clause as singular -VERY confusing

[Guest]

According to this forum http://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/og-verbal-review-sc-24-t879.html

Jadran stated that

On the GMAT, always regard a clause as singular when it is the subject of another clause. This means that you should choose "is" rather than "are" for this sentence.

However http://www.bartleby.com/64/C001/072.html this website states something different.

Please advise asap what is correct

[RonPurewal]

the information on the bartleby site is certainly correct, although i would place an extremely large wager that you won't be seeing any of those 'plural what' constructions on the actual gmat. there's certainly no precedent for them, and they're ridiculously awkward, to the point where they would probably be considered too controversial for the gmat.

jadran's advice was meant to be taken in the context of the exam (on which you can rest assured that you won't be seeing 'plural what'); it was not meant as an exhaustive survey of the uses of this sort of clause.

hope that settles the issue with you.

[Guest]

Thank you very much for your reply..

I was a past MGMAT student who actually needed serious verbal help, but the class was 70% + focusing on math... which is why my verbal score was below the average (pathetic verbal score... but luckily my math score was good since i have solid background) ..


I am at least very glad that these forums are helping me...

[RonPurewal]

Thank you very much for your reply..

I was a past MGMAT student who actually needed serious verbal help, but the class was 70% + focusing on math... which is why my verbal score was below the average (pathetic verbal score... but luckily my math score was good since i have solid background) ..


I am at least very glad that these forums are helping me...

i'm glad you find the forums helpful, but where do you get the 70+% figure?

that's just not accurate; the spread between quant and verbal is pretty even. there are, of course, some classes that are heavy on the quant; i'm thinking of classes #1 (data suff), #5 (word translations), and #8 (geometry). however, there are two classes (#6 and #9) containing NO quant material at all, and a few others in which quant covers less than half of the time.
you may want to go back and look at your syllabus, notes, etc., to realize just how much verbal content is in our course. there are 2 things at work here, most likely:
1, the primacy effect: class #1 is really heavy on the quant, so it creates a mental image that all the classes are heavy on quant.
2, you don't need the quant lessons as much, so they drag on for you; by contrast, the verbal lessons, whose content is essential for you, seem to go quickly.
it's probably #2, because, ironically, we also have students who struggle with quant and who complain that the class is "mostly verbal"!

i think we do a pretty good job of striking a balance. if the forums help you patch up whatever holes remain in your foundation, well, that's what they're for.

good luck in your studies!

[mikrodj]

the information on the bartleby site is certainly correct, although i would place an extremely large wager that you won't be seeing any of those 'plural what' constructions on the actual gmat. there's certainly no precedent for them, and they're ridiculously awkward, to the point where they would probably be considered too controversial for the gmat.

jadran's advice was meant to be taken in the context of the exam (on which you can rest assured that you won't be seeing 'plural what'); it was not meant as an exhaustive survey of the uses of this sort of clause.

hope that settles the issue with you.

If I'm right problem #20 of the MGMAT SC question bank, uses plural what construction. Please correct me if I'm wrong.