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by rajatvmittal » Thu Jan 31, 2013 8:34 am
Digging in sediments in northern China, evidence has
been gathered bv scientists suggesting that complex
life-forms emerged much earlier than they had
previously thought.
(A) evidence has been gathered by scientists
suggesting that complex life-forms emerged
much earlier than they had
(B) evidence gathered by scientists suggests a
much earlier emergence of complex life-forms
than had been
(C) scientists have gathered evidence suggesting
that complex life-formsemerged much earlier
than
(D) scientists have gathered evidence that suggests
a much earlier emergence of complex life-forms
than that which was
(E) scientists have gathered evidence which
suggests a much earlier emergence of complex
life-forms than that


OA: C

My concern with OA is regarding the missing 'was' after than..
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by HerrGrau » Thu Jan 31, 2013 10:15 am
Hi,

So there are a few issues here:

1. Misplaced modifier - who was digging? The scientists! So A and B are out

2. Clarity - D/E are wordy and passive. Also in D/E what does "that" refer to?

Your concern about the missing was. What about these sentences:

My parents have found evidence that I came home earlier than they previously thought.

My parents thought that I arrived home much later but they have found evidence to the contrary.

These two sentences are similar to the OG sentence - there is no need for an extra "was". The sentences are complete as is.

Does this make sense? Let me know if you have any questions!

HG.
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by tanviet » Tue Feb 26, 2013 3:02 pm
why "that" in D and E is wrong?

"that" pronoun can be used in parallel structure and non parallel structure.

pls, explain
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by Tommy Wallach » Tue Feb 26, 2013 4:35 pm
Hey Duong,

Think of it this way:

(D) scientists have gathered evidence that suggests a much earlier emergence of complex life-forms
than the emergence which was previously thought

First off, it's an incorrect modifier "which" (requires a comma). But beyond that, the logic here is doesn't make any sense. We want to be comparing times, not some specificemergence. Do you see how the word "that" creates a specific emergence we're comparing to. But that's not right.

(E) scientists have gathered evidence which suggests a much earlier emergence of complex life-forms than the emergence previously thought.

In both of these, the correct comparison would be the equivalent "I ate an earlier breakfast than I did most days" not "I ate an earlier breakfast than that I ate most days."

In the second example, "that" refers to a specific breakfast, which makes no sense.

Hope that helps a little! Don't forget that both (D) and (E) have an incorrect, commaless "which," so you don't really need to worry about this little stuff!

-t
Tommy Wallach, Company Expert
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