by esledge Wed May 27, 2009 3:39 pm
I think you could get away with either.
Presumably, each of the four companies would file its own tax return, hence four tax returns. So will file tax returns is certainly right. "But," you say, "what if you interpret four out of seven companies as each of the four companies filing individually?" I still say that the answer doesn't depend on grammar, but on meaning. Each of the four might file multiple returns, e.g. local, state, and federal, so will file tax returns could still be OK. The GMAT would not expect you to chose between two reasonable meanings!
But let's say for a moment that each company files one tax return. Can you then say will file a tax return, without worrying about whether four out of seven means the companies individually or as a group? Yes. We can have a plural subject and a singular object, with the understanding that each of the subjects acts on the same object. For example:
All humans have a heart. (We don't all share one, but each of us has one.)
Most people have a conscience. (...a conscience of our own.)
What really matters to the GMAT is that the subject and verb agree. For that purpose, four out of seven is plural (because 4 > 1). Will file is correct either way (he will file, they will file), so that's not an issue in your example.
Emily Sledge
Instructor
ManhattanGMAT