Sentence Correction

i received a pm.

i don't think that any of these choices is completely correct. the ones that come closest are (c) and (e), but both of those have tense issues:
* in (c), "ask" is inappropriate -- in this context, it should be "have asked", since it is happening in exactly the same timeframe as "have seen".
* in (e), "are asking" is inappropriate for largely the same reason.

WHAT IS THE SOURCE OF THIS PROBLEM?
i would be extremely suspicious of this problem, because it's written and edited by someone who doesn't understand even the basics of how the gmat works -- as proved by the fact that the last three words of every answer choice are the same.
the gmat ALWAYS starts EVERY underline at the first difference in the answer choices, and ALWAYS ends EVERY underline at the last difference -- there will NEVER be a real gmat problem in which all five choices start or end with the same word(s).
this consideration doesn't invalidate the problem by itself, but it shows that the author and editor(s) of the problem either (1) don't know what they're doing or (2) aren't being careful.

at the risk of repeating myself hundreds of times, i'll also ask the other question:
if you don't know the source of the problem, WHY are you using it?

GMATMadeEasy wrote:Looking again at the first sentence above in terms of structure:

I have seen him grow from a toddler to an adult.

grow from a toddler to an adult is in the role of noun phrase ~~ to grow from a toddler to an adult

I <have seen> <him> <grow from a toddler to an adult>.
subject + transitive verb + object + infinitive phrase in the role of noun phrase .

let me know if I am mistaken here.

i will confess that i have absolutely no idea what a "noun phrase" is, so i can't really answer this question.

however, there's a better way:
if you see an extremely unusual structure, just do the following:
* MEMORIZE EXAMPLES of the structure
* WRITE YOUR OWN examples of it
basically, just learn these constructions the same way you learn idioms.
a formal grammatical analysis isn't really necessary -- and, if the construction is exceptional enough, can actually hurt your ability to understand how to use it.

GMATMadeEasy wrote:agreed with your point. please allow me to re-ask the option C in terms of subject-verb agreement. (ignore tense issue just for the discussion).

@ C is presented as it is.

For years, employees have seen what they pay toward health care increase as companies ask them to contribute more to premiums and deductibles.

My reasoning says increase should be increases. Why ?
what they pay toward health care is a clause so should be treated as singular. You also mentioned in one post ,of same sort, that that is how these clauses should be treated. I might be wrong in interpreting this in the current context .

that's not how it works.

i have no idea how to analyze this structure formally, but here's how it works -- the verb in the location of "increase" is completely invariant in number and tense. in fact, it functions in exactly the same way as an infinitive without the word "to" in front.

the following are ALL correct:
I am watching Jim play baseball. (not "plays")
I watched Jim play baseball. (not "plays", and not past tense)
I will watch Jim play baseball.
I have watched Jim play baseball.
etc.

ALSO
let us not forget that this structure appears in an unsourced problem from a demonstrably unreliable source (see my comments above -- the authors of this problem are rather clueless as to the very basics of how to write a gmat problem.)

WHAT IS THE SOURCE OF THIS PROBLEM?
IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE SOURCE, WHY ARE YOU USING IT AND TRUSTING IT?

i will not comment further on this problem until someone comes forward with the original source.