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Languages!

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by umaa » Tue Dec 22, 2009 8:32 am
Nobody knows exactly how many languages there are in the world,
partly because of the difficulty of distinguishing between a language
and the sub-languages or dialects within it, but those who have tried
to count typically have found about five thousand.

A. and the sub-languages or dialects within it, but those who have
tried to count typically have found
B. and the sub-languages or dialects within them, with those who
have tried counting typically finding
C. and the sub-languages or dialects within it, but those who have
tried counting it typically find
D. or the sub-languages or dialects within them, but those who tried
to count them typically found
E. or the sub-languages or dialects within them, with those who have
tried to count typically finding

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by mmslf75 » Tue Dec 22, 2009 8:38 am
umaa wrote: Nobody knows exactly how many languages there are in the world,
partly because of the difficulty of distinguishing between a language
and the sub-languages or dialects within it, but those who have tried
to count typically have found about five thousand.

A. and the sub-languages or dialects within it, but those who have
tried to count typically have found
CORRECT
B. and the sub-languages or dialects within them, with those who
have tried counting typically finding
THEM ---> IT
WITH ---> Not correctly used here
C. and the sub-languages or dialects within it, but those who have
tried counting it typically find
THOSE WHO HAVE ....TYPICALLY FIND !! -- It must be have found
D. or the sub-languages or dialects within them, but those who tried
to count them typically found
DISTINGUISH BETWEEN X AND Y
THEM ---> IT
E. or the sub-languages or dialects within them, with those who have
tried to count typically finding

DISTINGUISH BETWEEN X AND Y
THEM ---> IT



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by linkinpark » Tue Dec 22, 2009 8:43 am
umaa wrote:Nobody knows exactly how many languages there are in the world,
partly because of the difficulty of distinguishing between a language
and the sub-languages or dialects within it, but those who have tried
to count typically have found about five thousand.

A. and the sub-languages or dialects within it, but those who have
tried to count typically have found
B. and the sub-languages or dialects within them, with those who
have tried counting typically finding
C. and the sub-languages or dialects within it, but those who have
tried counting it typically find
D. or the sub-languages or dialects within them, but those who tried
to count them typically found
E. or the sub-languages or dialects within them, with those who have
tried to count typically finding

NEED YOUR EXPLANATION FOR ALL THE ANSWER CHOICES
theres 2-3 split based on [within them] and [within it]. I ignored [within them] because singular language is needed in first part. In choice second [it] doesn't have clear antecedent so I pick A.
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by umaa » Tue Dec 22, 2009 9:23 am
What does IT refer to? I don't know what I'm missing.
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by linkinpark » Tue Dec 22, 2009 9:34 am
umaa wrote:What does IT refer to? I don't know what I'm missing.
[difficulty of distinguishing between a language and the sub-languages or dialects within it ]
does it make sense now? language = noun, it = pronoun referring to language[/b]
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by umaa » Tue Dec 22, 2009 9:42 am
Why didn't it refer to sub languages? Is there any rule that the verb following BETWEEN X AND Y should refer to X?
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by hrishi19884 » Tue Dec 22, 2009 9:52 am
In my purview - the answer should be D.. Below are the reasons :

* The sentence sounds good grammatically as well as logically. The tense used is also correct.

* It says "those who tried to count typically found about five thousand"
the main subject/clause(how many languages are there in the world) has been clearly referred in 2nd part by "them" - indicating that those who tried to count them have found about 5000. Here"them correctly indicates "what has been counted?" Ans is "languages"(them)

* "tried to count"(past tense) correctly modifies "found"(past tense)


D seems to be the best choice.

What is OA btw....?
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by mmslf75 » Tue Dec 22, 2009 9:52 am
umaa wrote:Why didn't it refer to sub languages? Is there any rule that the verb following BETWEEN X AND Y should refer to X?
Yeah, to some extent ur right !

THEM could have referred to SUB LANGUAGES as well,

But I guess since the wording is "LANGUAGE and SUB-LANGUAGES or DIALECTS WITHIN IT"

Here in X and Y or Z type , you cannot have a referrent after Z referring to Y that is placed just before "OR",,, this would make the wording awkward
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by hrishi19884 » Tue Dec 22, 2009 10:04 am
YES Umaa u'r right.

I thought of the same thing "when there is X and Y ....it is always plural". - -> them would be the perfect one to use.

Otherwise option A "have tried......have found" would have been more better.
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by hrishi19884 » Tue Dec 22, 2009 10:11 am
I think, we need some expert guidance here to help us to understand whether "a language and the sub-languages or dialects" is singular or plural


PLEASE, SOMEONE ASSIST
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by mehravikas » Tue Dec 22, 2009 7:10 pm
I may be wrong but I think that usage of "it" or "them" is fine here. If we "it" we can say that it is referring to language and when it uses "them" we could say that "them" is referring to sub-languages.

The problem is in the latter part of the sentence. Option D is missing "have"...
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by hrishi19884 » Wed Dec 23, 2009 12:27 pm
Testluv,can you just help me out with this one?

It has the below two answer options :

"between a language and the sub-languages or dialects within it" --- singular

"between a language and the sub-languages or dialects within them" --- plural


Which one do you think is correct. I have heard that :

if X(singular) and Y(plural) ----then following part should be plural

if X(plural) and Y(singular) ----then following part should be singular.

Looking from the above theory, the option "within them" should be considered.

Let me know if I am wrong!
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by hrishi19884 » Wed Dec 23, 2009 12:30 pm
I got it ...thanks!
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by heshamelaziry » Wed Dec 23, 2009 12:37 pm
Choices D and E use the construction between x or y , this is not the correct idiom. The correct idiom is between x and y; this leaves me to choose between A, B, and C. B and C have errors as other fellas pointed out.
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by Testluv » Wed Dec 23, 2009 1:10 pm
Hrishi: Because the noun is "language", the pronoun that replaces it should be "it".

Hesham: you are right that the correct idiom is "between x AND y".
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