Meaning :- scientists claim that a discovery provides clues which can help in determining
a. how mamals colonized WI
b. when mamals colonized WI

Error Analysis :- 'Clues of determining' is not the correct idiom. Correct idiom should be 'Clues for' (what are the clue for? Clues are for determining )

POE
A. explained
B. Clues in the determination of....not correct
C. Clues to determine...the intention of the clues was not to determine
D. The tense of the sentence is not correct. Since the action completed in the past we can use simple past tense.
E. Correct, uses for and simple past tense.

IMO :- E

+1 kudo for e-GMAT


It should be E..
Between to +verb vs for +verb+ing, I eliminate A, B, C.
Between D & E, I would select simple and smart correct answer E. D is so verbose and awkward.

The answer should be E because the discovery could provide clues 'for' determining i.e. 'what for' aspect.

Hi everyone,

Thanks for posting your analysis of this question. Here is the detailed solution for this one.

Scientists claim that the discovery of the first authenticated mammal bones in amber could provide important clues of determining, in addition to how, when mammals colonized the islands of the West Indies.

Meaning Analysis:

The sentence talks about a scientific discovery. Scientists found the first authenticated mammals bones in amber that could provide clues that would help in determining:
A. How mammals colonized the islands of West Indies, and
B. when they did so

Error Analysis:

1. "clues of determining" is an incorrect expression. Per the context of the sentence, the correct expression should be "clues for determining".

2. "in addition to how, when mammals colonized the islands of the West Indies" is very awkward. It fails to communicate the intended meaning in a prices and clear manner.

PoE:

A: of determining, in addition to how, when mammals colonized the islands of the West Indies: Incorrect for the reasons stated above.

B: in the determination of how and when the islands of the West Indies were colonized by mammals: Incorrect.
1. "In the determination" is not what we need here.
2. The passive voice construction makes the choice wordy.

C: to determine how mammals colonized the islands of the West Indies and when they did: Incorrect.
1. "To determine" is incorrect because it was not the intention of the clues to determine how and when mammals colonized West Indies.
2. This choice is not written in the most concise manner.

D: for determining when the islands of the West Indies were colonized by mammals and how they were: Incorrect.
1. The passive voice construction makes the choice wordy.
2. Use if "were" is incorrect. It should be "did". However, even after that, the construction would not have been precise.

E: for determining how and when mammals colonized the islands of the West Indies: Correct.

Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha
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Rec'd a PM regarding this topic. Its another question that uses the "to verb" vs "for verb-ing" concept. Posting my analysis on forum for benefit of all.



The sentence talks about the "Skill and precision" of a group of people. Let's pick a skill, say skill in teaching a complex concept.
Now when we mention this specific skill, we are literally describing the skill. What kind of skill, skill in teaching a complex concept.
Now if I said "skill to teach a complex concept", I would be wrong since this expression will imply that the intent of "skill" i.e. "some general term skill" is to teach a complex concept.

This is exactly what is happening in the sentence above. Now consider the following two sentences:

1: James' skills in teaching complex concepts are exemplary.
2: James' skills to teaching complex concepts are exemplary. (INCORRECT - Implies that the intent of skills of James is to teach complex concepts)
3: James has developed his skills in teaching complex concepts to make sure he can be employed by leading education companies.

Notice how in sentence 1 is correct but sentence 2 is incorrect. Also notice how sentence 3 uses both "to verb" and "in verb-ing" correctly. The former is used to express intent of developing the specific skills in discussion. The latter is used to describe the skills in discussion.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Payal
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Actually i picked this from a pdf file that contains collection of Gmat Prep problems. Might be this is not a official problem

Thanks for the reply.
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