krndatta wrote:
AndrewN In options D and E, the usage of having +verb-ed is correct right?
Having + past participle is perfect participle that is used to show an action completed before the main clause. So as per this definition, fossils initially beached on an African American shore and then were discovered by paleontologists. We eliminated options D and E because there is parallelism error. Participles cannot be parallel to verbs.
Is my understanding correct on this?
I have seen few questions on the usage of "having + past participle".
Please share your two cents.
Hello,
krndatta. Answer choices (D) and (E) do have problems. How about we take a closer look?
Quote:
Fossils of a whale that beached on an African shore more than a million years ago and was subsequently butchered by hominids have been recovered by paleontologists.
D. having been beached on an African shore more than a million years ago and subsequently butchered by hominids, have
E. having beached on an African shore more than a million years ago and then subsequently were butchered by hominids have
It is the
whale that beached, not the fossils of the whale. We know this because fossils cannot be
butchered by hominids. Only meat of some kind may be butchered. (Even if someone cracks bones to extract marrow, we would not use the verb
to butcher.) Look at basic versions of answer choices (D) and (E) for ease of access.
(D) Fossils of a whale having been beached and subsequently butchered
(E) Fossils of a whale having beached and then subsequently were butchered
The latter makes no sense and is probably easier to pick off. If a whale beached, then it
was subsequently butchered, not
were. Also, notice the redundancy in
then subsequently. As for (D), I am having trouble justifying
been. Either the sentence can be interpreted as saying that someone or something carried out the act of beaching the whale, or that the whale escaped after
having been beached, something we know did not happen.
I do not go through SC questions with a grammatical checklist in mind. Rather, I ask myself which version of the sentence most clearly and concisely expresses what I think it is aiming to convey. If you have seen other questions with
having + past participle in them, I would advise you to study and take what you can from them.
Thank you for thinking to ask for my help.
- Andrew
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