make as vs make

[mav]

Byron possessed powers of observation that would have made him a great anthropologist and that makes his letters as a group the rival of the best novels of the time.

 

(A) makes his letters as a group the rival of

 

(B) makes his letters as a group one to rival

 

© makes his letters a group rivaling

 

(D) make his letters as a group the rival of

 

(E) make his letters a group which is the rival of

[karmaholic]

"powers .. and that make"

Answer : D.

[aches]

Is it right to say that "powers is plural" so you need a plural for make? Thus put a 'they" before makes/make and use the one that sounds correct. Obviously "they make" is correct and "they makes" isn't.

[preity]

Agree with D

 

Powers is plural (hence A, B and C are out)

 

D is more concise and also precise

[mav]

what's wrong with E

[Vaithy]

I too have the same question...

I feel comma is required after "group" in both D and E...

 

If I put comma in E as explained above, will it be the best answer

[silvergator]

Doesn't the "which" in E wrongly modify group? I believe that the reason D is the most correct here is that "as a group" is a prepositional phrase that doesn't need a comma. Therefore what is being rivaled is the letters as a group and not the group iteslf.

[800Bob]

I feel comma is required after "group" in both D and E...

 

If I put comma in E as explained above, will it be the best answer

You can't put a comma after "group" in D, unless you also put one before "as":

 

"...make his letters, as a group, the rival of..."

 

E is ungrammatical, awkward, and imprecise. It is ungrammatical because "which" in "a group which is the rival" should be "that" -- restrictive. If you put a comma after "group" and pretend that the following clause is nonrestrivctive, it will still be awkward and imprecise because Byron's powers of observation did not make his letters a group; they made his letters, taken as a group, the rival of the best novels of the time.