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Australian embryologists have found evidence

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by aditya8062 » Tue May 20, 2014 1:47 am

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Difficulty—

Australian embryologists have found evidence that suggests that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal, and its trunk originally evolved as a kind of snorkel.
A. that suggests that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal, and its trunk originally evolved
B. that has suggested the elephant descended from an aquatic animal, its trunk originally evolving
C. suggesting that the elephant had descended from an aquatic animal with its trunk originally evolving
D. to suggest that the elephant has descended from an aquatic animal and its trunk originally evolved
E. to suggest that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal and that its trunk originally evolved

my doubt : why "has suggested" is wrong in option B

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by AnjaliOberoi » Tue May 20, 2014 2:54 am
Hope you find this thread useful:

https://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/aus ... t2938.html

the two constructions have different meanings.
is descended --> used to talk about evolution, ancestry, etc. (as in this context)
has descended --> has moved, literally or figuratively, in a downward direction: the larynx has descended (literally) during the process of human evolution; our culture has descended (figuratively) into mindless entertainment
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by aditya8062 » Tue May 20, 2014 3:02 am
my question is regarding "has suggested" not "has descended"
also i have read that post but this point (about "has suggested") is not very clear to me
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by theCodeToGMAT » Tue May 20, 2014 5:03 am
The problem is {B} is meaning..

{B} says :

...evidence that has suggested the elephant.... --> this gives the meaning that the evidence has suggested elephant something..
R A H U L
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by GMATGuruNY » Tue May 20, 2014 6:17 am
aditya8062 wrote:Australian embryologists have found evidence that suggests that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal, and its trunk originally evolved as a kind of snorkel.
A. that suggests that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal, and its trunk originally evolved
B. that has suggested the elephant descended from an aquatic animal, its trunk originally evolving
C. suggesting that the elephant had descended from an aquatic animal with its trunk originally evolving
D. to suggest that the elephant has descended from an aquatic animal and its trunk originally evolved
E. to suggest that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal and that its trunk originally evolved

my doubt : why "has suggested" is wrong in option B

Thanks
Incorrect: Embryologists have found evidence that has suggested that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal.
Here, has suggested (present perfect) implies that -- at some unknown moment in the past -- the evidence suggested that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal.
But the act of suggesting is not tied to a particular moment in time.
Hence, the use of the present perfect is inappropriate.

Another issue:
The juxtaposition of two verbs in the present perfect (have found and has suggested) conveys an unclear sequence.

The OA cleverly avoids these issues by expressing the act of suggesting in the form of an INFINITIVE MODIFIER:
Embryologists have found evidence TO SUGGEST that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal.
Here, because the act of suggesting is expressed in the form of a modifier, it is not tied to a particular moment in time.
Last edited by GMATGuruNY on Thu Jan 19, 2017 4:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by RBBmba@2014 » Fri Feb 12, 2016 10:17 am
GMATGuruNY wrote:
aditya8062 wrote:Australian embryologists have found evidence that suggests that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal, and its trunk originally evolved as a kind of snorkel.
A. that suggests that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal, and its trunk originally evolved
B. that has suggested the elephant descended from an aquatic animal, its trunk originally evolving
C. suggesting that the elephant had descended from an aquatic animal with its trunk originally evolving
D. to suggest that the elephant has descended from an aquatic animal and its trunk originally evolved
E. to suggest that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal and that its trunk originally evolved

OA: E
Incorrect: Embryologists have found evidence that has suggested that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal.
Here, has suggested (present perfect) implies that -- at some unknown moment in the past -- the evidence suggested that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal.
But the act of suggesting is not tied to a particular moment in time.
Hence, the use of the present perfect is inappropriate.

Two other issues:
The juxtaposition of two verbs in the present perfect (have found and has suggested) conveys an unclear sequence.
It is best to avoid two successive that-clauses.

The OA cleverly avoids these issues by expressing the act of suggesting in the form of an INFINITIVE MODIFIER:
Embryologists have found evidence TO SUGGEST that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal.
Here, because the act of suggesting is expressed in the form of a modifier, it is not tied to a particular moment in time.
Hi GMATGuruNY,
A quick clarification reqd. on your above reply.

I think, in the OG Option B is given as : that has suggested the elephant descended from an aquatic animal, its trunk originally evolving -- so there is NO two successive that-clauses!

Correct me please if wrong!

That said, another potential ERROR in B: evidence that has suggested the elephant -- DISTORTED MEANING as B seems to imply that EVIDENCE suggests something to the ELEPHANT - clearly nonsensical. Right ?

P.S: The correct IDIOM is, I think : Evidence of and Evidence that. So,isn't EVIDENCE TO unidiomatic ?
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by RBBmba@2014 » Fri Feb 19, 2016 7:37 pm
Hi GMATGuruNY - any update on my above concerns Sir ?

Curious to know your feedback. Much thanks in advance!
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by GMATGuruNY » Sun Feb 21, 2016 4:03 am
RBBmba@2014 wrote: I think, in the OG Option B is given as : that has suggested the elephant descended from an aquatic animal, its trunk originally evolving -- so there is NO two successive that-clauses!
B: evidence that has suggested [that] the elephant is descended
Here, the that in brackets is omitted, but its presence is required in order for the portion in red to serve as the direct object of has suggested.
As a result, two successive that-clauses are implied.
That said, another potential ERROR in B: evidence that has suggested the elephant -- DISTORTED MEANING as B seems to imply that EVIDENCE suggests something to the ELEPHANT - clearly nonsensical. Right ?
This line of reasoning is valid.
P.S: The correct IDIOM is, I think : Evidence of and Evidence that. So,isn't EVIDENCE TO unidiomatic ?
evidence to suggest is a correct idiom.
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by aflaam » Tue Feb 23, 2016 3:48 am
Hello Mitch,
shouldn't it be is evolved in E.
E. to suggest that the elephant is descended
from an aquatic animal and that its trunk originally evolved
evolved seems to be adjective here rather than verb.
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by GMATGuruNY » Thu Feb 25, 2016 4:29 am
aflaam wrote:Hello Mitch,
shouldn't it be is evolved in E.
E. to suggest that the elephant is descended
from an aquatic animal and that its trunk originally evolved
evolved seems to be adjective here rather than verb.
Best
The elephant IS descended from an aquatic animal.
Here, is (simple present tense) serves as the verb for the elephant (subject).
One purpose of the simple present tense is to express a GENERAL TRUTH.
The sentence above expresses a GENERAL TRUTH about the elephant.

Its trunk originally EVOLVED as a kind of snorkel.
Here, evolved (simple past tense) serves as the verb for its trunk (subject).
What did the trunk do?
It EVOLVED.
The sentence above expresses an action that happened IN THE PAST.
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by rahulk123 » Sun Mar 06, 2016 6:53 am
GMATGuruNY wrote:
aflaam wrote:Hello Mitch,
shouldn't it be is evolved in E.
E. to suggest that the elephant is descended
from an aquatic animal and that its trunk originally evolved
evolved seems to be adjective here rather than verb.
Best
The elephant IS descended from an aquatic animal.
Here, is (simple present tense) serves as the verb for the elephant (subject).
One purpose of the simple present tense is to express a GENERAL TRUTH.
The sentence above expresses a GENERAL TRUTH about the elephant.

Its trunk originally EVOLVED as a kind of snorkel.
Here, evolved (simple past tense) serves as the verb for its trunk (subject).
What did the trunk do?
It EVOLVED.
The sentence above expresses an action that happened IN THE PAST.
Can u pls explain how the usage of descended from is correct in the right answer?

The domestic cat descended from the African wildcat approximately 4,000 years ago, an exceedingly recent divergence with respect to genetic evolution and one which scarcely seems sufficient to allow the marked physical changes in the animal.
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by rahulk123 » Sun Mar 06, 2016 6:54 am
AnjaliOberoi wrote:Hope you find this thread useful:

https://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/aus ... t2938.html

the two constructions have different meanings.
is descended --> used to talk about evolution, ancestry, etc. (as in this context)
has descended --> has moved, literally or figuratively, in a downward direction: the larynx has descended (literally) during the process of human evolution; our culture has descended (figuratively) into mindless entertainment

Can u pls explain how the usage of descended from is correct in the right answer?

The domestic cat descended from the African wildcat approximately 4,000 years ago, an exceedingly recent divergence with respect to genetic evolution and one which scarcely seems sufficient to allow the marked physical changes in the animal.
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by GMATGuruNY » Sun Mar 06, 2016 7:06 am
rahulk123 wrote:Can u pls explain how the usage of descended from is correct in the right answer?
Check my two posts here:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/og13-sc-ques ... 78363.html
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by rahulk123 » Sun Mar 06, 2016 7:20 am
GMATGuruNY wrote:
rahulk123 wrote:Can u pls explain how the usage of descended from is correct in the right answer?
Check my two posts here:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/og13-sc-ques ... 78363.html
Thank u for the post,
but i read somewhere on mgmat that using descend as a verb, as it is used here is to convey a literal descending/ coming down verb
The following is a quote from ron purewal from mgmat

" descended" (without "is") --> if you mean to state an evolutionary relationship, you should use "is descended"�. "descended"�, used alone, signifies literal downward motion."
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by GMATGuruNY » Sun Mar 06, 2016 9:24 am
rahulk123 wrote:Can u pls explain how the usage of descended from is correct in the right answer?
One definition of to descend from is to develop from.

The domestic cat descended from the African wildcat approximately 4,000 years ago.
Conveyed meaning:
The domestic cat DEVELOPED FROM the African wildcat approximately 4,000 years ago.
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