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E
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
45%
(medium)
Question Stats:
63% (01:23) correct
37%
(01:34)
wrong
based on 9179
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
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.
SC16020.02
(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.
SC16020.02
02 Sep 2010, 11:19
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hey All,
I got asked to take this one on by Private Message. Apparently, it has appeared in three different threads, none of which have resolved. So I'm going to be adding this exact post to all three threads. Be aware if you see it repeated!
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.
PROBLEM: First off "nearly 99 percent..." appears to be modifying "Earth," when we want it to modify "five hundred million different species." Secondly, "vanishing" is not correct on its own, as it is a present participle and we'd prefer some kind of perfect tense (because the vanishing started in the past and continues into the present).
B. Nearly 99 percent of five hundred million different species of living creatures that appeared on Earth have vanished.
PROBLEM: It should be "THE five hundred million different species," otherwise it sounds like there have been more than five hundred million species, but we're just talking about a particular subset of them which happens to include five hundred million species. Also, the use of the simple past tense for "appeared" is wrong, because this should be present perfect (they have appeared starting in the past and CONTINUING into the present).
C. Vanished are nearly 99 percent of the five hundred million different species of living creatures that appeared on Earth.
PROBLEM: As fun as it can be to speak like Yoda, inverting the sentence is highly awkward. Again, the simple past tense "appeared" is incorrect.
D. Of five hundred million different species of living creatures that have appeared on Earth, nearly 99 percent of them have vanished.
PROBLEM: It should be "THE five hundred million different species," otherwise it sounds like there have been more than five hundred million species, but we're just talking about a particular subset of them which happens to include five hundred million species. Also, it's redundant, and thus wrong, to say "of five hundred..." AND "...of them". We don't need both.
E. Of the five hundred million different species of living creatures that have appeared on Earth, nearly 99 percent have vanished.
ANSWER.
Hope that helps!
-t
I got asked to take this one on by Private Message. Apparently, it has appeared in three different threads, none of which have resolved. So I'm going to be adding this exact post to all three threads. Be aware if you see it repeated!
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.
PROBLEM: First off "nearly 99 percent..." appears to be modifying "Earth," when we want it to modify "five hundred million different species." Secondly, "vanishing" is not correct on its own, as it is a present participle and we'd prefer some kind of perfect tense (because the vanishing started in the past and continues into the present).
B. Nearly 99 percent of five hundred million different species of living creatures that appeared on Earth have vanished.
PROBLEM: It should be "THE five hundred million different species," otherwise it sounds like there have been more than five hundred million species, but we're just talking about a particular subset of them which happens to include five hundred million species. Also, the use of the simple past tense for "appeared" is wrong, because this should be present perfect (they have appeared starting in the past and CONTINUING into the present).
C. Vanished are nearly 99 percent of the five hundred million different species of living creatures that appeared on Earth.
PROBLEM: As fun as it can be to speak like Yoda, inverting the sentence is highly awkward. Again, the simple past tense "appeared" is incorrect.
D. Of five hundred million different species of living creatures that have appeared on Earth, nearly 99 percent of them have vanished.
PROBLEM: It should be "THE five hundred million different species," otherwise it sounds like there have been more than five hundred million species, but we're just talking about a particular subset of them which happens to include five hundred million species. Also, it's redundant, and thus wrong, to say "of five hundred..." AND "...of them". We don't need both.
E. Of the five hundred million different species of living creatures that have appeared on Earth, nearly 99 percent have vanished.
ANSWER.
Hope that helps!
-t
13 Apr 2007, 06:28
Kudos
Bookmarks
ricokevin
In choice B, "that appeared on Earth" seems to refer to "nearly 99 % of 500 million different species of living creatures", whereas we know that it should refer to "500 million different species of living creatures"
SC questions that are underlined entirely tends to be modification questions. Make sure modifier is referring to the logical modifyee.
11 Jan 2022, 05:20
Kudos
Bookmarks
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
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
nocilis
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):
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
