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the Western Hemisphere.

by vipulgoyal » Fri Feb 27, 2015 5:43 pm
.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.

B/w A and E , I made E out on following grounds, Plz explain if my reasoning is correct

E is out because the devastation and enslavement is singular.
"The X and Y" is singular, whereas "the X and the Y" is plural.

OA E
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by GMATGuruNY » Sat Feb 28, 2015 4:37 am
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 have been decimated
c) devastating and enslaving in the name of progress those native peoples of the Western Hemisphere that have been 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
A: progress that has decimated native peoples
B: progress by which native peoples...have been decimated
A and B imply that PROGRESS has decimated the native peoples, a distortion of the intended meaning.
The intended meaning is that DEVASTATION AND ENSLAVEMENT have decimated the native peoples.
Eliminate A and B.

C: native peoples...that have been decimated
D: native peoples...which...are decimated
On the GMAT, that and which cannot serve to refer to people.
Eliminate C and D.

The correct answer is E.

Generally:
that + SINGULAR VERB should refer to the nearest eligible SINGULAR antecedent.
that + PLURAL VERB should refer to the nearest eligible PLURAL antecedent.

E: THE DEVASTATION AND ENSLAVEMENT in the name of progress that HAVE DECIMATED the native peoples.
Here, the verb attributed to that -- HAVE decimated -- is PLURAL.
Thus, the referent for that must be THE DEVASTATION AND ENSLAVEMENT, the nearest eligible PLURAL antecedent.
Conveyed meaning:
The devastation and enslavement that have decimated the native peoples.
E is out because the devastation and enslavement is singular.
"The X and Y" is singular, whereas "the X and the Y" is plural.
This reasoning is incorrect.

A COMPOUND subject is composed of two or more nouns connected by and:
John AND Mary are coming to the party.
The front, the top, AND the bottom are red.
The devastation AND enslavement have decimated the native peoples.

Generally, a compound subject requires a PLURAL verb.

A compound subject may be considered singular ONLY IF THE NON-UNDERLINED PORTION makes the intention clear.
SC82 in the OG12:
According to a recent poll, OWNING AND LIVING in a freestanding house on its own land IS still a goal of a majority of young adults, like that of earlier generations.
Here, owning and living must be considered singular because its verb in the non-underlined portion -- is -- is singular.
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by NandishSS » Fri Sep 15, 2017 8:09 am
Hi Guru,

In A & B is it not "THAT" is referring back to devastation and enslavement ?

How to know what "that" refers back to?

Thanks
Nandish
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by GMATGuruNY » Sat Sep 16, 2017 6:32 am
NandishSS wrote:Hi Guru,

In A & B is it not "THAT" is referring back to devastation and enslavement ?

How to know what "that" refers back to?

Thanks
Nandish
A: devastation and enslavement in the name of progress that has decimated native peoples
Here, the verb attributed to that -- has decimated -- is singular, so the referent for that must also be singular.
As a result, that seems to refer to progress -- the nearest preceding singular noun -- implying that PROGRESS has decimated native peoples.

Generally, PREPOSITION + which should refer to the nearest preceding noun.
B: devastation and enslavement in the name of progress by which native peoples of the Western Hemisphere have been decimated
Here, by which (PREPOSITION + which) seems to refer to progress -- the nearest preceding noun -- implying that native peoples have been decimated by PROGRESS.

Since the intended meaning is that DEVASTATION AND ENSLAVEMENT have decimated the native peoples, eliminate A and B.
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