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Solar System

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Solar System

by uptowngirl92 » Fri Oct 09, 2009 2:38 pm
The direction in which the Earth and the other solid planets-Mercury, Venus, and Mars-spins were determined from collisions with giant celestial bodies in the early history of the Solar System.

(A) spins were determined from
(B) spins were determined because of
(C) spins was determined through
(D) spin was determined by
(E) spin was determined as a result of

The singular/plural thing is going to be my death i am sure...sigh..explanations guys?
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by xcusemeplz2009 » Sat Oct 10, 2009 9:30 am
for spin(correct)/spins the subject is earth and other planets(plural)

direction(singular).....needs ...was(singular)....

after this i am stuck among c,d,e

i guess d is correct....determined by (luks to be an idiom)

pls confirm the ans
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Here is my opinion

by enniguy » Sat Oct 10, 2009 10:37 am
Try it this way. I have used the spoiler for things that don't matter.

The direction [spoiler]in which the Earth and the other solid planets-"Mercury, Venus, and Mars"-spins [/spoiler] were determined from collisions with giant celestial bodies in the early history of the Solar System.

So here "the direction" is very much singular. Hence, you need to use singular verb. This singular verb is "was".

Now, within the spoiler we have: the Earth and the other solid planets-"Mercury, Venus, and Mars"-spins.
Because we have an "and" this is plural. Hence we need to use spin (Plural form of spins).

Hence D is the answer.

Moreover this sentence is in passive voice. You will get a feeling that there should be a "by" after determined when you look at this sentence.

"Always spot the verb first and find the relevant nouns / subjects / objects for the verb.
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by enniguy » Sat Oct 10, 2009 10:43 am
xcusemeplz2009 wrote:determined by (luks to be an idiom)
It isn't an idiom. It's a passive voice.

Passive Voice:-
The direction ... was determined by collisions ...

Here is the sentence in active voice:-
Collisions ... determined the direction in which ...

Hence,
VERB:- was determined
OBJECT:- The direction
SUBJECT:- collisions.

You can also expect "by" because determined is in past participle and so you can expect the subject of the sentence after the verb.
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sub

by brick2009 » Sun Oct 11, 2009 11:15 pm
identify the subject of the sentence.. its the "direction "--> singular..
hence seek answers with WAS...
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by uptowngirl92 » Mon Oct 12, 2009 6:57 pm
Guys..question..
All of you are concetrating on the word "was"

THE DIRECTION>>SINGULAR..therefore usage of spins is correct.
However ia m confused 'cos the word "and" in " Earth AND the other solid planets" makes it plural>>"SPIN" is correct.
In such a question how would one decide??
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by riteshbindal » Wed Oct 14, 2009 2:30 pm
Should be D. What's the OA?
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by tryin700 » Wed Oct 14, 2009 5:35 pm
IMO: D

Reasoning:
original sentence:
Subject:The direction - Singular
Verb: were - Plural (should be singular)was

Subject:the Earth and the other solid planetsâ€"Mercury, Venus, and Marsâ€" -- Plural
Verb: spins -- Singular (should be plural) spin

Hence the answer.
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IMO

by enniguy » Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:37 pm
uptowngirl92 wrote:Guys..question..
All of you are concetrating on the word "was"

THE DIRECTION>>SINGULAR..therefore usage of spins is correct.
However ia m confused 'cos the word "and" in " Earth AND the other solid planets" makes it plural>>"SPIN" is correct.
In such a question how would one decide??
You need to decide What spins? Does "The direction" spins? No. It's the earth and other planets along with earth.
So, the verb should be in plural form, which is "spin" here.
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by uymba » Fri Oct 16, 2009 12:11 pm
My analysis:

Who spin? earth and other planets. So spin must be plural.

What was determined? the direction. So it must be WAS instead of WERE.

So, A,B & C are out.

Between D and E, the difference is "BY" or "AS A RESULT OF".

"determined by" asks for the person/thing that actually determined something. The person/thing has to have the ability to perform actions in this case determine a direction. A collision is not the kind of thing we are looking for. So it must be "AS A RESULT OF COLLISIONS".

IMO: E.

OA?
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by viidyasagar » Fri Feb 19, 2010 11:52 pm
Reviving an old thread instead of starting a new one!!!!
The direction in which the Earth and the other solid planets-Mercury, Venus, and Mars-spins were determined from collisions with giant celestial bodies in the early history of the Solar System.

(A) spins were determined from
(B) spins were determined because of
(C) spins was determined through
(D) spin was determined by
(E) spin was determined as a result of
Clearly, the fight is between D and E.

10 out of 10 times i will choose E, however OA is D

Source - OG. OE states that the wordy "as a result of" is not the correct idiom.

However, i encountered the following GMAT Prep Question that contradicts the above claim by placing "As a result of" in the non-underlined part. https://www.beatthegmat.com/supernova-ex ... 32182.html

Any shooters??
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by girish3131 » Sat Feb 20, 2010 2:36 am
Ans is D


BUT


reasons for it wch are given above are not correct.


Good Ques...!
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by viidyasagar » Sat Feb 20, 2010 3:01 am
Girish:

Kindly explain your reasons!!! I'm really curious :-)
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