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Flying reptile confusion..

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Flying reptile confusion..

by gmatromio » Sat Sep 18, 2010 4:45 am
What is the answer for this....and the explaination.. could any one through some light on this one...

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


Regards
Romio
Believe in yourself..
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by gmat_perfect » Sat Sep 18, 2010 5:27 am
gmatromio wrote:What is the answer for this....and the explaination.. could any one through some light on this one...

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


Regards
Romio
The issues:

1. Which

Which refers to the immediate preceding noun. In the options D and E, 'which' refers to 36 feet. Then the meaning of the sentence becomes "36 feet is believed to be the largest flying ..."

--> This kills D and E.

2. "Believed to be"

The "believed to be" is very like to which as it is used in the option A. So, it modifies the immediate preceding noun. Here, 36 feet is the eligible noun that can be referred by which.

---> finally the same error has been made in the option A. So, A is killed.

3. That:

That can be used to refer to the noun preceding it.

Example:

I like the pen that is costly.
The boy is very good. I like that boy.
==> the second that refers to the boy. The boy has been mentioned earlier.

There are different nouns in the first part of the sentence.

the Quetzalcoatlus, wingspan, 36 feet. Which one is referred by that? We are not sure.

--> this kills A.

Answer is C.
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by pesfunk » Fri Oct 22, 2010 6:45 pm
Nice Explanation.

IMO C
gmat_perfect wrote:
gmatromio wrote:What is the answer for this....and the explaination.. could any one through some light on this one...

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


Regards
Romio
The issues:

1. Which

Which refers to the immediate preceding noun. In the options D and E, 'which' refers to 36 feet. Then the meaning of the sentence becomes "36 feet is believed to be the largest flying ..."

--> This kills D and E.

2. "Believed to be"

The "believed to be" is very like to which as it is used in the option A. So, it modifies the immediate preceding noun. Here, 36 feet is the eligible noun that can be referred by which.

---> finally the same error has been made in the option A. So, A is killed.

3. That:

That can be used to refer to the noun preceding it.

Example:

I like the pen that is costly.
The boy is very good. I like that boy.
==> the second that refers to the boy. The boy has been mentioned earlier.

There are different nouns in the first part of the sentence.

the Quetzalcoatlus, wingspan, 36 feet. Which one is referred by that? We are not sure.

--> this kills A.

Answer is C.
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by pzazz12 » Sat Oct 23, 2010 4:32 am
gmat_perfect wrote:
gmatromio wrote:What is the answer for this....and the explaination.. could any one through some light on this one...

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


Regards
Romio
The issues:

1. Which

Which refers to the immediate preceding noun. In the options D and E, 'which' refers to 36 feet. Then the meaning of the sentence becomes "36 feet is believed to be the largest flying ..."

--> This kills D and E.

2. "Believed to be"

The "believed to be" is very like to which as it is used in the option A. So, it modifies the immediate preceding noun. Here, 36 feet is the eligible noun that can be referred by which.

---> finally the same error has been made in the option A. So, A is killed.

3. That:

That can be used to refer to the noun preceding it.

Example:

I like the pen that is costly.
The boy is very good. I like that boy.
==> the second that refers to the boy. The boy has been mentioned earlier.

There are different nouns in the first part of the sentence.

the Quetzalcoatlus, wingspan, 36 feet. Which one is referred by that? We are not sure.

--> this kills A.

Answer is C.
thank you for your brief explanation.....
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by GMATMadeEasy » Sat Oct 23, 2010 6:49 am
wonderful gmat_perfect .

Also, in C usage of have been is justified because it refers to the event at certain point in past.
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by gmat_perfect » Sat Oct 23, 2010 7:08 am
GMATMadeEasy wrote:wonderful gmat_perfect .

Also, in C usage of have been is justified because it refers to the event at certain point in past.
yes, just two cents on "Perfect infinitive":

Perfect infinitive is formed by the following structure:

To have + past participle of verb

Perfect infinitive is used:

To show action earlier than the verb:

Example:
They consider the team to have been coached very well. [The perfect infinitive to have been coached indicates a time prior to the verb consider.]
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