Veritas Prep SC question

[AndyMann]

Hi All,

I have a question regarding usage of verb-ed as mentioned in the question below:

Due to the slow-moving nature of tectonic plate movement, the oldest ocean crust is thought to date from the Jurassic period, formed from huge fragments of the Earth's lithosphere and lasted 200 million years.

A. formed from huge fragments of the Earth's lithosphere and lasted 200 million years.
B. forming from huge fragments of the Earth's lithosphere and lasting 200 million years.
C. forming from huge fragments of the Earth's lithosphere and lasted 200 million years.
D. formed from huge fragments of the Earth's lithosphere and lasting 200 million years.
E. formed from huge fragments of the Earth's lithosphere and has been lasting 200 million years.

OA: D

In the above question, does the verb-ed modifier "formed" modifies the nearest noun Jurassic period? It needs to modify "oldest ocean crust". I am confused how "formed" is modifying "oldest ocean crust" here.

I have seen two main rules for verb-ed modifier posted by egmat:

1) Verb-ed modifier modifies the preceding noun or the noun phrase.
2) When verb-ed modifier is placed in the beginning of the clause followed by a comma, then it modifies the subject of the clause.

In this case we have option 1. We see that "formed" has to jump over the verb "is thought" to modify the subject of the main clause "The oldest ocean".
I have usually seen the verb-ed modifier is placed in the beginning of the sentence when we need to modify the subject of the main clause such as "Flushed with fear, Tommy turned to the audience"


Thanks!

[David@GMATPrepNow]

AndyMann,

You've highlighted the correct rules, and also a dodgy question. Good work.

Answer D is the best among the answer choices, but ALL of the answer choices break the rule with respect to placement of the verb-ed too far away from the noun upon which it is supposed to act.

Due to the slow-moving nature of tectonic plate movement, the oldest ocean crust is thought to date from the Jurassic period, formed from huge fragments of the Earth's lithosphere and lasting 200 million years.

In this case, "formed" is meant to act on "oldest ocean crust," and (as you noted) it has to jump over "thought to date from the Jurassic period." This breaks the rule and leads to a confused sentence.

As such, I would ignore this SC question. BUT... I would celebrate the fact that you know what you are doing, and spotted the problem with this sentence. Good work!

[AndyMann]

Thanks David, Appreciate your reply!

Cheers,
Andy