<p>My 2 cents:
I don’t think it would be whomever, because whom is used for an indirect object (to whom, for whom), right? And she is going with HIM (direct object) so it would be who or whoever. I’d choose E, but I’m not sure if C is grammatically correct (I checked some reputable news sources on google, and they use “surely have” quite frequently in articles, hence an indication that it is proper). </p>
<p>Before looking at your answer for 2, I was also thinking A for the same reason. I did a google search to check, and described as came up about 200 times more often than described to be, hence an indication that described to be is incorrect. </p>
<p>So, I’m pretty sure it is E and A, as you said.</p>
<p>I guess I can’t edit, are you sure Gamma? I feel relatively certain its whomever, and there is no error in the second sentence, but I could be wrong
(note if I am correct whomever replace an object such as HIM, and whoever replaces HE)</p>
<p>^Yeah, you are right. I was making the wrong distinction. who is for subject, whom is for object, whether indirect or direct. Here’s a trick I just learned. When wondering about the question “who/whom are you going to prom with?”, if a reasonable answer is “I’m going with HIM” it is whom (him and whom both end in Ms). But, say the question is “who/whom loves you?”, and a reasonable answer is “HE loves me” than it is who. So him=whom and he=who. Great tip, imo.</p>
<p>edit: Again, I correct myself. Described to be is (in my book) grammatically correct, as many published books and reports use it. I still think described as sounds better, though.</p>
<p>I know described as works fine (and sounds better), but I did a google search and “described to be” comes up in many published works in a similar context as the SAT question. So, wouldn’t these publishers fix the mistake, if it were one? Hence, isn’t it not a mistake, if it got by so many editors?</p>
<p>OP, what are the answers? It seems that A is the consensus for 1, but what about 2?</p>