Is fossils singular?

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hai1: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 39; Joined: Tue Oct 23, 2007 9:25 am; Thanked: 1 times; GMAT Score:600

by hai1 » Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:23 pm

Q: Fossils of a whale that beached on an African shore more than a million years ago and was subsequently butchered by hominds have been recovered by paleontologists.

b. that beached on an African shore more than a million years ago and then was subsequently butchered by hominds has
c. that beached on an African shore more than a million years ago, which was subsequently butchered by hominds, has
d. having been beached on an African shore more than a million years ago and subsequently butchered by hominds, have
e. having beached on an African shore more than a million years ago and subsequently butchered by hominds have

Ans: A

My question: Fossils of x ..... was subsequently butchered? I am confused as the question is using was for plural fossils.

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:23 pm

gmatv09: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 256; Joined: Mon Aug 10, 2009 6:31 pm; Thanked: 3 times

by gmatv09 » Mon Dec 28, 2009 2:01 pm

Using PoE

b. that beached on an African shore more than a million years ago and then was subsequently butchered by hominds has

c. that beached on an African shore more than a million years ago, which was subsequently butchered by hominds, has
d. having been beached on an African shore more than a million years ago and subsequently butchered by hominds, have
e. having beached on an African shore more than a million years ago and subsequently butchered by hominds have

Hence A is correct...Fossils ==> plural (Fossils ................ have been recovered)

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mehravikas: Legendary Member; Posts: 1161; Joined: Mon May 12, 2008 2:52 amFollowed by: 1 member; Location: Sydney; Thanked: 23 times

by mehravikas » Mon Dec 28, 2009 2:12 pm

Fossils of a whale that beached on an African shore more than a million years ago and was subsequently butchered by hominds have been recovered by paleontologists.

was refers to whale - singular
have refers to fossils - plural

hai1 wrote:Q: Fossils of a whale that beached on an African shore more than a million years ago and was subsequently butchered by hominds have been recovered by paleontologists.

b. that beached on an African shore more than a million years ago and then was subsequently butchered by hominds has
c. that beached on an African shore more than a million years ago, which was subsequently butchered by hominds, has
d. having been beached on an African shore more than a million years ago and subsequently butchered by hominds, have
e. having beached on an African shore more than a million years ago and subsequently butchered by hominds have

Ans: A

My question: Fossils of x ..... was subsequently butchered? I am confused as the question is using was for plural fossils.

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thephoenix: Legendary Member; Posts: 1560; Joined: Tue Nov 17, 2009 2:38 amFollowed by: 5 members; Thanked: 137 times

by thephoenix » Tue Dec 29, 2009 3:01 am

S=v agreement

fossils........have
B,C out

D...having been beached and butchered ...........two verbs are not parallel; comma before have is wrong

E..having beached and butchered ....not parallel

SO A

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mmslf75: Legendary Member; Posts: 503; Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2009 9:53 pmFollowed by: 2 members; Thanked: 31 times

by mmslf75 » Tue Dec 29, 2009 11:57 am

mehravikas wrote:Fossils of a whale that beached on an African shore more than a million years ago and was subsequently butchered by hominds have been recovered by paleontologists.

was refers to whale - singular
have refers to fossils - plural

hai1 wrote:Q: Fossils of a whale that beached on an African shore more than a million years ago and was subsequently butchered by hominds have been recovered by paleontologists.

b. that beached on an African shore more than a million years ago and then was subsequently butchered by hominds has
c. that beached on an African shore more than a million years ago, which was subsequently butchered by hominds, has
d. having been beached on an African shore more than a million years ago and subsequently butchered by hominds, have
e. having beached on an African shore more than a million years ago and subsequently butchered by hominds have

Ans: A

My question: Fossils of x ..... was subsequently butchered? I am confused as the question is using was for plural fossils.

Vikas, perfect!!

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