Overwhelming Proportion of Women

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bml1105: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 113; Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2013 9:19 pmFollowed by: 5 members; Thanked: 1 times

by bml1105 » Sat May 31, 2014 4:09 pm

In Hungary, as in much of Eastern Europe, an overwhelming proportion of women work, many of which are in middle management and light industry.

(A) as in much of Eastern Europe, an overwhelming proportion of women work, many of which are in
(B) as with much of Eastern Europe, an overwhelming proportion of women works, many in
(C) as in much of Eastern Europe, an overwhelming proportion of women work, many of them in
(D) like much of Eastern Europe, an overwhelming proportion of women works, and many are
(E) like much of Eastern Europe, an overwhelming proportion of women work, many are in

OA: C

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Sat May 31, 2014 4:09 pm

bml1105: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 113; Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2013 9:19 pmFollowed by: 5 members; Thanked: 1 times

by bml1105 » Sat May 31, 2014 4:11 pm

I'm confused about the Subject-Verb Agreement in this sentence.

I assumed that proportion was the subject, because "of women" would be a prepositional phrase. Then proportion is singular because it refers to one group. Therefore, the verb should be works.

However, looking at the correct answer choice, I'm not sure where I went wrong. Is "women" the subject, making the verb "work"? Or is "proportion" actually a plural subject?

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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 » Sat May 31, 2014 7:07 pm

However, looking at the correct answer choice, I'm not sure where I went wrong. Is "women" the subject, making the verb "work"? Or is "proportion" actually a plural subject?

a very simple way to come out of this labyrinthine confusion of "subject-verb" agreement is to ask your self as who is actually working? is it the "women" or the "proportion" The answer is "women" .hence we need a plural "work" !!

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bml1105: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 113; Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2013 9:19 pmFollowed by: 5 members; Thanked: 1 times

by bml1105 » Sat May 31, 2014 7:42 pm

Thanks aditya! That makes sense.

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AnjaliOberoi: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 223; Joined: Thu Dec 05, 2013 4:22 amFollowed by: 8 members; Thanked: 12 times

by AnjaliOberoi » Sun Jun 01, 2014 12:13 am

(A) as in much of Eastern Europe, an overwhelming proportion of women work, many of which are in
(B) as with much of Eastern Europe, an overwhelming proportion of women works, many in
(C) as in much of Eastern Europe, an overwhelming proportion of women work, many of them in
(D) like much of Eastern Europe, an overwhelming proportion of women works, and many are
(E) like much of Eastern Europe, an overwhelming proportion of women work, many are in

In this questions, it is actually women who are working, hence the verb used should be work, not works

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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 » Sun Jun 01, 2014 1:58 am

bml1105 wrote:In Hungary, as in much of Eastern Europe, an overwhelming proportion of women work, many of which are in middle management and light industry.

(A) as in much of Eastern Europe, an overwhelming proportion of women work, many of which are in
(B) as with much of Eastern Europe, an overwhelming proportion of women works, many in
(C) as in much of Eastern Europe, an overwhelming proportion of women work, many of them in
(D) like much of Eastern Europe, an overwhelming proportion of women works, and many are
(E) like much of Eastern Europe, an overwhelming proportion of women work, many are in

A: women work, many of which
A which-clause cannot be preceded by a verb such as work.
Eliminate A.

B: as with much of Eastern Europe
D: like much of Eastern Europe
E: like much of Eastern Europe
These comparisons do not convey the intended meaning.
The intent of the sentence is to compare how women work IN HUNGARY to how women work IN MUCH OF EASTERN EUROPE.
Eliminate B, D and E.

The correct answer is C.

Nouns such as proportion, fraction, percentage and majority are known as FRACTIONAL EXPRESSIONS.
When a fractional expression refers to to NON-COUNTABLE noun, the verb is SINGULAR:
An overwhelming proportion of THE FEMALE POPULATION WORKS in middle management.
When a fractional expression refers to a COUNTABLE noun, the verb is PLURAL:
An overwhelming proportion of WOMEN WORK in middle management.

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aflaam: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 132; Joined: Sat Jan 02, 2016 2:52 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 4 times

by aflaam » Sun May 01, 2016 1:11 am

GMATGuruNY wrote:
bml1105 wrote:In Hungary, as in much of Eastern Europe, an overwhelming proportion of women work, many of which are in middle management and light industry.

(A) as in much of Eastern Europe, an overwhelming proportion of women work, many of which are in
(B) as with much of Eastern Europe, an overwhelming proportion of women works, many in
(C) as in much of Eastern Europe, an overwhelming proportion of women work, many of them in
(D) like much of Eastern Europe, an overwhelming proportion of women works, and many are
(E) like much of Eastern Europe, an overwhelming proportion of women work, many are in
A: women work, many of which
A which-clause cannot be preceded by a verb such as work.
Eliminate A.

B: as with much of Eastern Europe
D: like much of Eastern Europe
E: like much of Eastern Europe
These comparisons do not convey the intended meaning.
The intent of the sentence is to compare how women work IN HUNGARY to how women work IN MUCH OF EASTERN EUROPE.
Eliminate B, D and E.

The correct answer is C.

Nouns such as proportion, fraction, percentage and majority are known as FRACTIONAL EXPRESSIONS.
When a fractional expression refers to to NON-COUNTABLE noun, the verb is SINGULAR:
An overwhelming proportion of THE FEMALE POPULATION WORKS in middle management.
When a fractional expression refers to a COUNTABLE noun, the verb is PLURAL:
An overwhelming proportion of WOMEN WORK in middle management.

Hello Guru,
The omission of words in answer choices a and b also a potential error?
a)many of which are [working] in
b) many [work] in
Thanks

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