Pollution and degradation of the environment

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pawanagarwal: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 11; Joined: Fri Sep 26, 2008 12:46 pm; Thanked: 1 times

by pawanagarwal » Fri Dec 03, 2010 11:39 am

Pollution and degradation of the environment is, according to the comission's report, a matter of universal concern

A) is, according to the comission's report, a matter of universal concern
B) is, according to the report by the comission, a matter of universal concern
C) is, according to the report of the comission, matters of universal concern
D) are, according to the comission's report, universally a matter of concern
E) are, according to the comission's report, a matter of universal concern

OA is [spoiler]E. My question is the construct: "A and B are a matter of universal concern" a valid construct?. "Are is plural" and "a matter" is singular which does not seem to agree with the verb. Thoughts?[/spoiler]

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Fri Dec 03, 2010 11:39 am

Target2009: Legendary Member; Posts: 574; Joined: Sat Oct 31, 2009 1:47 pmFollowed by: 5 members; Location: USA; Thanked: 29 times

by Target2009 » Fri Dec 03, 2010 11:44 am

IMO E. SV agreement. Yes it sounds little confusing but this the Best choice as Choice D changes the meaning.

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GMATGuruNY: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15539; Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pmFollowed by: 1906 members; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 13060 times; GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Sat Dec 04, 2010 4:21 am

pawanagarwal wrote:Pollution and degradation of the environment is, according to the comission's report, a matter of universal concern

A) is, according to the comission's report, a matter of universal concern
B) is, according to the report by the comission, a matter of universal concern
C) is, according to the report of the comission, matters of universal concern
D) are, according to the comission's report, universally a matter of concern
E) are, according to the comission's report, a matter of universal concern

OA is [spoiler]E. My question is the construct: "A and B are a matter of universal concern" a valid construct?. "Are is plural" and "a matter" is singular which does not seem to agree with the verb. Thoughts?[/spoiler]

I received a PM asking me to comment.

Quickest approach:
In A, B, and C, the compound subject pollution and degradation does not agree with singular verb is. Eliminate A, B and C.

In D, the phrase universally a matter of concern is unidiomatic and changes the intended meaning of the sentence. Eliminate D.

The correct answer is E.

A compound subject (two nouns connected by the conjunction and) can be equated with a singular noun: X and Y are Z.

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ronaldramlan: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 87; Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2008 5:44 amFollowed by: 2 members; Thanked: 14 times

by ronaldramlan » Sat Dec 04, 2010 9:03 am

pawanagarwal wrote: My question is the construct: "A and B are a matter of universal concern" a valid construct?. "Are is plural" and "a matter" is singular which does not seem to agree with the verb. Thoughts?[/spoiler]

This is indeed interesting. Whether a singular or a plural verb is used depends entirely on the subject, and NOT the object of the sentence. In this case, we have a plural subject (pollution and degradation) and a singular object (a matter). Thus, a plural helping verb "ARE", instead of "IS", should be used.

Consider the following example :
What is even more difficult to determine IS his motivation and his willingness to do the job.

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