sc - flying reptile?

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sc - flying reptile?

by ccassel » Fri Apr 15, 2011 5:50 pm
What rules do you follow in this question? Another Misplaced Modifier?

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

Answer is C
Source: — Sentence Correction |

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by Target2009 » Fri Apr 15, 2011 6:19 pm
IMO - C
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by AIM GMAT » Fri Apr 15, 2011 11:00 pm
36 feet is being modidfied , so eliminate A, D E.

Left with B and C , we need "and" here so that 36 feet is not wrongly modified .

IMO C.
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by GMATGuruNY » Sun Apr 17, 2011 2:48 am
ccassel wrote:What rules do you follow in this question? Another Misplaced Modifier?

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

Answer is C
The present infinitive expresses contemporaneous action (an action happening at the same time as another action):

I am happy to be president.

In the sentence above, I am happy (in the present) to be president (also in the present).

The present perfect infinitive expresses past action:

I am happy to have been president.

In the sentence above, I am happy (in the present) to have been president (in the past).

In the SC above, the reptile no longer exists, so the present perfect infinitive is needed:

...the Quetzalcoatlus...is believed to have been the largest flying creature the world has ever seen.

The correct answer is C.
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by atulmangal » Sun Apr 17, 2011 3:46 am
GMATGuruNY wrote:
ccassel wrote:What rules do you follow in this question? Another Misplaced Modifier?

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

Answer is C
The present infinitive expresses contemporaneous action (an action happening at the same time as another action):

I am happy to be president.

In the sentence above, I am happy (in the present) to be president (also in the present).

The present perfect infinitive expresses past action:

I am happy to have been president.

In the sentence above, I am happy (in the present) to have been president (in the past).

In the SC above, the reptile no longer exists, so the present perfect infinitive is needed:

...the Quetzalcoatlus...is believed to have been the largest flying creature the world has ever seen.

The correct answer is C.
Thanks a lot Mitch for explaining the concept....

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