what if every option seems to have some error

Expert replies

gauravprashar17: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 10; Joined: Sun Dec 04, 2011 11:42 am

by gauravprashar17 » Tue Aug 05, 2014 5:07 pm

1. Before scientists learned how to make a synthetic growth hormone, removing it painstakingly in small amounts from the pituitary glands of human cadavers.
A. scientists learned how to make a synthetic growth hormone, removing it painstakingly
B. scientists had learned about making a synthetic growth hormone, they had to remove it painstakingly
C. scientists learned how to synthesize the growth hormone, it had to be painstakingly removed
D. learning how to make a synthetic growth hormone, scientists had to remove it painstakingly
E. learning how to synthesize the growth hormone, it had to be painstakingly removed by scientists

As the sentence involves two different actions, former and the later action, so we should be using the past perfect tense for former and simple past for the latter. This helps me in chosing option c.
However, there is no antecedent for "it" which makes it incorrect(I guess).
Plus,it cannot refer to the synthetic growth hormone as how can something synthetic be removed from the pituitary glands of human cadavers

Like this post

Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Tue Aug 05, 2014 5:07 pm

EducationAisle: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 434; Joined: Sat Mar 27, 2010 10:42 pmFollowed by: 46 members; Location: Bangalore, India; Thanked: 91 times

by EducationAisle » Tue Aug 05, 2014 7:25 pm

gauravprashar17 wrote: Plus,it cannot refer to the synthetic growth hormone as how can something synthetic be removed from the pituitary glands of human cadavers

I don't see synthetic growth hormone in C.

Ashish
MBA - ISB, GMAT - 99th Percentile
GMAT Faculty @ EducationAisle
www.EducationAisle.com

Sentence Correction Nirvana available at:

a) Amazon: Sentence Correction Nirvana

b) Flipkart: Sentence Correction Nirvana

Now! Preview the entire Grammar Section of Sentence Correction Nirvana at pothi

Like this post

David@GMATPrepNow: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 147; Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2014 3:52 pmFollowed by: 21 members; Thanked: 53 times

by David@GMATPrepNow » Wed Aug 06, 2014 6:58 am

Hi gauravprashar17,

Good work in choosing answer C, that is correct.

You say that answer C does not have an antecedent for "it," but actually "the growth hormone" is the antecedent to which the pronoun "it" refers.

You would be correct in pointing out that something synthetic cannot be removed from a natural (if dead) body, but look closely at the completed sentence using answer C:

Before scientists learned how to synthesize the growth hormone, it had to be painstakingly removed in small amounts from the pituitary glands of human cadavers.

This correct sentence does not say that a synthetic hormone is removed from human cadavers. It says that BEFORE scientists learned how to make synthetic growth hormone, they removed IT (referring to growth hormone, not synthetic growth hormone) from cadavers.

You may argue that the sentence does not specifically state whether the growth hormone they removed from cadavers was synthetic or natural, but the context of the sentence is clear: BEFORE they could synthesize growth hormone, they had to use natural hormone found in very small amounts in cadavers.

You're doing a good job of closely reading the answers and thinking about what makes sense. Sometimes, though, it is possible to "over think" the answers and not see the forrest because of all the trees! When that happens, when every option seems to have an error, move on and come back to the question later when you have some fresh perspective. There will ALWAYS be a right answer in the official GMAT questions.

Like this post

GMATGuruNY: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15539; Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pmFollowed by: 1906 members; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 13060 times; GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Thu Aug 07, 2014 6:15 am

gauravprashar17 wrote:1. Before scientists learned how to make a synthetic growth hormone, removing it painstakingly in small amounts from the pituitary glands of human cadavers.
A. scientists learned how to make a synthetic growth hormone, removing it painstakingly
B. scientists had learned about making a synthetic growth hormone, they had to remove it painstakingly
C. scientists learned how to synthesize the growth hormone, it had to be painstakingly removed
D. learning how to make a synthetic growth hormone, scientists had to remove it painstakingly
E. learning how to synthesize the growth hormone, it had to be painstakingly removed by scientists

Synthetic means artificial.
In A, B and D, it seems to refer to a synthetic growth hormone, implying that an ARTIFICIAL hormone was removed from the glands of HUMAN cadavers.
Not the intended meaning. Eliminate A, B and D.

In E, learning seems to modify it, conveying a nonsensical meaning. The intended meaning is that SCIENTISTS were learning how to synthesize the growth hormone. Eliminate E.

The correct answer is C.

As the sentence involves two different actions, former and the later action, so we should be using the past perfect tense for former and simple past for the latter. This helps me in chosing option c.

No verbs in the OA are in the past perfect tense.
OA: Before scientists learned how to synthesize the growth hormone, it had to be painstakingly removed from human cadavers.
Here, had is the simple past tense form of to have, as in the following sentence:
Last year John had a dog.
In the OA, had to be removed = simple past tense + infinitive.

The past perfect form of to have is had had, as in the following:
When he woke up, John described the dream that he had had.

Private tutor exclusively for the GMAT and GRE, with over 20 years of experience.
Followed here and elsewhere by over 1900 test-takers.
I have worked with students based in the US, Australia, Taiwan, China, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia -- a long list of countries.
My students have been admitted to HBS, CBS, Tuck, Yale, Stern, Fuqua -- a long list of top programs.

As a tutor, I don't simply teach you how I would approach problems.
I unlock the best way for YOU to solve problems.

For more information, please email me (Mitch Hunt) at [email protected].
Student Review #1
Student Review #2
Student Review #3

Like this post

bubbliiiiiiii: Legendary Member; Posts: 979; Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2009 1:38 amFollowed by: 12 members; Location: Hyderabad, India; Thanked: 49 times; GMAT Score:700

by bubbliiiiiiii » Fri Aug 08, 2014 1:46 am

GMATGuruNY wrote: No verbs in the OA are in the past perfect tense.
OA: Before scientists learned how to synthesize the growth hormone, it had to be painstakingly removed from human cadavers.
Here, had is the simple past tense form of to have, as in the following sentence:
Last year John had a dog.
In the OA, had to be removed = simple past tense + infinitive.

The past perfect form of to have is had had, as in the following:
When he woke up, John described the dream that he had had.

Hi Mitch,

Great explanation as always!

Can you please share some questions/links to threads containing questions testing this concept to get more clarity?

Regards,

Pranay

Like this post

iongmat: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 193; Joined: Tue May 24, 2011 5:14 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 6 times

by iongmat » Fri Aug 08, 2014 3:31 am

GMATGuruNY wrote:
No verbs in the OA are in the past perfect tense.
OA: Before scientists learned how to synthesize the growth hormone, it had to be painstakingly removed from human cadavers.
Here, had is the simple past tense form of to have, as in the following sentence:
Last year John had a dog.
In the OA, had to be removed = simple past tense + infinitive.

The past perfect form of to have is had had, as in the following:
When he woke up, John described the dream that he had had.

Hello Mitch, I am also having difficulty in understanding it. From what I understand, you are suggesting that following is "not" past perfect:

It had to be painstakingly removed from human cadavers.

To me, it looks like a past perfect (in a passive voice).

For example (simplifying and slightly changing the sentence, for ease of understanding):

Active voice in past perfect: Scientists had painstakingly removed hormone from human cadavers. - Past Perfect

Passive voice in past perfect: Hormone had to be painstakingly removed from human cadavers by scientists. - This also should be past perfect, because tense-wise, it really seems exactly the same as the corresponding active voice version.

Like this post

GMATGuruNY: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15539; Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pmFollowed by: 1906 members; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 13060 times; GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Fri Aug 08, 2014 3:50 am

iongmat wrote:
GMATGuruNY wrote:
No verbs in the OA are in the past perfect tense.
OA: Before scientists learned how to synthesize the growth hormone, it had to be painstakingly removed from human cadavers.
Here, had is the simple past tense form of to have, as in the following sentence:
Last year John had a dog.
In the OA, had to be removed = simple past tense + infinitive.

The past perfect form of to have is had had, as in the following:
When he woke up, John described the dream that he had had.
Hello Mitch, I am also having difficulty in understanding it. From what I understand, you are suggesting that following is "not" past perfect:

It had to be painstakingly removed from human cadavers.

To me, it looks like a past perfect (in a passive voice).

For example (simplifying and slightly changing the sentence, for ease of understanding):

Active voice in past perfect: Scientists had painstakingly removed hormone from human cadavers. - Past Perfect

Passive voice in past perfect: Hormone had to be painstakingly removed from human cadavers by scientists. - This also should be past perfect, because tense-wise, it really seems exactly the same as the corresponding active voice version.

An infinitive such as to be removed has no effect on the tense of the main verb.

Present:
The hormone NEEDS to be removed today.
The hormone HAS to be removed today.
The hormones HAVE to be removed today.
Here, needs, has and have are all in the present tense.

Past:
The hormone NEEDED to be removed yesterday.
The hormone HAD to be removed yesterday.
The hormones HAD to be removed yesterday.
Here, needed and had are both in the past tense.

To summarize:
has + infinitive = present singular.
have + infinitive = present plural.
had + infinitive = past (singular or plural).

Like this post

Post new topic Locked

• Page 1 of 1

GMAT Course Reviews

559 reviews

1168 reviews

431 reviews

359 reviews

147 reviews

5/5

5 Star (560 Reviews)

"Target Test Prep is the closest to the official version of the GMAT exam, about 99% accuracy in terms of the quality and quantity of information. The course has excellently created singular sets of focused lessons and tests for every possible topic that one could come across in the official GMAT exam."

"The TTP course maximizes the efficiency of the time you spend studying. It will take time and effort but I could almost guarantee that if you complete the course exactly as it is laid out you will get an amazing score. They also have a very responsive team willing to help with any questions you might have."

"TTP has two things that I think no other test prep company offers: A teaching approach that reinforces understanding and an attitude that will give you the mental preparedness needed to succeed on the test. TTP gives you a deep understanding of the concept you need to know while teaching you how to think."

Write a Review