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OG Verbal Review 2nd Edition: SC #3 pg.270

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by kwah » Sun Feb 26, 2012 5:28 pm
3. However much United States voters may agree that there is waste in government and that the government as a whole spends beyond its means, it is difficult to find broad support for a movement toward a minimal state.

A) However much United States voters may agree that
B) Despite the agreemnt among United States voters to the fact
C) Although United States voters agree
D) Even though United States voters may agree
E) There is agreement among United States voters that

Answer: A

- After reading the question my first reaction was that you can count the number of voters in the United States and therefore, MUCH is incorrect (correction should be MANY). As a result, I crossed out 'A' as a possible answer.

- My answer was E) because it is parallel to the subordinate clause THATthe government...

Can someone please clarify why 'A' is the answer? Thanks.
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by avik.ch » Sun Feb 26, 2012 7:56 pm
kwah wrote: - After reading the question my first reaction was that you can count the number of voters in the United States and therefore, MUCH is incorrect (correction should be MANY). As a result, I crossed out 'A' as a possible answer.

- My answer was E) because it is parallel to the subordinate clause THATthe government...

Can someone please clarify why 'A' is the answer? Thanks.
yes, the voters can be counted but here "much" is not telling about the number of voters - "much" is referring to the extent the voters may agree and so this is uncountable.

Consider this :

Many voters agree to vote for Mr.X --- you are referring to this case. But here the meaning is different.

The parallel structure : that ... that is also applicable for A.

Hope this helps !!
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by GmatKiss » Sun Feb 26, 2012 8:06 pm
However much United States voters may agree that there is waste in government and that the government as a whole spends beyond its means, it is difficult to find broad support for a movement toward a minimal state.

A) However much United States voters may agree that - Parallel and better construction
B) Despite the agreement among United States voters to the fact - Not parallel
C) Although United States voters agree - Not parallel
D) Even though United States voters may agree - Not parallel
E) There is agreement among United States voters that - Awkward

IMO: A
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by ank_1 » Sun Feb 26, 2012 9:00 pm
avik.ch wrote:
kwah wrote: - After reading the question my first reaction was that you can count the number of voters in the United States and therefore, MUCH is incorrect (correction should be MANY). As a result, I crossed out 'A' as a possible answer.

- My answer was E) because it is parallel to the subordinate clause THATthe government...

Can someone please clarify why 'A' is the answer? Thanks.
yes, the voters can be counted but here "much" is not telling about the number of voters - "much" is referring to the extent the voters may agree and so this is uncountable.

Consider this :

Many voters agree to vote for Mr.X --- you are referring to this case. But here the meaning is different.

The parallel structure : that ... that is also applicable for A.

Hope this helps !!
I would follow the MGMAT approach, which would make life easier by eliminating choices and leaving you with less options.

The original sentence contains 'may agree'. Much describes the degree to which the voters agree and not the voters in number.'agree' should be followed by 'that' to introduce the clause.
A) agree is followed by 'that', and meaning and construction of sentence is correct.
B) may is missing in the sentence and fact should have 'that' after it.
C) 'may' and 'that' missing
D) 'that' is missing
E) The two clauses separated by Comma can stand independently. It means that both the clauses have a main subject and a verb. And therefore a conjunction is needed to join them. Moreover the sentence tries to convey a paradox. Therefore 'even though/however/although/Contrary' words are more apt.
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by avik.ch » Sun Feb 26, 2012 10:06 pm
ank_1 wrote: I would follow the MGMAT approach, which would make life easier by eliminating choices and leaving you with less options.

The original sentence contains 'may agree'. Much describes the degree to which the voters agree and not the voters in number.'agree' should be followed by 'that' to introduce the clause..
This is exactly what I wrote in the above post. Anyway, I am not sure what approach you are talking about. Can you please explain in details.
ank_1 wrote:A) agree is followed by 'that', and meaning and construction of sentence is correct..
No, "agree" is not always followed by that.

agree to, agree with, agree that....all are accepted idioms.

The major error in E : The meaning is changed : here it refers that there is a agreement among voters -- the original one doesnt imply this.

Hope this helps !!
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by ank_1 » Mon Feb 27, 2012 4:14 am
The approach is to identify the error and then compare the answer choices, and split them into contenders and losers. So based on this approach you can split the answer choices into A,D(contenders) and B, C and E(losers).
I said 'that' is necessary to introduce a clause after agree. I never said 'that' should always follow the word 'agree' My bad, maybe i could not articulate it well.
For 'agree' to be followed by 'with' and 'to' would require a person or an idea.
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by GMATGuruNY » Mon Feb 27, 2012 9:23 am
kwah wrote:3. However much United States voters may agree that there is waste in government and that the government as a whole spends beyond its means, it is difficult to find broad support for a movement toward a minimal state.

A) However much United States voters may agree that
B) Despite the agreemnt among United States voters to the fact
C) Although United States voters agree
D) Even though United States voters may agree
E) There is agreement among United States voters that

Answer: A

- After reading the question my first reaction was that you can count the number of voters in the United States and therefore, MUCH is incorrect (correction should be MANY). As a result, I crossed out 'A' as a possible answer.

- My answer was E) because it is parallel to the subordinate clause THATthe government...

Can someone please clarify why 'A' is the answer? Thanks.
Focus on the meaning.

However MUCH United States voters MAY AGREE means that there MIGHT BE MUCH agreement.

B, C and E all change the intended meaning by implying that there IS -- for CERTAIN -- agreement. Eliminate B, C and E.

In D, may agree THERE is waste...and THAT the government as a whole spends is not parallel. Eliminate D.

The correct answer is A.

E also can be eliminated because it connects two complete sentences with a comma:

There is agreement among United States voters that there is waste in government and that the government as a whole spends beyond its means.
It is difficult to find broad support for a movement toward a minimal state.

If a comma can be replaced with a period, eliminate the answer choice.
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