This question has already been discussed before

https://www.beatthegmat.com/quetzalcoatl ... zalcoatlus


However, there was no concrete answer.

Can some expert provide an answer to this question

gmat740 wrote:8. A huge flying reptile that died out with the dinosaurs some 65 million years ago, the Quetzalcoatlus had a wingspan of 36 feet, believed to be the largest flying creature the world has ever seen.
(A) believed to be
(B) and that is believed to be
(C) and it is believed to have been
(D) which was, it is believed
E) which is believed to be

IMO [spoiler]E
OA C[/spoiler]

I vote for A as teh best answer...

Ok, so here is how I arrived at C.

Eliminate (D)(E). They have the word "which", which is my favorite word in SC .

"which" always modifies the word immediately preceding it, and we are not interested in the feet, but the creature.

Again, in (A), it is not clear, if 36 feet or the creature, although common sense can help, but GMAT just looks at grammar and rules. Hence (A) is out.

(C) and (D) are very very close. The only reason I eliminated (D) was because, it uses "that", and the pronoun antecedent for "that" is always dicey. Hence went with "it".

There is something regarding "to be" and "to have been" in (C) and (D). But, can't figure that out. Hope this helps.

C) and (D) are very very close. The only reason I eliminated (D) was because, it uses "that", and the pronoun antecedent for "that" is always dicey. Hence went with "it".

can you please elaborate?

I think (A) is correct choice , (B) has that which is not reliable (C) is a strong contender but if(A) is there , it should be preferred .(D) &(E) are out because of which . Please confirm experts

gmat740 wrote:8. A huge flying reptile that died out with the dinosaurs some 65 million years ago, the Quetzalcoatlus had a wingspan of 36 feet, believed to be the largest flying creature the world has ever seen.
(A) believed to be
(B) and that is believed to be
(C) and it is believed to have been
(D) which was, it is believed
E) which is believed to be

IMO [spoiler]E
OA C[/spoiler]

A: refers to "feet"
B: "that" refers to "wingspan"
C: "it" correctly refers to the dinasour
D+E: "which" refers to "wingspan"

i think "A" refers to Quetzalcoatlus so is the best answer.
Some comments from experts are needed here.

A. says the "wingspan of 36 feet" was beleived to be the largest flying creature

B. "and that" refers to the wingspan, seems to say wingspan was beleived to be the largest flying creature

C. correct as "it" refers to the flying reptile. "X had Y and it was believed.." "it" adds something about the subject X and is of the same form as the subject X

D. says the "wingspan" was beleived to be the largest flying creature

E. says "wingspan" was beleived to be the largest flying creature

IMO C.
I was also stuck between C and E, however I chose C cuz 'it' perfectly refers to the bird and bc the phrase ends up with ...creature the world has ever seen.
to make a clear and neet 'ever' sentence have/has been is mandatory....

hope it helps...

before discuss this matter. I want tell you something

free modifier can stand far away from the noun it is modifying. free modifier dose not need to attach the noun as usual.

However, I never see free modifyer on GMAT land because GMAT grammar is stricter than general grammar in grammar book is.

C is incorrect because "it" is redundant" and creates run on sentence (a sentence in which there is no conjuction or incorrect conjuction)

A is correct. "believed..." can refer to the creature.

However, I never see free modifier on gmat

pls, give your idea friends.