precedent.
An OA from GMATPrep includes the following:
tribes WHO interacted with one another.
To my knowledge, no OA from GMAC has ever employed that or which to refer to a people or peoples.

Note that peoples is not really a synonym for nations.
Webster's defines peoples as follows: PERSONS that are united by a common culture, tradition, or sense of kinship.
Here is how Collins English Dictionary defines peoples: PERSONS living in a country.
The definition of nations is typically broader, referring not only to the inhabitants of a land but also to other components (the government, the land itself, etc.).
A more apt synonym for nations is countries.
While we may use that or which to refer to nations, we should not use these pronouns to refer to peoples.

Hi Melanie,

I'll suggest you don't include the correct answer from the onset.

Let people try before you disclose the OA; better still , you can make
use of the spoiler feature.

@gmat driller, that's the same thing I was going to tell Melanie


Melanie, please can you hide the answer so we can have a go before we see the OA, thanks a lot

All the best

Yes, someone showed me how to hide the answer so I've been doing that in my new posts.

melanie.espeland wrote:Yes, someone showed me how to hide the answer so I've been doing that in my new posts.

Thanks Melanie as you promised to help post questions using the spoiler.