BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem
TTP OnDemand GMAT Video Course
Featured Course

Target Test Prep GMAT OnDemand

Scott Woodbury-Stewart’s private virtual classroom — 400 hours of master-class video lessons for the GMAT Focus Edition.

  • 715+ score guarantee — highest in the industry (99th percentile)
  • 52 chapters · 1,500+ lessons · 4,000+ practice questions
  • 400 hours of video · 1,500+ instructor-led HD smartboard lessons
  • 300,000+ students accepted to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Booth & Sloan & more
  • 24/7 live support + weekly Zoom office hours with GMAT instructors
  • TTP AI Assist — 24/7 AI-powered virtual tutor for instant help
  • 1,200+ flashcards + AI-powered study assistant & daily calendar
  • OnDemand, LiveTeach & GMAT Bootcamp formats available
  • Also: GRE, SAT Math & Executive Assessment courses
  • MBA Admissions Consulting now available
  • 🏆 2025 EdTech Breakthrough Award: Test Prep Solution Provider of the Year
  • 200,000+ students served
  • 5-day free trial — $0 to start, no auto-billing, cancel anytime
★★★★★ 5.0 (559 reviews)
130-pt guarantee
$0 to start then $127/mo
Start Free 5-Day Trial Read 559 Reviews →

Subject-Verb Agreement

Expert replies
Post new topic Locked
Previous Topic Next Topic
Moderator
Posts: 772
Joined: Wed Aug 30, 2017 6:29 pmFollowed by: 6 members
by BTGmoderatorRO » Thu Sep 14, 2017 1:15 pm

Timer

00:00

Answers

A

B

C

D

E

Stats

Difficulty—

According to industry analysts, the recent growth in the number of hybrid motor vehicles in major metropolitan areas are likely to accelerate in the future.

A. the number of hybrid motor vehicles in major metropolitan areas are
B. the numbers of hybrid motor vehicles in major metropolitan areas are
C. the number of hybrid motor vehicles in major metropolitan areas is
D. the numbers of hybrid motor vehicles in major metropolitan areas is
E. hybrid motor vehicles' numbers in major metropolitan areas are

OA is c....
why is option A preferred to option D as the correct answer to this question.
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Source: — Sentence Correction |
Legendary Member
Posts: 2898
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2017 2:49 pmFollowed by: 5 members
Thanked: 6 times

by Vincen » Tue Oct 03, 2017 5:04 pm
D is not correct because at the beginning says "the numbers" (plural), and at the end says "is" (singular).

But, I can not see why option D is incorrect. Experts could you help us?
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 503
Joined: Thu Jul 20, 2017 9:03 amFollowed by: 15 members
Thanked: 86 times
GMAT Score:770

by ErikaPrepScholar » Thu Oct 05, 2017 4:10 am
Hey guys,

A key thing to realize in this question is that the phrase "in the number of hybrid motor vehicles in major metropolitan areas" describes the word "growth". This means that "growth", not "number" is the subject of our sentence. We can simplify our sentence a lot by cutting out the descriptive phrase

According to industry analysts, the recent growth ... are likely to accelerate in the future.

This makes it much easier to see that our plural verb, "are", does not match our singular subject, "growth". We can eliminate A, B, and E for using "are".

To decide between C and D, we need to choose between "number" and "numbers". Unfortunately, this comes down to an idiom issue: it isn't idiomatic to say "the numbers of ____" - we're always going to say "the number of ____" (ex: "Over the next few hours, the number of people at the event increased." or "The adoption event put a dent in the number of animals at the shelter."). It's a good idea to have this one memorized so you don't have to rely on your ear on the test. We can eliminate D and pick C.
Image

Erika John - Content Manager/Lead Instructor
https://gmat.prepscholar.com/gmat/s/

Get tutoring from me or another PrepScholar GMAT expert: https://gmat.prepscholar.com/gmat/s/tutoring/

Learn about our exclusive savings for BTG members (up to 25% off) and our 5 day free trial

Check out our PrepScholar GMAT YouTube channel, and read our expert guides on the PrepScholar GMAT blog
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Post new topic Locked
• Page 1 of 1