Neanderthals had a vocal tract

EducationAisle wrote:

stormier wrote:Is it wrong to say that a singular item resembles multiple items, as in - My television resembles the televisions of my neighbors?

Neandrethals had a vocal tract that resembled those (vocal tracts) of the apes ?

It is not wrong to say:

My television resembles the televisions of my neighbors.

But, it is wrong to say:

My television resembles those of my neighbors.

In the above sentence, those is intended to refer to televisions, but there is no televisions mentioned in the sentence, only television. Hence, you must repeat televisions.

Similarly, the correct sentence would be:

Neandrethals had a vocal tract that resembled vocal tracts of the apes.

Ashish, thanks. Very clear. It's funny how a simple rule - pronoun reference - can sometimes become so deceptive. What "sounds right" to the ear can sometimes be detrimental.

How can B correct? isn't it awkward to use ING verb with POSSESSIVE FORM.

please clear my doubt

IMO: E

'were' is referring to the vocal tracts taht were without any language. Also E ig more structured with respect to comparison.

sg7007 wrote:

bluementor wrote:I understand that to refer to a singular, you can't use 'those'...

but my question here is why is vocal tract singular in the first place? Why is it not plural as follows:

Neanderthals had vocal tracts....

by having plural 'vocal tracts', we are decribing the inherent nature of the vocal tracts (of the Neanderthals) in general, which I think what the passage is all about.

From the OA, Neanderthals had a vocal tract... seems to refer to a single vocal tract 'shared' by all Neanderthals which I find illogical.

Can someone please clearify this. Thanks.

BlueMentor

I have the same question.

Hi the way I understood it is -
(1) "and so were probably without language" means that the subject must be Neanderthals and not the vocal tracts. Therefore options C, D and E are out
(2) Option #a says, "Neanderthals had a vocal tract that resembled those of the apes" a vocal cord can't be compared to "those" - hence this option is OUT
(3) The only possibility is left is (B) - so this must be the right option
(4) Lets evaluate #B - "Neanderthals had a vocal tract resembling an ape's and so were probably without language, a shortcoming that may explain why they were supplanted by our own species. "
note that we are not talking about a single vocal cord or group of individual vocal cords belonging to Neanderthals; rather we are talking about an individual organ in Neanderthals' body. hence grammatically it makes sense.

best,
M

Isnt OA - E Can an GMAT Instructor pl clarify this one ?

Neanderthals is singular. It is a group so usage of "vocal tract" is correct

+1 for B

Answer is B.

I think the answer is B too.

But i do not understand how the reasoning behing these questions work.Sometimes they all seem right and sometimes none. Is there a sure shot way of understanding that a particular answer is correct. I don't think so.

The answer is B.

C,D and E change the subject. A replaces singular 'vocal tract' with plural 'those'.

B Option is the answer..

so hey whats the answer now?
is it B or E?
some one mentionaed that the OA is "e"..
plait edit the first post and add the OA there.

IMO B corrects redundancies
A - redundant
CDE - illogic

My Ans is B

Neanderthals is the main subject and the vocal tract of neanderthals has to be compared against the vocal tract of apes.

Is this a correct explanation?

+1 for B