Environmentalists associated with the United Nations Environment Programme predict that if the current trends associated with global warming continue, thousands of acres of pristine land is in danger to undergo potentially irrevocable changes that could alter the planet's ecosystem forever.
A) is in danger to undergo
B) are in danger of undergoing
C) is in danger of undergoing
D) are in danger to undergo
E) are in danger for undergoing
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Acres of land .... are!!!
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Well, it does give a clue, but I am unable to accept 'are' with 'land' even it it is thousands of acre. According to me, land should go with singular so the right answer should be C. However, as per the source, B is indeed the right answer.
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niksworth
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@mshameen
Think of it this way -
The people of Brazil are industrious.
Though Brazil is singular, the subject is people - plural. So the right verb is are.
Similarly,
Thousands of acres of land are arid.
The subject here is thousands of acres, which is plural. of land is just a prepositional phrase modifying the subject. We need a plural verb to correspond to the plural subject.
Think of it this way -
The people of Brazil are industrious.
Though Brazil is singular, the subject is people - plural. So the right verb is are.
Similarly,
Thousands of acres of land are arid.
The subject here is thousands of acres, which is plural. of land is just a prepositional phrase modifying the subject. We need a plural verb to correspond to the plural subject.
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kushal.adhia
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'Acres of land' is plural, so u can eliminate A & C
Between B, D and E u can eliminate D ( "are in danger to undergo" )
and E ( "are in danger for undergoing" )
Hence answer is B
Between B, D and E u can eliminate D ( "are in danger to undergo" )
and E ( "are in danger for undergoing" )
Hence answer is B
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David@VeritasPrep
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Interesting that in getting rid of prepositions to find the subject everyone seems content to strike out "of land" but what about "of acres" in "thousands of acres of land" the subject is "thousands."
The correct answer answer is indeed "B" as one is "in danger of" something... not "in danger to" or "in danger for."
The correct answer answer is indeed "B" as one is "in danger of" something... not "in danger to" or "in danger for."
Why is the phrase "in danger" not considered while finding the subject ?
"thousands" is NOT "in danger".
"acres" is NOT "in danger", but
"pristine land" IS "in danger", therefore IMO, the subject is pristine land, and hence the answer choice should be singular.
"thousands" is NOT "in danger".
"acres" is NOT "in danger", but
"pristine land" IS "in danger", therefore IMO, the subject is pristine land, and hence the answer choice should be singular.
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[email protected]
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Hi xbull,
This SC provides a great example of a grammar "shift" that you'll see at least once on Test Day (and possibly more than once, so you have to be on the lookout for it). While the phrase "pristine land" IS singular, the sentence has "shifted" the subject to the word "thousands of acres", so we have "THOUSANDS OF ACRES of pristine land"; this makes the subject PLURAL.
With the remaining answer choices, the idiom "in danger.....of" is needed to select the correct answer.
Final Answer: B
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
This SC provides a great example of a grammar "shift" that you'll see at least once on Test Day (and possibly more than once, so you have to be on the lookout for it). While the phrase "pristine land" IS singular, the sentence has "shifted" the subject to the word "thousands of acres", so we have "THOUSANDS OF ACRES of pristine land"; this makes the subject PLURAL.
With the remaining answer choices, the idiom "in danger.....of" is needed to select the correct answer.
Final Answer: B
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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ani781
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Environmentalists associated with the United Nations Environment Programme predict that if the current trends associated with global warming continue, thousands of acres of pristine land is in danger to undergo potentially irrevocable changes that could alter the planet's ecosystem forever.
A) is in danger to undergo
B) are in danger of undergoing
C) is in danger of undergoing
D) are in danger to undergo
E) are in danger for undergoing
Rich I somehow don't understand how is this shift taking place ? I mean , how do I track that. To me limited arsenal, it still seems like "Thousands of acres of LAND" ( still sounds like a subject) and not like "Thousands" of acres of LAND ... can you please elaborate a little more with a few more examples if possible ?
Best regards as always.
A) is in danger to undergo
B) are in danger of undergoing
C) is in danger of undergoing
D) are in danger to undergo
E) are in danger for undergoing
Rich I somehow don't understand how is this shift taking place ? I mean , how do I track that. To me limited arsenal, it still seems like "Thousands of acres of LAND" ( still sounds like a subject) and not like "Thousands" of acres of LAND ... can you please elaborate a little more with a few more examples if possible ?
Best regards as always.
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Hi ani781,
The "shift" that I described always appears AHEAD of the phrase that you're looking at.
Here, we have "THOUSANDS OF ACRES of pristine land."; "pristine land" is singular, BUT the subject is "THOUSANDS OF ACRES", which is plural.
Here are some other examples:
"A GROUP of employees"; while "employees" is plural, the subject is "A GROUP", which is singular (notice the word "A" in front)
"THE RISE in the number of unemployment claims"; while "unemployment claims" is plural, the subject is "A RISE", which is singular.
"MILLIONS of fish"; while "fish" could be singular or plural, the subject is "MILLIONS", which is plural.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
The "shift" that I described always appears AHEAD of the phrase that you're looking at.
Here, we have "THOUSANDS OF ACRES of pristine land."; "pristine land" is singular, BUT the subject is "THOUSANDS OF ACRES", which is plural.
Here are some other examples:
"A GROUP of employees"; while "employees" is plural, the subject is "A GROUP", which is singular (notice the word "A" in front)
"THE RISE in the number of unemployment claims"; while "unemployment claims" is plural, the subject is "A RISE", which is singular.
"MILLIONS of fish"; while "fish" could be singular or plural, the subject is "MILLIONS", which is plural.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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David@VeritasPrep
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xbull - I think that the problem that you have run into is that you have sort of determined the "is" versus "are" question and you then say that "thousands is in danger" is not correct. But of course "thousands are in danger" is correct.
ani781 - You will notice that the examples that Rich has given are all examples that involve a preposition. "of" and "in" are both prepositions. When matching a subject to the verb you want to ignore those prepositions!
"The number of applications to the top business schools are increasing"
"The number of applications to the top business schools is increasing"
Eliminate the prepositions and this becomes "The number is/are increasing" Number is singular and so "is" is correct.
ani781 - You will notice that the examples that Rich has given are all examples that involve a preposition. "of" and "in" are both prepositions. When matching a subject to the verb you want to ignore those prepositions!
"The number of applications to the top business schools are increasing"
"The number of applications to the top business schools is increasing"
Eliminate the prepositions and this becomes "The number is/are increasing" Number is singular and so "is" is correct.
