Sentence Correction

Hello all, long-time lurker here. I have difficulty tackling these wordier problems.

68. The first trenches that were cut into a 500-acre site at Tell Hamoukar, Syria, have yielded strong evidence for centrally administered complex societies in northern regions of the Middle East that were arising simultaneously with but independently of the more celebrated city-states of southern Mesopotamia, in what is now southern Iraq.

(A) that were cut into a 500-acre site at Tell Hamoukar, Syria, have yielded strong evidence for centrally administered complex societies in northern regions of the Middle East that were arising simultaneously with but

(B) that were cut into a 500-acre site at Tell Hamoukar, Syria, yields strong evidence that centrally administered complex societies in northern regions of the Middle East were arising simultaneously with but also

(C) having been cut into a 500-acre site at Tell Hamoukar, Syria, have yielded strong evidence that centrally administered complex societies in northern regions of the Middle East were arising simultaneously but

(D) cut into a 500-acre site at Tell Hamoukar, Syria, yields strong evidence of centrally administered complex societies in northern regions of the Middle East arising simultaneously but also

(E) cut into a 500-acre site at Tell Hamoukar, Syria, have yielded strong evidence that centrally administered complex societies in northern regions of the Middle East arose simultaneously with but



Can someone share some insight as to what the subject and the verb of this sentence is? I just had finished studying chapter 3 of the Manhattan GMAT SC Book which was dealing with Subject/Verb agreement. However, when I came to this problem, I guess the words scared me and I was totally off.

Since you asking about Subj Verb agreement.

Subj: The trenches (the main noun performing the action)
Verb: yielded (the action)

We can now eliminate B & D

A - eliminate because idiomatic problem. We don't say yield evidence for ..should be of (followed by a noun) or that (followed by a noun & verb)
B- subj verb (trenches yields)
C - eliminate is in the passive voice (not preferred on the gmat) ..having been cut. Were arising (should come before another past action, but there isn't another past item)...arose in choice E works
D- subj verb (trenches yields)
E - Correct