Sentence Correction

jdenning wrote:Hi kvcpk - thanks for the question. First off, while this question is not actually from the PowerScore course, it is a fantastic illustration of a concept that we cover thoroughly in our course: Collective Nouns in Subject-Verb Agreement. A collective noun is a noun that represents a seemingly plural group/idea, but is in fact singular. Some examples of collective nouns include "jury," "band," "crowd," "flock," "majority," and "dozen." Each of these is treated as singular when used as the subject of a sentence. So you wouldn't say "a jury of Susan's peers are deliberating her guilt," but rather you should say, "a jury of Susan's peers is deliberating her guilt."

For the sentence in question here, answer choice B is correct. The subject of this sentence is "a number," and is therefore singular and requires the singular verb "is." Despite the fact that "a number" clearly refers to more than one reason, it is still considered a singular subject (as it is a collective noun) and attempting to pair it with "are" is incorrect.

Consider another example: "A number of valuables were/was taken by the looters." Again, because the subject of this sentence is "a number" and therefore singular, it requires the singular verb "was." "Was" sounds a bit strange here, I know, but choosing "were" for this sentence is grammatically improper. This is a classic example of why it is so important to familiarize yourself with these commonly tested rules of grammar, and not to simply rely on what sounds best when you take the GMAT!

And one final tip....in the original sentence the phrase "of reasons" is what is known as a prepositional phrase, and prepositional phrases NEVER contain the subject of a sentence on the GMAT. Prepositional phrases are simply given to provide further information about the subject, but they do not contain the subject itself. This is one of the most common grammatical errors tested on the GMAT with respect to Subject-Verb agreement, so please be well aware of it prior to test day!

That comes as a new learning to me. Thanks for the detailed Explanation Jon!!

This is definitely an interesting one. I thought that the phrase "A number of" is considered an idiom on the GMAT and the decision to make it singular or plural depends on the prepositional phrase, which in this case "of reasons"is plural. I believe that this is the one scenario where it is ok to have a prepositional phrase be the subject of the verb.

Does anyone have the Manhattan SC guide handy? Im almost 100% certain that this is their explanation as to how the GMAT treats this phrase, which would make the answer A and not B.

fitzgerald23 wrote:This is definitely an interesting one. I thought that the phrase "A number of" is considered an idiom on the GMAT and the decision to make it singular or plural depends on the prepositional phrase, which in this case "of reasons"is plural. I believe that this is the one scenario where it is ok to have a prepositional phrase be the subject of the verb.

Does anyone have the Manhattan SC guide handy? Im almost 100% certain that this is their explanation as to how the GMAT treats this phrase, which would make the answer A and not B.

Hey fitzgerald - thanks for the follow-up. Idiom usage (or commonly accepted phrasings) does get tested frequently on the GMAT, and you're correct about its presence here. However, as typically happens on the test, the Idiom aspect of what is being debated in this sentence is simply the choice of the preposition "of" in the phrase "a number of reasons." The incorrect choice of prepositions is probably the most common Idiom error on the GMAT, but it does not affect the subject of the sentence, or that subject's plurality. Idiom usage only affects the construction of a phrase and whether that phrase matches the commonly accepted way of saying something.

I think what you are more likely referring to when you note that the nature of the prepositional phrase can determine the plurality of the subject is the use of Indefinite Pronouns as the subject. An indefinite pronoun is a pronoun that does not refer specifically to a clear antecedent, but instead is more generalized (hence "indefinite"). Some examples: "Everyone," "Neither," "Both," "Several," "All," and "Most." Most indefinite pronouns have a consistent singular or plural nature, and thus have a specific verb form assigned to their usage (for instance, "Anyone" is always singular, while "Many" is always plural). However, some indefinite pronouns can be either singular or plural depending on the context of their usage. Take "All" for instance:

"All of the applicants was/were forced to submit to a polygraph test." Here, the use of "applicants" tells you that "All" is being used to represent multiple things (more than one applicant) and is therefore plural. So the correct verb choice is "were."

"Because all of his time was/were spent reading, Sam did not complete any questions." Here, "all" refers to the totality of his time, and is therefore a singular idea (one big block of time). Since it is singular, the correct choice is "was."

Now, back to the "a number of reasons" question. This is certainly a tricky phrase, but the subject is still "a number" and that is a singular idea. It's like saying "a list of reasons." Despite the fact that the list contains multiple reasons, there is still only one list, and thus you have a singular subject. While there are no doubt multiple reasons given as part of "a number of reasons," when you collect them all together and speak of them as part of a single collection ("a number"), you are dealing with a singular subject and must pair it with a singular verb ("is," in this case).

Also, I personally can't recall EVER seeing even a single instance of "number of," "amount of," or "percentage of" where the verb is plural on the GMAT, and (sadly) I think I've combed through every question the test makers have released in the past decade or so.

Starting to feel like a grammar nerd but I hope this is helpful to any poor souls reading it!

jdenning wrote:Hi kvcpk - thanks for the question. First off, while this question is not actually from the PowerScore course, it is a fantastic illustration of a concept that we cover thoroughly in our course: Collective Nouns in Subject-Verb Agreement. A collective noun is a noun that represents a seemingly plural group/idea, but is in fact singular. Some examples of collective nouns include "jury," "band," "crowd," "flock," "majority," and "dozen." Each of these is treated as singular when used as the subject of a sentence. So you wouldn't say "a jury of Susan's peers are deliberating her guilt," but rather you should say, "a jury of Susan's peers is deliberating her guilt."

For the sentence in question here, answer choice B is correct. The subject of this sentence is "a number," and is therefore singular and requires the singular verb "is." Despite the fact that "a number" clearly refers to more than one reason, it is still considered a singular subject (as it is a collective noun) and attempting to pair it with "are" is incorrect.

Consider another example: "A number of valuables were/was taken by the looters." Again, because the subject of this sentence is "a number" and therefore singular, it requires the singular verb "was." "Was" sounds a bit strange here, I know, but choosing "were" for this sentence is grammatically improper. This is a classic example of why it is so important to familiarize yourself with these commonly tested rules of grammar, and not to simply rely on what sounds best when you take the GMAT!

And one final tip....in the original sentence the phrase "of reasons" is what is known as a prepositional phrase, and prepositional phrases NEVER contain the subject of a sentence on the GMAT. Prepositional phrases are simply given to provide further information about the subject, but they do not contain the subject itself. This is one of the most common grammatical errors tested on the GMAT with respect to Subject-Verb agreement, so please be well aware of it prior to test day!

Prepositional phrases, such as "number of reasons", will not contain the subject of a sentence. Therefore, "number" is not the subject of the sentence.

Ahh good question Tomada! Prepositions are words like "of," "in," "with," "from," etc. that introduce phrases that provide additional information about something else (often the subject). So in the statement "a number of reasons is given...," "of reasons" is the prepositional phrase and tells us more about the subject, "a number." So the prepositional phrase "of reasons" does not contain the subject, but instead describes the subject. "A number of reasons..." is not a prepositional phrase, but instead contains a subject "a number" and a prepositional phrase "of reasons."

Consider: "The athletes from Cleveland were disappointed by their teammate's decision." Here, the subject is "athletes" (plural), the prepositional phrase is "from Cleveland" (tells us about the athletes but does not affect plurality and does not contain the subject), and the verb phrase is "were disappointed" (plural to match the subject).

I hope this helps!

kvcpk wrote:UNO maintains that there are a number of reasons why peace talk must be continued, despite the loss of fourteen middlemen in less than 2 years.

A.UNO maintains that there are a number of reasons why peace talk must be continued
B.UNO maintains that there is a number of reasons why peace talk must be continued
C.UNO maintained that there is a number of reasons why peace talk must be continued
D.UNO Continues to maintain that there are a number of reasons why peace talk must be continued
E.UNO maintains that there are a number of reasons why peace talk must be continuing

Explain your answer.

I don't think that any of these answer choices would pass muster on the GMAT.

A number of reasons is plural:

A number of reasons have been offered. (a number of = several)

The number of reasons is singular:

The number of reasons offered was high. (the number of = an actual number, such as 4, 5, 10, 1000, etc.)

Eliminate B and C.

The construction reason why is an error of redundancy. The correct idiom is reason that. Eliminate A, D, and E.

Also, peace talk must be continued seems awkward. I think that the GMAT writers likely would say:

...there are a number of reasons that peace talks must continue.

GMATGuruNY wrote:

kvcpk wrote:UNO maintains that there are a number of reasons why peace talk must be continued, despite the loss of fourteen middlemen in less than 2 years.

A.UNO maintains that there are a number of reasons why peace talk must be continued
B.UNO maintains that there is a number of reasons why peace talk must be continued
C.UNO maintained that there is a number of reasons why peace talk must be continued
D.UNO Continues to maintain that there are a number of reasons why peace talk must be continued
E.UNO maintains that there are a number of reasons why peace talk must be continuing

Explain your answer.

I don't think that any of these answer choices would pass muster on the GMAT.

A number of reasons is plural:

A number of reasons have been offered. (a number = several)

The number of reasons is singular:

The number of reasons offered was high. (the number = an actual number, such as 4, 5, 10, 1000, etc.)

Eliminate B and C.

The construction reason why is an error of redundancy. The correct idiom is reason that. Eliminate A, D, and E.

Also, peace talk must be continued seems awkward. I think that the GMAT writers likely would say:

...there are a number of reasons that peace talks must continue.

If we eliminate choices which include the construction "reasons why", all 5 choices would be eliminated.

As a quick follow-up to my last post, I want to emphasize that my grammar advice is very GMAT-specific. That is, while there is occasionally some debate among grammar purists about the plurality of certain collective nouns, the GMAT seems to use collective nouns in an almost exclusively singular sense.

What sometimes gets debated regarding plurality stems from the article (like "the" or "a") that precedes a collective noun. So some people would say that "The number of reasons..." is singular and "A number of reasons..." could be plural. However, because this is a GMAT discussion the key is to remember that the GMAT tends to use the former and treat collective nouns singularly.

I'm also fairly confident that this question is not an official GMAT question since 1. I've never seen it, and 2. a plural designation of the collective noun subject is legitimately debatable and that's not something the test makers really invite/allow for.

A good rule of thumb for real-world usage is that as you consider the collective noun in question consider how the group(ing) behaves. If it behaves as one unit then it is singular, and if the members of the group behave in a clearly independent/contradictory fashion then it can be plural. For this example, particularly in a GMAT-centric discussion, I still feel like "a number of reasons" would be singular since the reasons are all given as a part of a unified grouping (singular intention), and the reasons do not contradict or operate against one another. So I stand by answer choice B as correct.

Also a good illustration of why you should really try whenever possible to work with official questions from the test makers. Certainly no knock on anyone out there looking to do more or go beyond the Official Guides, but just remember that you do run the risk of encountering questions like this that test GMAT concepts, but in a way that the GMAT is unlikely to present them.

NASA maintains that there are a number of reasons why space exploration must be continued, despite two space shuttle disasters and the loss of fourteen astronauts in less than twenty years.

A. NASA maintains that there are a number of reasons why space exploration must be continued
B. NASA maintained that there is a number of reasons why space exploration must be continued
C. NASA continues to maintain that there are a number of reasons why space exploration must be continued
D. NASA maintains that there is a number of reasons why space exploration must be continued
E. NASA maintains that there are a number of reasons why space exploration must be continuing


This is the original question from Powerscore material. I changed the noun parts - in order not to violate copyrights.

OA is D here.

Please let me know whether to go with is/are?

Thank you!!

kvcpk wrote:NASA maintains that there are a number of reasons why space exploration must be continued, despite two space shuttle disasters and the loss of fourteen astronauts in less than twenty years.

A. NASA maintains that there are a number of reasons why space exploration must be continued
B. NASA maintained that there is a number of reasons why space exploration must be continued
C. NASA continues to maintain that there are a number of reasons why space exploration must be continued
D. NASA maintains that there is a number of reasons why space exploration must be continued
E. NASA maintains that there are a number of reasons why space exploration must be continuing


This is the original question from Powerscore material. I changed the noun parts - in order not to violate copyrights.

OA is D here.

Please let me know whether to go with is/are?

Thank you!!

The rule is:

a number is plural

the number is singular

The sentence has to read:

...there are a number of reasons...

So, despite the OA, I think that answer choice D is incorrect.

For a discussion of the rule given above, please feel free to check out the following links:

https://abacus-es.com/sat/singular_plural.html
https://grammartips.homestead.com/number.html

tomada wrote:

GMATGuruNY wrote:

kvcpk wrote:UNO maintains that there are a number of reasons why peace talk must be continued, despite the loss of fourteen middlemen in less than 2 years.

A.UNO maintains that there are a number of reasons why peace talk must be continued
B.UNO maintains that there is a number of reasons why peace talk must be continued
C.UNO maintained that there is a number of reasons why peace talk must be continued
D.UNO Continues to maintain that there are a number of reasons why peace talk must be continued
E.UNO maintains that there are a number of reasons why peace talk must be continuing

Explain your answer.

I don't think that any of these answer choices would pass muster on the GMAT.

A number of reasons is plural:

A number of reasons have been offered. (a number = several)

The number of reasons is singular:

The number of reasons offered was high. (the number = an actual number, such as 4, 5, 10, 1000, etc.)

Eliminate B and C.

The construction reason why is an error of redundancy. The correct idiom is reason that. Eliminate A, D, and E.

Also, peace talk must be continued seems awkward. I think that the GMAT writers likely would say:

...there are a number of reasons that peace talks must continue.

If we eliminate choices which include the construction "reasons why", all 5 choices would be eliminated.

My point exactly: I think that this question is inherently flawed because none of the answer choices is correct.