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Political issues

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by GmatKiss » Tue Apr 03, 2012 7:59 am
Although it claims to delve into political issues, television can be superficial such as when each of the three major networks broadcast exactly the same statement from a political candidate.

(A) superficial such as when each of the three major networks
(B) superficial, as can sometimes occur if all of the three major networks
(C) superficial if the three major networks all
(D) superficial whenever each of the three major networks
(E) superficial, as when the three major networks each
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Source: — Sentence Correction |

by Bill@VeritasPrep » Tue Apr 03, 2012 8:06 am
The trap in this question is getting caught up in the linking words after superficial: such as, as, if, whenever, or as when. If we notice that there's a verb just outside the underlined portion ("broadcast"), we can use that to narrow down our answer choices.

In A, the subject for "broadcast" is "each of the three major networks." "Each" is singular, while "broadcast" is plural, so we have an agreement error.

In B, the subject is "all of the three major networks," which works. However, it changes the meaning of the original. In A, we knew television was superficial WHEN this event happened, which is fairly definite. B uses "if" instead of "when," which makes it conditional

In C, the subject is "three major networks," which works. However, it uses "if" instead of "when," so we can eliminate it as we did B.

D uses the same subject as A, so we can eliminate it.

E uses the same subject as C, so agreement is fine. It also keeps "when" instead of "if," so it preserves the original meaning.
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