CB SAT "Question of the Day" - question on today's question

TruthfuLie · 08-17-2006, 06:01 AM

http://www.collegeboard.com/apps/qot...,48120,00.html

Why is answer choice "D" wrong? I know E sounds correct since it uses "have" and thus follows the rule of plural agreement, but D just sounds better and more parallel to me.

Warmer coastal air and water accelerated Antarctica’s melting in Antarctica’s ice shelves and increased the flow of glaciers into the sea.

This sounds better than the correct answer, E, to me.

Fusion · 08-17-2006, 06:18 AM

D uses the incorrect tense. E is correct because it uses the present perfect tense, which is used when the time is unspecified.

Fusion · 08-17-2006, 06:23 AM

For example:

Present Perfect
I have gone to the park. This means that I went to the park sometime in the past, but it is unclear when.

Simple Past
I went to the park on Tuesday. In this sentence, the time is specified. (Tuesday)

radhi123 · 08-17-2006, 07:52 AM

I got confused with answers D and E.
First I chose answer D, but I chose E the second time and it was right.

r3n-_- · 08-17-2006, 08:44 AM

As of D, it sounds like the warmer air and the water increased the flow. That just sound weird. It should be they have increased the flow. AND increased is past tense.

thecomisar · 08-17-2006, 02:39 PM

I picked E, but I also thought D sounded fine...

gj12789 · 08-17-2006, 03:22 PM

It's simple: the subject is plural (warmer air and water) so the verb needs to be plural. (have)

bigmrpig · 08-17-2006, 04:01 PM

Well, I can't believe no one's mentioned this yet, but D doesn't make sense for a reason other than grammar. D states that the air and water are accelerating the shelves themselves, not the melting. The word "melting" in D is only used as an adjective for "shelves." The melting is what is being accelerated, not the shelves. Grammatically, D is correct, it just doesn't make sense.

A, C, and E all use "melting" as a noun, which is the intent. B and D both use melting as an adjective, changing the entire meaning of the sentence. If you accelerate "Antarctica's melting ice shelves," then the object being accelerated is the shelves, not the melting.

Psycho_Paroxysm · 08-17-2006, 04:51 PM

I picked E. D is wrong also because Antarctica is already used, so putting it in again sounds repetitive and wrong.
I also picked E because of what bigmrpig said.
"Warmer coastal air and water accelerated Antarctica’s melting in Antarctica’s ice shelves and increased the flow of glaciers into the sea."
^ See how Antarctica is used twice? It doesn't make sense.