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Crime - they vs it

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agemroy: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 19; Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 1:08 am; Thanked: 3 times

Crime - they vs it

by agemroy » Sun Jul 13, 2008 6:58 am

Some people are of the opinion that <<the>>

(A) the police is incapable of curbing crime successfully because they have limited power.

(B) because the police have limited power, they are incapable of curbing crime successfully.

(C) the police are incapable of curbing crime successfully because they have limited power.

(D) the police, because it has limited power, is incapable of curbing crime successfully.

(E) having limited power, the police is incapable of curbing crime successfully.

Plz explain

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Sun Jul 13, 2008 6:58 am

agemroy: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 19; Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 1:08 am; Thanked: 3 times

question

by agemroy » Sun Jul 13, 2008 7:02 am

Some people are of the opinion that the police is incapable of curbing crime successfully because they have limited power.

(A) the police is incapable of curbing crime successfully because they have limited power.

(B) because the police have limited power, they are incapable of curbing crime successfully.

(C) the police are incapable of curbing crime successfully because they have limited power.

(D) the police, because it has limited power, is incapable of curbing crime successfully.

(E) having limited power, the police is incapable of curbing crime successfully.

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Vignesh.4384: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 443; Joined: Sat Jun 28, 2008 6:33 pm; Thanked: 5 times

by Vignesh.4384 » Sun Jul 13, 2008 7:35 am

is the answer D ?

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agemroy: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 19; Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 1:08 am; Thanked: 3 times

by agemroy » Sun Jul 13, 2008 8:05 am

OA is B

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reachac: Legendary Member; Posts: 572; Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2008 9:25 am; Thanked: 21 times

by reachac » Sun Jul 13, 2008 9:33 am

Well I thot the ans would be D. Police I supposed to be collective noun hence 'it' should have been used.

someone pls xplain.

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UmanG: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 34; Joined: Sun May 13, 2007 8:55 pm; Location: Bangalore

by UmanG » Sun Jul 13, 2008 10:41 am

Here article "the" ahead of collective noun "police" makes it singular noun that represents whole class. Hence I think it should follow "is".

Is it D?

Thanks,
UmanG - restless mind..

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m51v50: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 26; Joined: Thu May 15, 2008 1:02 am; Thanked: 1 times

by m51v50 » Sun Jul 13, 2008 11:09 am

Aggregate nouns are similar to collective nouns in that they refer to single collections that are made up of similar individual parts. For example, mail and radio are both individual components of communications. However, nlike collective nouns, aggregate nouns usually use plural verb forms and have no singular forms. They cannot be used with a or an.

Example: With the development of the Internet, communications are being revolutionized at a dizzying speed.

Many aggregate nouns have plural forms, but many also are not plural in form, though they use plural verb forms.

Example: The police are still looking for the Olympic Park bomber.
Some aggregate nouns can use either singular or plural verb forms:
Example: The data [is/are] inconclusive on that point.

Remember, the following nouns are always plural.
Communications cattle
arms clergy
data police
goods offspring
media people
outskirts poultry
remains vermin
troops intelligentsia
barracks majority
dregs swine

Have 790 or die

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m51v50: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 26; Joined: Thu May 15, 2008 1:02 am; Thanked: 1 times

by m51v50 » Sun Jul 13, 2008 11:14 am

Some people are of the opinion that the police is incapable of curbing crime successfully because they have limited power.

(A) the police is incapable of curbing crime successfully because they have limited power. (Police is plural)

(B) because the police have limited power, they are incapable of curbing crime successfully. (correct as the verb agrees with the plural police)

(C) the police are incapable of curbing crime successfully because they have limited power. (they is ambiguous as it may refer to the police or people)

(D) the police, because it has limited power, is incapable of curbing crime successfully. (to refer to police the use of it is incorrect and also the use of is not correct.)

(E) having limited power, the police is incapable of curbing crime successfully. (is is not correct)

Have 790 or die

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Mahalo: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 27; Joined: Tue Jul 01, 2008 8:33 pm; Thanked: 2 times

by Mahalo » Sun Jul 13, 2008 3:20 pm

I could see that even in the option (B) "they" is ambiguous as it may refer to the police or people

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harish: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 42; Joined: Fri May 30, 2008 10:30 pm; Location: India

by harish » Sun Jul 13, 2008 7:58 pm

My answer was also D

Hi m51v50,

Very helpful tip on "Aggragate Nouns". Thanks for the information!!
But I am still not content with the explanation.
Adding to what Mahalo has posted, even opotion B uses "incapable of curbing"
Cuould you please explain

-- (D) the police, because it has limited power, is incapable of curbing crime successfully. (to refer to police the use of it is incorrect and also the use of is not correct.)

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bigfernhead: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 36; Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2008 5:23 am; Thanked: 1 times

by bigfernhead » Wed Jul 16, 2008 8:03 am

m51v50 -

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if C is ambiguous due to the "they", can't we say the same line of reasoning be used for B?

I chose C because I thought "they" was clearly referring to the police.