about "THAT"

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Amadalia: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 76; Joined: Mon Jan 20, 2014 3:24 am; Thanked: 3 times

by Amadalia » Thu Apr 03, 2014 1:00 pm

The world wildlife fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon most scientsts agree to be caused by human begings in burning fossil fuels, will create havoc among migratory birds by altering the enviroment in ways harmful to their habitats.

a) A phenomenon most scientists agree to be caused by human beings in burning fossil fuels,
b) a phenomenon most scientists agree that is caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings,
c) a phenomenon that most scientists agree is caused by human beings' burning of fossil fuels
d) which most scientists agree on as a phenomenon caused by human beings who burn fossil fuels,
e) which most scientsts agree to be a phenomenon caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings

My question is the following:
the sentence : a phenomenon most scientists agree that is caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings is WRONG because that should join 2 clauses and is caused by fossil is a kind of fragment which make the sentence incorrect, Right????
Many thanks in advance!!!

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Thu Apr 03, 2014 1:00 pm

neptune28: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 46; Joined: Wed Oct 09, 2013 1:03 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 4 times

by neptune28 » Thu Apr 03, 2014 7:28 pm

Amadalia wrote:b) a phenomenon most scientists agree that is caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings

My question is the following:
the sentence : a phenomenon most scientists agree that is caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings is WRONG because that should join 2 clauses and is caused by fossil is a kind of fragment which make the sentence incorrect, Right????
Many thanks in advance!!!

Hi, Amadalia. I'm not completely sure what you're asking. Anyway, we need the relative pronoun "that" here to refer to "phenomenon." And "most scientists agree" is a parenthetical expression. For instance, in "Daisy is a dog that I think is great," the parenthetical expression is "I think." Notice that when the relative pronoun is explicit, the parenthetical expression has to come after it. I mean, would it make sense to say, "Daisy is a dog I think that is great"? Definitely not. So, the parenthetical expression is misplaced here.

In addition, most scientists agree that this phenomenon is caused by the burning of fossil fuels, not by fossil fuels per se. So, that's another strike against B).

Incidentally, I think the correct answer here is rather awkward, but this one of those sentences in which you're forced to pick the least bad among the choices.

However, in the real world of business, you might want to go for something a little more natural.

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aditya8062: Legendary Member; Posts: 774; Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2012 4:32 amFollowed by: 14 members; Thanked: 46 times

by aditya8062 » Fri Apr 04, 2014 1:54 am

the sentence : a phenomenon most scientists agree that is caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings is WRONG because that should join 2 clauses and is caused by fossil is a kind of fragment which make the sentence incorrect, Right????
Many thanks in advance!!!

well i don't think that its a fragment . fragment is when in a clause the subject lacks the verb . now this is not the case .the sentence ,for that matter any sentence, has two aspects one is grammatical and other is logical sense .now technically in a sentence :a phenomenon most scientists agree that is caused by fossil fuels burned by ......"----> "is caused" is the verb whose subject is "a phenomenon"
i accept that position of "that" is awkward but i will eliminate this option because it gives nonsensical meaning! .according to this sentence this phenomenon is caused by fossil fuel themselves !! ----> now that's not possible
i will appreciate if GMAT guru can add more insight to it
thanks and regards

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GMATGuruNY: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15539; Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pmFollowed by: 1906 members; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 13060 times; GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Fri Apr 04, 2014 2:39 am

Amadalia wrote:The world wildlife fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon most scientsts agree to be caused by human begings in burning fossil fuels, will create havoc among migratory birds by altering the enviroment in ways harmful to their habitats.

a) A phenomenon most scientists agree to be caused by human beings in burning fossil fuels,
b) a phenomenon most scientists agree that is caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings,
c) a phenomenon that most scientists agree is caused by human beings' burning of fossil fuels
d) which most scientists agree on as a phenomenon caused by human beings who burn fossil fuels,
e) which most scientsts agree to be a phenomenon caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings

A: human beings in burning fossil fuels
Here, a reader might construe that human beings are perishing in burning fossil fuels.
Not the intended meaning.
Eliminate A.

B: a phenomenon...that is caused by fossil fuels
E: a phenomenon caused by fossil fuels
B and E imply that the FOSSIL FUELS themselves cause the phenomenon of global warming.
Not so: it is the BURNING of fossil fuels that causes global warming.
Eliminate B and E.

In D, agree on as is unidiomatic.
Eliminate D.

The correct answer is C.

B implies the following:
a phenomenon [that] most scientists agree that is caused by fossil fuels
Here, the that in brackets is omitted, but its presence is implied.
The implied that in brackets renders the second that redundant.

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Amadalia: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 76; Joined: Mon Jan 20, 2014 3:24 am; Thanked: 3 times

by Amadalia » Fri Apr 04, 2014 6:22 am

Thanks Guru,you nail it as usual
Neptune and Aditaya, you completely understood me, and your explanations are just awsome!!!!
Thanks a million to all of you!!!

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neptune28: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 46; Joined: Wed Oct 09, 2013 1:03 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 4 times

by neptune28 » Fri Apr 04, 2014 1:35 pm

Amadalia wrote: Neptune and Aditaya, you completely understood me, and your explanations are just awesome!!!!
Thanks a million to all of you!!!

Glad to be of any help, Amadalia.

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