Sentence Correction

There is ample evidence, derived from the lore of traditional folk medicine, that naturally occurring antibiotics are usually able to be modified to make them a more effective drug.

1.are usually able to be modified to make them a more effective drug.
2.are usually able to be modified to make them more effective drugs
3.are usually able to be modified, which makes them more effective drugs
4.can usually be modified to make them a more effective drug
5.can usually be modified to make them more effective drugs

OA is E

I have a doubt which I shall post after getting a reply.

dj_vinayak wrote:There is ample evidence, derived from the lore of traditional folk medicine, that naturally occurring antibiotics are usually able to be modified to make them a more effective drug.

1.are usually able to be modified to make them a more effective drug.
2.are usually able to be modified to make them more effective drugs
3.are usually able to be modified, which makes them more effective drugs
4.can usually be modified to make them a more effective drug
5.can usually be modified to make them more effective drugs

OA is E

I have a doubt which I shall post after getting a reply.

Able to be modified is unidiomatic and awkward. So, eliminate A,B and C
D is eliminated because we have antibiotics ( Plural). D means all antibiotics make one drug.

IMOE

this is how i approached the SC

First i looked for 2-3 split
I think 'are usually able to be modified' does not looks good

So came down to D or E

In D 'a more effective drug' suggests there is only 1 drug that can be made after modifying the antibiotic

E seems better. "antibiotics can be .....modified......to make....more effective drugs

whats the doubt??

dj_vinayak wrote:There is ample evidence, derived from the lore of traditional folk medicine, that naturally occurring antibiotics are usually able to be modified to make them a more effective drug.

1.are usually able to be modified to make them a more effective drug.
2.are usually able to be modified to make them more effective drugs
3.are usually able to be modified, which makes them more effective drugs
4.can usually be modified to make them a more effective drug
5.can usually be modified to make them more effective drugs

OA is E

I have a doubt which I shall post after getting a reply.

outreach wrote:whats the doubt??

My doubt is between D and E. I am somehow still not able to convince myself that D is wrong because of antibiotics being plural.

for e.g. The anitbiotics make for a potent solution .

Maybe the doubt is also because i though that D sounded better.

First time when I attempted this question, I also selected D. But if you get a meaning of D then you will understand that D is wrong.

Let's see at D - Naturally occurring antibiotics can usually be modified to make them a more effective drug

How many antibiotics are naturally occuring? millions? and all of them are making only one drug? will it be correct?

Now E - Naturally occurring antibiotics can usually be modified to make them a more effective drugs

This is correct. Because, how many antibiotics are naturally occuring? - millions

and all of them are making only one drug? - No, they are making different drugs.

HTH!!!!

dj_vinayak wrote:

outreach wrote:whats the doubt??

My doubt is between D and E. I am somehow still not able to convince myself that D is wrong because of antibiotics being plural.

for e.g. The anitbiotics make for a potent solution .

Maybe the doubt is also because i though that D sounded better.

Before you post your doubts, I wanted to pitch in my 25 cts.

There is ample evidence, derived from the lore of traditional folk medicine, that naturally occurring antibiotics are usually able to be modified to make them a more effective drug.

1.are usually able to be modified to make them a more effective drug.
2.are usually able to be modified to make them more effective drugs
3.are usually able to be modified, which makes them more effective drugs
4.can usually be modified to make them a more effective drug
5.can usually be modified to make them more effective drugs

The question is testing concision and meaning.

Split: are able to / can be - Both are grammatically correct, however, able to be is a wordier. Refer to page 148 on the MGMAT SC Guide.

Split: Drug / Drugs - Since "them" appears on all , it simply conveys that there are more than on type of antibiotic , making different types of drugs.

Meaning: The evidences are not currently helping in making the drugs, but can be use to make drugs. So [b]" can be"[/b] brings out the correct meaning.

IMO E