Hi rakeshd347,

This SC involves a "verb" issue and a modification/intent issue. Here are the rules you need to know to answer it:

1) The DAR is a singular noun, which is explained by the modifier "a volunteer service organization." As such, it requires the verb "admits"

2) The "intent" is that the DAR admits "ONLY" a specific group of women (those who can prove descent from a patriot...). The only answer that uses that correct modifier is A.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

I received a private message about this thread.

This problem is on our list to be edited.

Things that have to be fixed:

* Choice (C) isn't really wrong; it's just an alternate meaning that is still perfectly reasonable. (A change of meaning is incorrect if it produces a nonsense meaning, but not necessarily otherwise.)

* Indeed, the DAR is singular. However, when GMAC's problems contain "plural-looking" things that are actually singular, there's always some clue or proof within the sentence. (E.g., OG12 #82, in which "owning and living" is singular -- this is proved by the verb "is" in the non-underlined part.)

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As far as the reason why DAR is singular, it's the same reason that "the United States" is singular. (You'd write The United States has more billionaires than the rest of the world combined -- i.e., you wouldn't write The United States have...)
Basically, it's one entity.

I wouldn't really worry about it, though, for the reason stated above. If GMAC does this, they'll provide proof.

Ok, so I went back into our software and checked this problem. The problem posted in this thread is not the same as our problem.

Our problem actually starts with these words:
A volunteer service organization, the Daughters of the American Revolution, admits...

This wording completely obviates the subject-verb issue, because the subject is now "A volunteer service organization", which is clearly singular. So subject-verb is a non-issue.

I wonder how the problem made it onto the forum with those two parts reversed. Weird. (If the problem once looked like that and we changed it, there would be a history in the system. There isn't one.)

On the other hand, answer choice (C) is still not really a wrong answer, so we're still going to fix that part of the problem.