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generis
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The reason c is incorrect is because the 'which' leads to a confusion in understanding whether the remaining part of the sentence refers to the Rosetta stone or the Greek it is inscribed with.

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A) and were instrumental in helping scholars decipher the hieroglyphs used by ancient Egyptians- Incorrect

Rosetta stone is a singular noun

B) instrumental in helping scholars decipher the hieroglyphs that had been used by ancient Egyptians- Incorrect

1)This option is not completing the statement.
2) Secondly, it is conveying that 2 languages are instrumental rather than Rosetta stone

C) which was instrumental in helping scholars decipher the hieroglyphs used by ancient Egyptians- Incorrect

Which is referring to Greek language

D) and was instrumental in helping scholars decipher the hieroglyphs used by ancient Egyptians- Correct

Properly conveying the intended meaning that Rosetta stone is written in 2 languages and is instrumental....

E) and was instrumental in its deciphering of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, which helped- Incorrect
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Discovered by a French soldier in 1799, the Rosetta Stone was inscribed with three distinct scripts in two languages, Egyptian and Greek, and were instrumental in helping scholars decipher the hieroglyphs used by ancient Egyptians.

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A) and were instrumental in helping scholars decipher the hieroglyphs used by ancient Egyptians
Since we have "and" the verb "were instrumental" has to go with the subject "Rosetta Stone" which is singular and wouldn't make sense as an independent idea per my understanding.

Quote:
B) instrumental in helping scholars decipher the hieroglyphs that had been used by ancient Egyptians
Correct - instrumental - adjective modifying scripts in two languages. Past Perfect "had been" is correct as well as the hieroglyphs were used earlier and then deciphered

Quote:
C) which was instrumental in helping scholars decipher the hieroglyphs used by ancient Egyptians
"which" - modifying scripts which is plural. Hence can not go with "was" - SV Disagreement

Quote:
D) and was instrumental in helping scholars decipher the hieroglyphs used by ancient Egyptians
"and was instrumental" goes with "Rosetta Stone". But this idea is acting as an independent idea that doesn't create a link between the inscriptions and the deciphering of the hieroglyphs.

Quote:
E) and was instrumental in its deciphering of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, which helped
Same as D, moreover this one has too many issues

I went with B. "Instrumental" is an adjective modifying the "3 scripts in 2 languages" which in turn actually helped the scholars decipher. Comma pair can be taken off and the sentence would still stand correct grammatically.

From what I understand Rosetta Stone was discovered by French and there were inscriptions on the stone in different languages and that these languages helped or were instrumental in helping scholars decipher the XYZ.
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Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

generis


Discovered by a French soldier in 1799, the Rosetta Stone was inscribed with three distinct scripts in two languages, Egyptian and Greek, and were instrumental in helping scholars decipher the hieroglyphs used by ancient Egyptians.

A) and were instrumental in helping scholars decipher the hieroglyphs used by ancient Egyptians

B) instrumental in helping scholars decipher the hieroglyphs that had been used by ancient Egyptians

C) which was instrumental in helping scholars decipher the hieroglyphs used by ancient Egyptians

D) and was instrumental in helping scholars decipher the hieroglyphs used by ancient Egyptians

E) and was instrumental in its deciphering of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, which helped

A: This answer choice uses the plural verb "were" to refer to the singular noun "Rosetta Stone". Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

B: This answer choice incorrectly modifies the noun phrase "two languages", rather than the noun "Rosetta Stone", with the phrase "instrumental in helping..."; the stone, not the languages, was instrumental to the scholars' efforts. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

C: This answer choice incorrectly modifies the noun phrase "Egyptian and Greek", referring to the ancient Egyptian and Greek languages, with the phrase "which was instrumental...". As mentioned above, it was the stone, not the languages, that was instrumental to the scholars' efforts. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

D: This answer choice preserves the meaning of the sentence and maintains proper subject-verb agreement. Thus, this answer choice is correct.

E: This answer choice suffers from a meaning-related error; E omits the word "scholars" and uses the phrase "its deciphering", implying that the Rosetta Stone itself took the action of deciphering. E also modifies the noun "hieroglyphs" with the phrase "which helped", further altering the meaning of the sentence. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Hence, D is the best answer choice.

Please note that in Option B, the phrase "instrumental in helping" applies to the noun "languages" because the noun phrase "Egyptian and Greek" is presented between two commas.

To understand the concept of "Extra Information Between two Commas on GMAT", you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):



To understand the concept of "Use of Which, Who, Whose, and Where on GMAT", you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):



All the best! Experts' Global Team
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Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

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