Sentence Correction

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

OA - A Any reason why E is not a better choice?

i think the answer should be E, because its the devastation and the enslavement that could have decimated the people and not the progress.

crackgmat007, What is the source ? and what is the OE for E?

Paper Sets. There is no OE. In A, subj doesnt agree with verb (HAS). E makes sense to me. I guess, OA must be wrong.

if its from GMAT paper tests and from a official source, then answer will be correct, it cannot be wrong.
i think we need some experts to pitch in.

Hi, according to me option A is correct and there is a subject verb mismatch in option E. The reason is , in E we have "the devastation and enslavement". Since in sentence "the" is used only once so basically we need to consider that "devastation and enslavement" as single unit.. so we cannot use "have" here..

JEnIUS wrote:Hi, according to me option A is correct and there is a subject verb mismatch in option E. The reason is , in E we have "the devastation and enslavement". Since in sentence "the" is used only once so basically we need to consider that "devastation and enslavement" as single unit.. so we cannot use "have" here..

In A - I see a subj verb agmt error 'devastation and enslavement' vs verb has. Thoughts?

I think it is progress that decimated native peoples, not the devastion and enslavement... If d & e dicemated people, it would sound on the same way as "iron iron or curvy curvs", it s imo, i marked A.

well i guess you are right NikolayZ. Thats the reason why I selected the option A.. Hope every one is clear with this.

Meaning of decimitate is 'To destroy or kill a large part of (a group).' How can progress destroy someone? It sounds absurd. THAT must be referring to devastation and enslavement.

Thoughts guys?

"progress that has" correctly refers to progress

crackgmat007 wrote: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
decimated
C. devastating and enslaving in the name of progress those native
peoples of the Western Hemisphere which in the name of progress are 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.

OA - A Any reason why E is not a better choice?

wont THAT after NAME OF PROGRESS in E refer to NAME or NAME of PROGRESS ?? ( Construction "X of Y that" ==== that may refer to (X or (X of Y) )

mmslf75 wrote:

crackgmat007 wrote: OA - A Any reason why E is not a better choice?

wont THAT after NAME OF PROGRESS in E refer to NAME or NAME of PROGRESS ?? ( Construction "X of Y that" ==== that may refer to (X or (X of Y) )

A First of all, I don't see that "Devastation and enslavement" can be considered a single unit (but then, frankly, I don't see that "bread and butter" can be considered a single unit, either). Obviously, they do not signify the same action, either can occur in the absence of the other, and popular combined usage does not seem to be of sufficient frequency to warrant a "single unit" treatment of these two "events." Therefore, in my opinion, this construction requires the plural verb form "have decimated" rather than the singular "has decimated." But, even if you don't agree with me on that point, there is also the issue of the referent of "that." In this construction, "that" refers to "progress," with the resulting implication that "progress...decimated native peoples of the Western Hemisphere," when, in fact, it was "(the) devastation and enslavement (in the name of progress)" that caused this decimation. As a result, the whole construction is awkward and confusing, not to mention the subject-verb disagreement.
B This construction simply makes no sense.
C Incorrect usage of the participle forms "devastating and enslaving" when "devastation and enslavement" are preferred. "Those" is awkward and unnecessary and "which" refers to "Western Hemisphere," implying that the "Western Hemisphere" was decimated "in the name of progress," rather than the "native peoples of the Western Hemisphere." Also, "are" implies that the decimation continues to occur.
D Similar collection of errors as that noted in C.

ANSWER: E Inclusion of the article "the" preceding "devastation and enslavement" draws the reference of "that" away from "progress," correcting the reference error noted in A. And, the plural verb form "have decimated" correctly treats "the devastation and enslavement" as the plural subject that it is. I think that Choice E is superior to the others.

@maihuna - Great explanation

One more for E.