Five hundred million different species of living creatures have appear

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that five hundred million different species of living creatures have appeared on Earth, and of these species, nearly 99 percent have vanished.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Tenses + Verb Forms + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• The introduction of present participle ("verb+ing"- “vanishing” in this case) after comma generally leads to a cause-effect relationship.
• The present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present.
• The simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past.

A: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "nearly 99 percent of them vanishing"; the use of the "comma + present participle ("verb+ing" - "vanishing" in this sentence)" construction incorrectly implies that five hundred million different species of living creatures have appeared on Earth, and as a result, nearly 99 percent these species have vanished; the intended meaning is that five hundred million different species of living creatures have appeared on Earth, and, as a separate action, of these species, nearly 99 percent have vanished; please remember, the introduction of present participle ("verb+ing"- “vanishing” in this case) after comma generally leads to a cause-effect relationship.

B: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "99 percent of five hundred million"; the omission of the word "the" incorrectly implies that more than five hundred million different species of living creatures have appeared on Earth, and of a particular subset of these species, nearly 99 percent have vanished; the intended meaning is that a total of five hundred million different species of living creatures have appeared on Earth, and of these species, nearly 99 percent have vanished. Further, Option B incorrectly uses the simple past tense verb "appeared" to refer to an action that concluded in the past but continues to affect the present; remember, the present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present, and the simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past.

C: This answer choice incorrectly uses the simple past tense verb "appeared" to refer to an action that concluded in the past but continues to affect the present; remember, the present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present, and the simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past. Further, Option C uses the passive voice construction "Vanished are nearly 99 percent", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "Of five hundred million"; the omission of the word "the" incorrectly implies that more than five hundred million different species of living creatures have appeared on Earth, and of a particular subset of these species, nearly 99 percent have vanished; the intended meaning is that a total of five hundred million different species of living creatures have appeared on Earth, and of these species, nearly 99 percent have vanished. Further, Option D uses the needlessly wordy phrase "nearly 99 percent of them ", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

E: This answer choice uses the phrases "Of the five hundred million" and "nearly 99 percent have vanished", conveying the intended meaning - that a total of five hundred million different species of living creatures have appeared on Earth, and, as a separate action, of these species, nearly 99 percent have vanished. Further, Option E correctly uses the present perfect tense verb "have appeared" to refer to an action that concluded in the past but continues to affect the present. Additionally, Option E is free of any awkwardness and redundancy.

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):



To understand the concept of "Present Perfect Tense" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):

[spoiler=]

To understand the concept of "Comma + Present Participle for Cause-Effect Relationship" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~3 minutes):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team

I go for E

A. Five hundred million different species of living creatures have appeared on Earth, nearly 99 percent of them vanishing.
A is akward, use of ING for "vanishing" and no link between the 2 main clauses.B. Nearly 99 percent of five hundred million different species of living creatures that appeared on Earth have vanished.
Suggest that there may be more than 500M different species
C. Vanished are nearly 99 percent of the five hundred million different species of living creatures that appeared on Earth.
Akward construction
D. Of five hundred million different species of living creatures that have appeared on Earth, nearly 99 percent of them have vanished.
I have hesitation with this one but it is not clear if there exists more than 500M different species. It is just said "Of 500M" and not "Of the 500M"
E. Of the five hundred million different species of living creatures that have appeared on Earth, nearly 99 percent have vanished.
Ok

i ll go with E

one problem, what i notice in B is the usage of "appeared" . it should be "have appeared" with the change in the sentence construction.

B- Nearly 99 percent of five hundred million different species of living creatures that appeared on Earth have vanished.

the relative clause "that appeared on earth" modifies "living creatures"

living creatures is the whole group (100%) out of which 99% have vanished.
so-- "living creatures that appeared on earth"-- would suggest that not a single specie of the 500 million diff species EXISTS (appear) at present, but in fact 1% of them are still in existence.

Sorry for the late reply. I've been meaning to re-work this question, but I've been bogged down with office work. Anyway, here are my thoughts on this question.

Five hundred million different species of living creatures have appeared on Earth, nearly 99 percent of them vanishing.

A. Five hundred million different species of living creatures have appeared on Earth, nearly 99 percent of them vanishing.
- A is wrong. 'have appeared on earth' suggests new creatures are still appearing today. 'nearly 99% of them vanishing' is also disjointed from the earlier part of the sentence.

B. Nearly 99 percent of five hundred million different species of living creatures that appeared on Earth have vanished.
- 99% of the species that appeared -> correct, past tense suggests that the creatures have already appeared
- 'have vanished' suggests that the species are still dying out today.

C. Vanished are nearly 99 percent of the five hundred million different species of living creatures that appeared on Earth.
- 'Vanished are early 99%' -> sounds strange. Beginning with a verb (vanish) that does not modify anything.

D. Of five hundred million different species of living creatures that have appeared on Earth, nearly 99 percent of them have vanished.
- same as for A (have appeared)

E. Of the five hundred million different species of living creatures that have appeared on Earth, nearly 99 percent have vanished.
- same as for A (have appeared)

I'll take B.

E it is
B's multiple prepositional structure is wrong. For instance, instead of saying "100 of X of Y that...", one should simplify things down to "100 of THE X of Y that...". This makes the sentence much more simple by removing degrees of reference.

D has the same problem as B but furthermore, we are not sure whether personal pronoun "them" refers to "species" or "creatures" and it also intrudes the flow of the sentence. The appositive form in E, at the end and without the superfluous "them", makes for a much better sentence flow.

Here's my take -

The key is the use of the article "The" and the use of present perfect tense in choice E.

Choice B leaves open the possibility that more than 500 million diff species may have appeared on earth. E make is specific - only 500 mill diff species have appeared and 99% of these have vanished.

E)

I agree with techjanson, the action still continues, so Pres. Perfect is required. In these type of questions, when you're doubting between 2 answer choices that both look correct, ALWAYS compare them with the original sentence to verify that they are not changing the meaning. Remember that in SC you could have 2 answer choices that are correct, but the one you have to select is the BETTER of them!

Hi tommy ,
Plesae consider the following sentence
He ran into the building,determined to save his puppy.
What is "determined"modifying ?
Also in the second bolded part ,Please tell me can a present participle be only used 1)as an adverbial modifier when it follows the comma after a clause
I crossed the pool,swimming with all my might.
2)as a modifier modifying the noun before it
The car going down the street is red
3)as a gerund
4) with "was/is/are/am" to indicate the progressive tense.
I was running.
I am running.

What is the function of the present participle in the following sentence
The leader came in a car,with his bodyguards following suit.

B and C combine the past tense appeared and with the present perfect tense have vanished. The sequence of events is unclear. If the species appeared in the past, how can they still be vanishing in the present? Eliminate B and C.

In A and D, it's not clear whether them refers to species or to living creatures. Eliminate A and D.

The correct answer is .

Hey Munda,

He ran into the building,determined to save his puppy.

"Determined" is modifying "he", so this would not be a preferred way to write this. We'd prefer to see the participle touching the noun.

You seem confused about the difference between a participle and words with -ing. Words ending in -ing can be participles, gerunds, or participles that are part of progressive tenses.

PARTICIPLES

Present participles are generally adverbial when they follow the comma after a clause.

I crossed the pool,swimming with all my might.

In your example, "swimming" is iffy. You could argue it's modifying "crossed" (the way in which the crossing occurred), but it's really modifying "I". Just like the last one, it's not the cleanest way to write it.

The car going down the street is red

In this version, there's no comma. Participles with no commas always modify whatever they're touching. Very straightforward.

GERUNDS

Participles and gerunds are totally different words (adjectives versus nouns). They may look the same, but they're homonyms, with different meanings. Gerunds are nouns, not adjectives.

PROGRESSIVE TENSES

I was running. (this is really a participle with the past tense verb)
I am running. (this is really a participle with the present tense verb.

The leader came in a car,with his bodyguards following suit.

"following suit" is an idiom meaning "doing the same". This is just a participial phrase modifying a noun (no comma), "bodyguards."

Hope that helps!

-t

To illustrate how the insertion of a comma can change what a modifier is modifying (and thus change the meaning of the sentence):

John kicked the puppy, upsetting Mary.

The purpose of the comma is to show that upsetting is modifying not the puppy but John. John is upsetting Mary (by kicking the poor, defenseless puppy).

Let's see what happens when the comma is removed:

John kicked the puppy upsetting Mary.

With the comma removed, upsetting is now modifying the puppy. The puppy is upsetting Mary. In this sentence, John might in fact be pleasing Mary by kicking the annoying puppy.

The big question I ask myself when I see a participle that ends in -ing:

Who or what is performing the action of the verb?

If I can't tell who or what is performing the action of the -ing participle -- or if the wrong thing is performing the action -- I eliminate the answer choice.

I think 'E' is better. After going through different posts, the points I have noted are :

1) B states that 99% of 500 million creatures appeared on Earth. Implies that 1 % appeared some where else but not on Earth.
2) B uses past tense 'appeared' which implies a completed action. Where as E uses present perfect tense (action started in past and still going on) and is apt because 1% exist even today.

Please correct me if I am wrong.

Thanks,
Amit

B. Nearly 99 percent of five hundred million different species of living creatures that appeared on Earth have vanished.
E.Of the five hundred million different species of living creatures that have appeared on Earth, nearly 99 percent have vanished.

E is better because of two reasons:
1) in case of B.
(Nearly 99 percent of five hundred million different species of living creatures) that appeared on Earth have vanished.
or
Nearly 99 percent of (five hundred million different species of living creatures) that appeared on Earth have vanished.
Not sure what is meant.

and
2) As per the original choice :
Five hundred million different species of living creatures have appeared on Earth, nearly 99 percent of them vanishing.
So it says species which are still appearing -> Present perfect usage and that is the tense used by E.

Five hundred million different species of living creatures have appeared on Earth, nearly 99 percent of them vanishing.

A. Five hundred million different species of living creatures have appeared on Earth, nearly 99 percent of them vanishing.
no

B. Nearly 99 percent of five hundred million different species of living creatures that appeared on Earth have vanished.
"... of five hundred million different species ..." implies that the 500 million creatures in question is a subset of a larger group (think of it as 500 million living creatures out of 501 million living creatures).

C. Vanished are nearly 99 percent of the five hundred million different species of living creatures that appeared on Earth.
ridiculous way of wording this, so very clearly incorrect

D. Of five hundred million different species of living creatures that have appeared on Earth, nearly 99 percent of them have vanished.
Of five hundred million... nearly 99 percent of them... is repetitive - the subject-verb agreement is already such that the modifier, vanished, is clearly referencing the subject, 500 million different species

E. Of the five hundred million different species of living creatures that have appeared on Earth, nearly 99 percent have vanished.
to me, this one is correct (I know it doesn't agree with the OA) - Of the 500 million different species indicates that the set in question represents the entire set of species that have lived on earth. The original sentence indicates that ONLY 500 million species of creatures have existed on earth, so the "the" in the first part of the sentence reinforces the assertion that the set in question is the summation of all of the species that have appeared on earth, as opposed to just a subset of them. Additionally, the "nearly 99% have vanished" implicitly modifies the summation of all of the creatures that have appeared on earth, not a subset of them.

Explanation as to why B is not correct.

The main FLAW is the tense that is used..
the new species are still appearing so we cannot limit them by usage of PAST tense..
it should have been 'that have appeared on earth'-- an ongoing process

[quote="Divyadisha"][quote="chetan2u"][quote="Divyadisha"][quote="ricokevin"]Five hundred million different species of living creatures have appeared on Earth, nearly 99 percent of them vanishing.

A. Five hundred million different species of living creatures have appeared on Earth, nearly 99 percent of them vanishing.
B. Nearly 99 percent of five hundred million different species of living creatures that appeared on Earth have vanished.
C. Vanished are nearly 99 percent of the five hundred million different species of living creatures that appeared on Earth.
D. Of five hundred million different species of living creatures that have appeared on Earth, nearly 99 percent of them have vanished.
E. Of the five hundred million different species of living creatures that have appeared on Earth, nearly 99 percent have vanished.




hi,
experts, kindly explain the usage of THE in a sentence and a sentence without the usage of THE.
Can a answer be solely correct on use of THE?
say example D and E
thanks

Usage of "the" is not the reason that distinguishes E from D as the correct option. Option D is wrong because of redundant use of "of them". The sentence starts with "Of five hundred million different species ". Subsequent use of "of them" makes the sentence wrong.