Singular..Plural

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moonlite: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 61; Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2008 5:58 am; Thanked: 1 times

by moonlite » Mon Apr 20, 2009 5:27 am

This fall two out of five households in the United States will harvest some of their own food from a vegetable garden in backyards and city lots.

(A) their own food from a vegetable garden in backyards and city lots
(B) its own food from a vegetable garden in backyards and city lots
(C) their own food from vegetable gardens in a backyard or a city lot
(D) their own food from vegetable gardens in backyards or city lots
(E) its own food from a vegetable garden in a backyard or a city lot

Please explain your answer choice and possibly what's wrong with the others.

OA: D

Thanks.

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Mon Apr 20, 2009 5:27 am

svishal1123: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 49; Joined: Sat Mar 28, 2009 9:58 am; Thanked: 3 times

by svishal1123 » Mon Apr 20, 2009 5:51 am

would agree with D
B & E are out because of its being used for 2 (out of 5) households.

Rest of them have to be plural. We are talking about different types of foods for the requirement of different households. Different types of food can be obtained only from multiple gardens in backyardS or city lotS.

Another reasoning is this is a general statement, implying to a lot of households in US hence all them cannot obtain their food from a single garden in single backyard or city lot.

My two cents.

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mals24: Legendary Member; Posts: 683; Joined: Tue Jul 22, 2008 1:58 pmFollowed by: 2 members; Location: Dubai; Thanked: 73 times

by mals24 » Mon Apr 20, 2009 5:56 am

'two out of 5 households' is plural so we need 'their' and not 'its'.

Hence eliminate B and E.

(A) their own food from a vegetable garden in backyards and city lots

This seems to mean as if there is one common vegetable garden in all backyards and city lots. Hence we need the plural form of 'vegetable gardens' and not singular.

(C) their own food from vegetable gardens in a backyard or a city lot

Again we are talking about multiple backyards and city lots, so we need plural form and not singular.

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moonlite: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 61; Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2008 5:58 am; Thanked: 1 times

Thanks

by moonlite » Mon Apr 20, 2009 6:01 am

Thanks! that clarifys it.

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