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Pollution and degradation of the environment

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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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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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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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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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