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Kaplan GMAT800 vs. Manhattan GMAT discrepancy


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As of this morning, none of my friends have been able to solve the puzzle contained in last week's newspaper.

 

(A) none of my friends have been able to solve

(B) none of my friends was able to solve

© not one of my friends has yet been able to solve

(D) none of my friends has been able to solve

(E) nobody among my friends have solved

 

My answer:

A

 

Kaplan answer:

D

 

 

 

 

 

I narrowed it down to my answer and Kaplan's answer. Kaplan's explanation of its answer is that None is singular.

 

However, according to Manhattan GMAT, the word "none" is a member of a group of words that may be singular or plural, based on the context: Some, Any, None, All, Most (SANAM). The object of the "of" construction determines the number of the subject. In this case, the object "friends" should indicate a plural subject.

 

So who's correct? Manhattan GMAT or Kaplan800?

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I don't see what is wrong with kaplan's OA...

"none" is singular therefore we need "has been able to" instead of "have been able to"

you can think this way: none of my friends=nobody

and "nobody has been able to" sound ok, doesnt it?

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none - singular......(in this case) No confusion

Eliminate A

 

B - 'was' incorrect

C - wordy Eliminate

 

I will pick D cuz it expresses the best - correct usage and tense: the process is continuing i.e they have been trying all week to solve the problem - as of this morning, it has not been solved.

 

D is the best and NONE is singular in this case for sure

 

 

.

 

 

______________________________

I thought I will post few examples on the use of 'None':

 

Depending on usage:

"None of the water bottles were drinkabkle."

"None of the wine was drinklable"

 

Now, depending on meaning:

 

"None of the rooms were clean"

and

"None of the rooms was clean"

 

Both of the sentences are correct. The first one gives the impression of many rooms and condition of all the rooms.

 

Whereas the second has the effect of individualizing each room.

 

HTH! :)

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Kaplan is wrong here. "Clearly, then, none takes a singular verb when the writer thinks of it as singular, and plural when the writer thinks of it as plural. The notion that it is singular only is a myth of unknown origin." (Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage)

 

As proof that GMAT writers do not subscribe to this myth, I offer the following sentences found in OG10:

 

“However, none of these high-technology methods are of any value...” (p.382)

 

“...none of these are said to have been a consequence of the women’s movement.” (p.427)

 

“None of the other options describe such themes...” (p.461)

 

“None of the other options exemplify this ‘generational chauvinism’...” (p.462)

 

“...none of the contemporary paintings are executed as skillfully as the older paintings.” (p.532)

 

“None of Northern Air’s competitors... are considering buying Skybuses” (p.545)

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Bob,

 

On the Official Guide for GMAT Review 11th edition(page number: 640), I found this sentence:

 

17. None of the attempts to specify the causes of crime explains why most of the people exposed to the alleged causes do not commit crimes and, conversely why so many of those not so exposed have.

 

Here they seem to use singular verb "explains" instead of plural verb "explain"?

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The following is one of the examples provided in the 'Comparisions' section of the Sentence Correction workshop:

 

The article questioned the popularity of Jazz compared to that of Classical music.

 

The correct version is as follows:

 

The article questioned the popularity of Jazz compared to that of Classical music.

 

My questions is why are they using "Compared to" ? Aren't they supposed to use "Compared with"? Aren't Jazz and Classical are both types of Music?

 

According to Spidey's notes on Sentence Correction, "Compare usually takes the preposition 'to' when it refers to the activity of describing the resemblances between unlike things"

 

"Compare takes 'with' when it refers to the act of examining two like things in order to discern their similarities or differences"

 

Thanks!

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Bob,

 

On the Official Guide for GMAT Review 11th edition(page number: 640), I found this sentence:

 

17. None of the attempts to specify the causes of crime explains why most of the people exposed to the alleged causes do not commit crimes and, conversely why so many of those not so exposed have.

 

Here they seem to use singular verb "explains" instead of plural verb "explain"?

Indeed, "none" is usually singular. My point above is that it can also be plural. Both are correct.
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The bottom line is: you can't make a mistake with "none." You can say either "none of the choices is" or "none of the choices are." They're both acceptable. And you can be sure that identifying the correct response on a GMAT SC item will never hinge on a choice between "none is" and "none are."
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Bob, thx 4 taking time for the references. I seem to be getting these all wrong: Usage of none + plural / singular verb depends on the idea / intention conveyed by the writer; Both are correct.

 

Under what scenario would D be correct in the question given by Machina? Is it that such qs cannot be tested on d GMAT 'cos of the ambiguity?

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