Incorrect solution

by **navneet.joshi1983** Thu Jul 16, 2015 5:34 am

Hi,

In the below mention question why it is correct to use "have" with singular subject "The Intermarriage" in option B even when the same reason has been provided in option E. Although i selected option B only in this question but it is not a correct choice.

When ethnic groups intermarry, it is likely to result in cognitive benefits; indeed, perhaps already having contributed to the Flynn effect, which has been the worldwide rise in average IQ score by as much as three points per decade over most of the past century.

When ethnic groups intermarry, it is likely to result in cognitive benefits; indeed, perhaps having contributed to the Flynn effect, which has been

The intermarriage of ethnic groups is likely to result in cognitive benefits and may indeed have contributed to the Flynn effect,

When ethnic groups intermarry, they are likely to result in cognitive benefits and may indeed have contributed to the Flynn effect, the name given to

Ethnic groups that intermarry will likely result in cognitive benefits; indeed, possibly having contributed to the Flynn effect,

The intermarriage of ethnic groups, likely to result in cognitive benefits, indeed have possibly contributed to the Flynn effect, the name given to

This sentence describes a likely positive consequence of the intermarriage of ethnic groups: specifically, such intermarriage is likely to produce cognitive benefits for the resulting offspring. The sentence then goes on to speculate that the intermarriage of ethnic groups may also be one of the causes of the "Flynn effect," the recent global increase in average IQ.

(A) The pronoun it has no antecedent. In context, that pronoun is clearly intended to refer to the intermarriage of ethnic groups, but the noun intermarriage is not present in the sentence. The portion of the sentence following the semicolon is not a complete sentence—it contains neither a subject nor a verb—and so the sentence as a whole is a fragment.

(B) CORRECT. The sentence properly uses a compound verb construction (is likely … and may) to describe two possible facts about the kind of intermarriage described. The noun modifier the worldwide rise is properly used to explain what the Flynn effect is. Finally, the sentence is accurate in meaning: the intermarriage of ethnic groups, not the ethnic groups themselves, is likely to result in cognitive benefits.

(C) This sentence illogically states that the ethnic groups themselves, rather than the intermarriage between them, are likely to result in cognitive benefits. The combination of a cause in the present tense (are likely to) and its effect in the present perfect (have contributed) is illogical, implying that the effect somehow preceded the cause. Finally, the phenomenon may have contributed to the Flynn effect itself; the phenomenon did not contribute to the name given to the effect.

(D) This sentence illogically states that the ethnic groups themselves, rather than the intermarriage between them, will likely result in cognitive benefits. The portion of the sentence following the semicolon is not a complete sentence—it contains neither a subject nor a verb—and so the sentence as a whole is a fragment.

(E) The singular subject the intermarriage does not agree with the plural verb have contributed. Finally, the phenomenon may have contributed to the Flynn effect itself; the phenomenon did not contribute to the name given to the effect.