Anomalies in Uranus' orbit

[g_beatthegmat]

It was anomalies in the orbit of Uranus that led to the discovery of Neptune.

(a) It was anomalies in the orbit of Uranus that
(b) It was the orbit of Uranus showing anomalies that
(c) They were anomalies in the orbit of Uranus that
(d) The orbit of Uranus being anomalous was what
(e) The anomalies in the orbit of Uranus was what

...
What's your take on this one?

[chidcguy]

I dont have a take on this as I am fubered. If I have to pick one, I will pick C

Anomalies is plural and we cannot use was.

[g_beatthegmat]

Source: Kaplan 800, 2008 edition.

OA: A

If (c) was "There were anomalies..." then yes this would have been a better option. But if this sentence is assuming "the anomalies in the orbit of Uranus" as singular, then I feel E is a better option than the OA option.

[chidcguy]

Are you saying that the event itself (anomalies in the orbit of Uranus) is considered as subject?

Even so, i can count the number of anomalies to more than 1.

Stuart,

Can you explain?

[Almostthere]

Going for D..The only time passive is acceptable (from what I understand) is in science or when you're giving direction ex. the water is poured into the bowl

[airan]

Will go for A
b) orbit of Uranus showing anomalies that lead --> what is that referring to ..is it orbit of Uranus or anomalies

c) They were anomalies --> wrong usage ..
d) Being rule .. anyways doesnt fits too well here
e) Was cannot be used . anomalies is plural .

Hence A

[adilka]

Even though OA is A, I still don't understand how was can be grammatically correct with anomalies

Ok, say I accept their (Kaplan's) explanation that the underlined portion is treated as a singular subject for the verb led . but if that's the case, I don't see anything wrong with E, since same logic would apply. Yet they (Kaplan) say that in E, subj. and verb don't agree... well, they don't in A either.

Opinions?

[piyush_nitt]

Will go for A
b) orbit of Uranus showing anomalies that lead --> what is that referring to ..is it orbit of Uranus or anomalies

c) They were anomalies --> wrong usage ..
d) Being rule .. anyways doesnt fits too well here
e) Was cannot be used . anomalies is plural .

Hence A

Airan , don't we have a reference problem in sentence A as well?

I think in sentence A , they can refer to either anomalies or Uranus.

I always thought that 'that' can refer to nearest noun. In B the nearest noun is anomalies and thats what requireed isn't it?


Please correct me!

[amitabhprasad]

few things to note here...
1) In the sentence "It" is placeholder "It" and it is used in this case to postpone the subject.
2) "that" as relative pronoun, in cases of preposition phrase I have seen "that" refers to subject in the sentence and not to the immediate noun above "in the orbit and of Uranus " these two are prepositional phrases.
Further subject of the sentence is "anomalies in the orbit" and not "anomalies" thus singular. Remember this subject phrases are always singular
and "that" correctly refers to the singular subject.
If you go by above rules you will see "A" is correct choice here.

HTH

[pbanavara]

few things to note here...
1) In the sentence "It" is placeholder "It" and it is used in this case to postpone the subject.
2) "that" as relative pronoun, in cases of preposition phrase I have seen "that" refers to subject in the sentence and not to the immediate noun above "in the orbit and of Uranus " these two are prepositional phrases.
Further subject of the sentence is "anomalies in the orbit" and not "anomalies" thus singular. Remember this subject phrases are always singular
and "that" correctly refers to the singular subject.
If you go by above rules you will see "A" is correct choice here.

HTH

I think you nailed this .. the subject is not anomalies but 'anomalies in the orbit' and hence option A is the best one.

[vikram4689]

@amitabhprasad In that case , E should also be correct

[vikram4689]

come on guys..... waiting for your reply

[adi_800]

few things to note here...
1) In the sentence "It" is placeholder "It" and it is used in this case to postpone the subject.
2) "that" as relative pronoun, in cases of preposition phrase I have seen "that" refers to subject in the sentence and not to the immediate noun above "in the orbit and of Uranus " these two are prepositional phrases.
Further subject of the sentence is "anomalies in the orbit" and not "anomalies" thus singular. Remember this subject phrases are always singular
and "that" correctly refers to the singular subject.
If you go by above rules you will see "A" is correct choice here.

HTH

Perfect..Cant agree more..
You got every point right to make how option A is right!!

[paes]

What's wrong with C ??

They were anomalies in the orbit of Uranus that led

'were' required for anomalies : plural
'that' is properly referring to anomalies : that is a relative pronoun here
led : past tense of lead, so same for singular or plural

[kevincanspain]

Going for D..The only time passive is acceptable (from what I understand) is in science or when you're giving direction ex. the water is poured into the bowl

This is not true: the passive voice is often preferable to the active voice

1. When the agent performing the action is not known or is not important

It is obvious that the documents have been stolen

2. For reasons of parallel structure

We ventured off the main road, were attacked by wolves, and had to climb trees to keep from being eaten.