'that' is SINGULAR or PLURAL - role of 'THAT'?

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1.For many revisionist historians, Christopher Columbus has come to personify devastation and enslavement in the name of progress that has decimated native peoples of the Western Hemisphere.

A. devastation and enslavement in the name of progress that has decimated native peoples of the Western Hemisphere
B. devastation and enslavement in the name of progress by which native peoples of the Western Hemisphere decimated
C. devastating and enslaving in the name of progress those native peoples of the Western Hemisphere which in the name of progress are decimated.
D. devastating and enslaving those native peoples of the western Hemisphere which in the name of progress are decimated.
E. the devastation and enslavement in the name of progress that have decimated the native peoples of the Western Hemisphere.

2. Because fish look through water, their eyes are very different from a mammal.
A. from a mammal
B. from a mammal's
C. from that of a mammal
D. than that of a mammal
E. than is a mammal's.

In the second sentence, the OA is B and in D "that" is not correct since it cannot refer to plural nouns. I quite agree with this.

Going back to the first sentence
OA is E.
1. In this sentence - Question 1 option E- what is the role of 'that' in this sentence and how different is it from the 'that' used in option D in sentence 2. Do they play different roles
2. In Sentence 1 option E, doesn't 'that' refer to a plural antecedent and use the verb have.

This is a bit confusing, can one of the experts please explain this?
A kudos or thanks would do great if my answer has helped you :)

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by e-GMAT » Tue Jan 29, 2013 9:40 am
Your doubt is pretty interesting and it stems from the two different usages of "that".

1: As relative pronoun - Here the word that connects or relates the noun that it refers to to the verb within the dependent clause.

"¢ She loves food that is cooked with vinegar.
"¢ She loves the meals that are cooked with olive oil.

2: As demonstrative pronoun - Here the word 'that' simply replaces the noun that it refers to.

"¢ The bread at this store is fresher than that at the other store.
"¢ The fruits at this store are fresher than those at the other store.

Notice carefully the usage in plural and singular context. As you can see when that is used as relative pronoun, it takes singular verb or plural verb depending on the number of the noun that it refers to.

Likewise when used as demonstrative pronoun, "that" is always used to refer to singular noun and "those" is used to refer to plural nouns.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Payal

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by BTG14 » Wed Feb 13, 2013 5:26 am
The Question that gmatrant posted is good one. ( Relative Noun).

The Answer posted by e-gmat is better than that was posted by "gmatrant".( Demostrative Noun)

Yes I got it.... Thank you e-gmat... and thank you gmatrant for the question.