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three out of seven people

by neerajkumar1_1 » Fri Sep 03, 2010 9:52 pm
Hi Guyz,
The following sentence correction question has been discussed over and over again in the forum but none has given a satisfactory soln...

The main issue in this question is whether:
three out of seven people is singular or plural...

I request the Experts to please clear the ambiguity and provide a good explanation...
thanks a lot.....

This April, three out of seven people will file tax returns with a disk found in software stores and accounting texts.

A. tax returns with a disk found in software stores and accounting texts
B. a tax return with a disk found in software stores and accounting texts
C. tax returns with disks found in a software store and an accounting text
D. tax returns with a disk found in a software store and an accounting text
E. a tax return with a disk found in a software sotre and an accounting text
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by pradeepkaushal9518 » Sat Sep 04, 2010 12:14 am
i think there is some problem in question is it every three out of seven people
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by neerajkumar1_1 » Sat Sep 04, 2010 2:34 am
nah i dont think so... I guess we cant doubt the credibility of the question as its from Kaplan...
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by mohit11 » Sat Sep 04, 2010 2:49 am
neerajkumar1_1 wrote:Hi Guyz,
The following sentence correction question has been discussed over and over again in the forum but none has given a satisfactory soln...

The main issue in this question is whether:
three out of seven people is singular or plural...

I request the Experts to please clear the ambiguity and provide a good explanation...
thanks a lot.....

This April, three out of seven people will file tax returns with a disk found in software stores and accounting texts.

A. tax returns with a disk found in software stores and accounting texts
B. a tax return with a disk found in software stores and accounting texts
C. tax returns with disks found in a software store and an accounting text
D. tax returns with a disk found in a software store and an accounting text
E. a tax return with a disk found in a software sotre and an accounting text
Damn this is tough. Here's my take.

a software store and an accounting text is too restrictive. The magic disk can be found in many stores and accounting text and not in ONE particular store and One particular text. This rules out C,D and E


The author is trying to say that in April three out of any 7 individuals will do a particular thing

This particular thing is filing a tax return. One individual can only file 1 tax return and not multiple tax returns. So we can rule out A and pick B.

Damn!
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by clawhammer » Sat Sep 04, 2010 3:35 am
I posted options that I later removed. here's a more clearer analogy from my guess:

For information containing some kind of fraction, we base it on later part (whole):

"¢ Forty percent of the students are in favor of changing the policy.
"¢ Forty percent of the student body is in favor of changing the policy.

So, three out of seven - should be plural? (Unless you think every three out of seven, that's singular).

Now, this seems like a weird thing that the question is testing, not sure if GMAT would test such things. This is why most test prep companies cant make questions in-par with the standard of GMAT questions.

I would say, so multiple number of people should submit DIFFERENT tax returns. So making TAX RETURN singular might give the idea, all of them will file ONE tax return?

From the sense, "software stores and accounting texts" sounds right. So you are only left with Option A (although I would have looked for one that has all the parts - Tax Returns, Disks, and Sources - as plural.
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by mohit11 » Sat Sep 04, 2010 3:40 am
clawhammer wrote:I posted options that I later removed. here's a more clearer analogy from my guess:

For information containing some kind of fraction, we base it on later part (whole):

"¢ Forty percent of the students are in favor of changing the policy.
"¢ Forty percent of the student body is in favor of changing the policy.

Students is plural, therefore, 40 percent of students -- Still plural

Student body is singular , therefore, 40 percent of student body - Still singular.
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by clawhammer » Sat Sep 04, 2010 4:35 am
mohit11 wrote:
clawhammer wrote:I posted options that I later removed. here's a more clearer analogy from my guess:

For information containing some kind of fraction, we base it on later part (whole):

"¢ Forty percent of the students are in favor of changing the policy.
"¢ Forty percent of the student body is in favor of changing the policy.

Students is plural, therefore, 40 percent of students -- Still plural

Student body is singular , therefore, 40 percent of student body - Still singular.
Exactly, that's why I am considering "three out of seven" as plural, because seven is plural.
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by GMATGuruNY » Sat Sep 04, 2010 7:02 pm
neerajkumar1_1 wrote:Hi Guyz,
The following sentence correction question has been discussed over and over again in the forum but none has given a satisfactory soln...

The main issue in this question is whether:
three out of seven people is singular or plural...

I request the Experts to please clear the ambiguity and provide a good explanation...
thanks a lot.....

This April, three out of seven people will file tax returns with a disk found in software stores and accounting texts.

A. tax returns with a disk found in software stores and accounting texts
B. a tax return with a disk found in software stores and accounting texts
C. tax returns with disks found in a software store and an accounting text
D. tax returns with a disk found in a software store and an accounting text
E. a tax return with a disk found in a software sotre and an accounting text
Quickest approach:

In C, D and E, in a software store and an accounting text changes the intended meaning by implying that the disk can be found in only one particular store and in only one particular text. Eliminate C, D and E.

In A, the clause three out of seven people will file tax returns suggests that each person is filing several returns. Since each person likely is filing only one return, the phrase three out of seven people will fill a tax return (in B) makes the meaning clearer. Eliminate A.

The correct answer is B.

Please note that any number larger than 1 is plural no matter what it refers to:

One is running.
Two are running.
Three are running.
etc.
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by 7806 » Sat Sep 04, 2010 8:37 pm
Thanks Mitch.. as usual, nice explanation.
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by prepgmat09 » Sun Sep 05, 2010 5:33 am
GMATGuruNY wrote: In A, the clause three out of seven people will file tax returns suggests that each person is filing several returns. Since each person likely is filing only one return, the phrase three out of seven people will fill a tax return (in B) makes the meaning clearer. Eliminate A.

The correct answer is B.
With the same logic that you used to eliminate A, can we not eliminate B, arguing that B would imply that three out of seven persons are together filing just one tax return?
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by GMATGuruNY » Sun Sep 05, 2010 6:14 am
prepgmat09 wrote:
GMATGuruNY wrote: In A, the clause three out of seven people will file tax returns suggests that each person is filing several returns. Since each person likely is filing only one return, the phrase three out of seven people will fill a tax return (in B) makes the meaning clearer. Eliminate A.

The correct answer is B.
With the same logic that you used to eliminate A, can we not eliminate B, arguing that B would imply that three out of seven persons are together filing just one tax return?
Yes, but common sense prevents us from making this interpretation.

I think that since answer choice A is more likely to be misinterpreted -- a reader might reasonably infer from A that each person is filing several returns -- answer choice B becomes the better answer choice.
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by dellaboemia » Sat Jun 02, 2012 2:14 pm
Hi Mitch, Does the question assume that one only completes "one" tax return and not several (federal, state 1, state 2, etc...). Further, is it assumed that one can't complete multiple returns using a single disk, such as Quicken Tax.

What if the sentence were "This April, three out of seven people will file tax returns with a PEN found in stores and accounting texts."? Would the sentence fail on the basis that some reader would interpret the sentence to mean that a single PEN was used by all PEOPLE?

I'm struggling with the meaning issue in the first sentence.
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