The adopted use of trained fighter horses, which some historians date

Please note:
The correct idioms are:
X date Y at.......
--OR--
Y is dated by X at.....
Both forms are correct. There is no problem with "dated by".

The trap is that there is no "at" in the non-underlined part.

The adopted use of trained fighter horses, which some historians date during early Ottoman rule, was a critical element to the expansion of the Ottoman Empire.

(A) The adopted use of trained fighter horses, which some historians date
Wrong. "which" is not the main problem. The "Of-phrase" makes the phrase "of trained fighter horses" a "mission-critical" <== Thus, "which" does not need to modify the preceding noun (horses). "which" in this case can modify "the adopted use".
But A is wrong because there is no preposition "at" after "date" ==> The structure is like historian date during early Ottoman rule. Sounds badly!

(B) The adopted use of trained fighter horses, which some historians have thought to occur
Wrong. Meaning problem. "the USE of trained fighter horses" cannot occur, only "the adoption of using" can occur. (logical problem)

(C) Adopting the use of trained fighter horses, dated by some historians
Wrong. Same as A. We need the preposition "at".

(D) The adoption of using trained fighter horses, thought by some historians to have occurred
Correct. Even though D is wordy, but it's correct.

(E) The trained fighter horse's adopted use, dated by some historians
Wrong. The possessive structure is very awkward. In addition, We need the preposition "at".

Hope it helps.

A & B wrongly use "which".
C has a dangling modifier.
E is in passive form.

Answer should be D.

Kudos Please... If my post helped.

Hi,

Clearly D takes the cake.

A & B are wrong due to incorrect use of "which"-in both cases incorrectly referring to the adjacent noun ie. horses(ideally should be adoption) having thought to have occurred

C & E are wrong for incorrect use of the idiom "dated by"(should be "dated at")



Regards

Argha

But if you look at original answer choices (posted by nelz007), choice C follows your formula Y is dated by X at...... So the statement follows by "at"
Or maybe i am missing something?

you are correct.

pghai wants to say that as all other wrong option dont have AT even in the non underlined part....so we have to find the option that has AT in the underlined portion only because without the preposition AT idiom will be incorrect.

hope it helps.

Then why is C wrong?

Adopting the use of trained fighter horses, dated by some historians at around a specific era thousands of years ago, was a critical element to the flourishment many civilizations including the Ottoman Empire.

this has dangling modifier error.
Adopting the use of trained fighter horses ==>this modifier should be followed by subject ...here it is followed by DATED BY...hence this is wrong.
ADOPTING is a present participle .
Adopting the use of trained fighter horses ==>present participle modifier.
note:
if you have a present participle modifier in front of a comma, it must be talking about the following subject followed by the comma.

in fact, the same is true for all four of the following types of initial modifiers:

(1) Starting with –ING, or starting with preposition + -ING (especially in + -ING)
(2) Starting with past participle
(3) NOUN + MODIFIERS (i.e., not a clause)
(4) Starting with an ADJECTIVE

examples:

(1)
WRONG:
Coming home from school, the wind blew me off my bike.
RIGHT:
Coming home from school, I was blown off my bike by the wind.

(2)
WRONG:
Thrown from a passing car, the blaze was ignited by a stray cigarette.
RIGHT:
Thrown from a passing car, a stray cigarette ignited the blaze.

(3)
WRONG:
A survivor of the Holocaust, Primo Levi’s stories demonstrate a resolute determination in the face of tragedy and adversity.
RIGHT:
A survivor of the Holocaust, Primo Levi wrote stories that demonstrate a resolute determination in the face of tragedy and adversity.

hope it helps.

hi

if your remarks are correct pls guide on this question below;

Many of the earliest known images of Hindu deities in India date from the time of the Kushan
empire, fashioned either from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or Gandharan grey schist.
A. empire, fashioned either from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or
B. empire, fashioned from either the spotted sandstone of Mathura or from
C. empire, either fashioned from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or
D. empire and either fashioned from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or from
E. empire and were fashioned either from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or from

Actually my question is DATE AT construction given by you, is not there

Hello Blueseas,

Appreciate your effort to explain.

Could you kindly give it a thought as to why "Adopting the use of trained fighter horses" (the opening part of the option C) is a modifier and not a gerund phrase.

I guess "Adopting" is actually a gerund that takes "the use" as its object. "of trained fighter horses" is a prep-phrase that modifies the noun "the use." This whole part can thought of as a gerund phrase that acts as a noun.

Please let me know, if I am missing anything.
Many Thanks.

"Adopting the use "modifies "was a critical element" . " dated by ...." is just an additional information.

"Running towards the gate, arms flailing in air , joey jumped across the river . "

Correct me if I am wrong.

I put my money on C. In D "the adoption of using" sounds just plain wrong. "The adoption of the use" would still be better IMO.

The position of "which" is fine. You are right. It is the descriptive portion and is held between two commas. Hence, "adopted use" connects "was a critical element". In this case “which” does not modify the word immediately before the comma that is "horses". But "adopted use" is not the right usage. Hence, we will eliminate A. There is nothing wrong with the modifier.
_________________

hi,
'
in option (D) The adoption of using trained fighter horses, thought by some historians to have occurred. i couldn't understand what thought by...' modifies?

C. Adopting the use of trained fighter horses, dated by some historians at around a specific era thousands of years ago, was a critical element to the flourishment many civilizations including the Ottoman Empire

D. The adoption of using trained fighter horses, thought by some historians to have occurred around a specific era thousands of years ago, was a critical element to the flourishment many civilizations including the Ottoman Empire.

IMO Answer choice C fits better D.
In answer choice C, "Adopting the use of trained fighter horses" functions as the noun (gerund phrase) of the sentence and there is no dangling modifier problem.
In Answer choice D, "The Adoption of using" seems unnecessarily wordy.

"Thought" modifies the noun "Adoption". Thought is a past participle, so the clause beginning with "Thought" is a noun-modifier. Before "thought", we have "The adoption of using trained fighter horses", and "of using trained fighter horses" is a prepositional phrase, hence the noun modifier can skip over this phrase to modify "Adoption".

Hope it answers your question. Please kudos if you find my post helpful.

Hi,

I am not able to understand why is C wrong?
Also, can someone please explain the use of 'dated at' idiom. Is 'dated at around a specific era' correct usage?

Thank you!

This is not a good SC question. The phrase "the adoption of using trained fighter horses" is so non-standard that D cannot be the correct answer. And then we get to the non-underlined portion:

... was a critical element to the flourishment many civilizations including the Ottoman Empire.

Enough said.

You could take a look at this official question and this official question instead.
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Whats the problem with which?

To have "occurred" is awkward and definitely not a strong choice for the GMAT, not the best option choice IMO