Fossils of the arm of a sloth found in Puerto Rico in 1991, and dated at 34 million years old, made it the earliest known mammal of the Greater Antilles islands. (A) sloth found in Puerto Rico in 1991, and dated at 34 million years old, made it the earliest known mammal of (B) sloth, that they found in Puerto Rico in 1991, has been dated at 34 million years old, thus making it the earliest mammal known on (C) sloth that was found in Puerto Rico in 1991, was dated at 34 million years old, making this the earliest known mammal of (D) sloth, found in Puerto Rico in 1991, have been dated at 34 million years old, making the sloth the earliest known mammal on (E) sloth which, found in Puerto Rico in 1991, was dated at 34 million years old, made the sloth the earliest known mammal of https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/16/science/mammal-bones-found-in-amber-for-first-time.html Fossils of the arm of a sloth, found in Puerto Rico five years ago, have been dated at 34 million years old, making it the earliest known mammal on the islands and presumably an inhabitant at the time of the hypothesized separation, Dr. MacPhee said. The age of the amber-preserved mammal, though not precise, could be further evidence of when these migrations occurred, particularly of when they might have ended.

It means no such thing. We cannot extrapolate it (even remotely) to interpret that he does not like to live in Canada, or not even that he likes to live in USA. Simple present represents a general truth or a current fact . Yes, or it could mean that at some point in his life, Peter lived in USA (implying that he may not be in USA anymore). The experience of living in US (even if I am not in US right now) continues to stay with me, and hence I use present perfect.

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Fossils of the arm of a sloth found in Puerto Rico in 1991, and dated

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12 Nov 2020, 07:22

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EducationAisle

TheUltimateWinner

From the highlighted example, I just want to mean that 'Peter is still in the US'.

Hi TheUltimateWinner, you are saying this with such confidence, as if you know Peter

Well..well....I am afraid that Peter has lived in US does not necessarily mean that Peter is still in the US.

It could as well mean that at some unspecified time in the past, Peter lived in the US (but does not live there anymore).

If the intent is to state that Peter is still in the US, we will state it as such (in Simple Present tense):

Peter lives in the US.

Or in Present Perfect continuous tense:

Peter has been living in the US for 5 years.

Here is the example of present perfect tense again.
EducationAisle has written the post.
^^ if the author deletes the above post written by EducationAisle then we have to say the following.
EducationAisle wrote the post.
But, if the post still exist above then we have to say the following.
EducationAisle has written the post.
^^ I need not to know who is EducationAisle at all.
Can you share your thought, please?

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12 Nov 2020, 07:33

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TheUltimateWinner

^^ if the author deletes the above post written by EducationAisle then we have to say the following.
EducationAisle wrote the post.
But, if the post still exist above then we have to say the following.
EducationAisle has written the post.

Even if the post still exists, we can still say:

EducationAisle wrote the post.

p.s. A time marker though, should ideally be present with simple past.

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12 Nov 2020, 07:44

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EducationAisle

TheUltimateWinner

Even if the post still exists, we can still say:

EducationAisle wrote the post.

p.s. A time marker though, should ideally be present with simple past.

For the time marker, it is ok, but our prime discussion is the use of present perfect tense, right? In you example of peter (present perfect tense), Peter still lives in US. Do you still think that Peter lives out of US now a days? Do you think that we have to know Peter personally to know his location?

But, my example depicts that Peter lives in US till now. Expecting your cordial response.
Thanks

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13 Nov 2020, 04:18

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TheUltimateWinner

But, my example depicts that Peter lives in US till now.
Thanks

Hi TheUltimateWinner, since none of us knows Peter, let's change Peter to someone we both know: "I"!

Suppose you live in US. Then why would you say I have lived in US? You would rather say I live in US (present tense)...isn't it?

In other words, using a present perfect does not necessarily convey whether you are still in US or have left US.

One variation of present perfect that will convey the meaning of still live in US would be:

I have lived in US since 2015 (or Peter has lived in US since 2015).

The above sentence does convey that I started living in US in 2015 and I still live in US.

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13 Nov 2020, 05:53

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TheUltimateWinner

But, my example depicts that Peter lives in US till now.
Thanks

Quote:

since none of us knows Peter, let's change Peter to someone we both know: "I"!

Suppose you live in US. Then why would you say I have lived in US? You would rather say I live in US (present tense)...isn't it?

In other words, using a present perfect does not necessarily convey whether you are still in US or have left US.

EducationAisle
Thanks for the reply.
I'm trying to explain my point a bit here.
Peter goes to school and Peter has gone to school are 2 separate things.
Peter goes to school-->it means that Peter loves to go school in generalities.

Peter has gone to school-->it means that Peter is in school right away! Maybe, someone may argue that he is in cinema hall right now, but it is a big no-I've to be convinced that he is in school because of the sentence structure (present perfect tense)

Here is an another example:
Peter has died-->Peter is not alive right away. There is no way to be back to Peter in normal life!

So, we should not know Peter before to justify him by tense. That's it.

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TheUltimateWinner

Peter has gone to school-->it means that Peter is in school right away!

Well, let's take a similar example.

Peter has attended school.

Does it mean that Peter is still attending school? No.

This just means that at some point in the past, Peter attended school.

Which brings me to my initial point:).

Present perfect does not necessarily mean that the action is still underway.

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13 Nov 2020, 06:28

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Peter has gone to school-->it means that Peter is in school right away!

EducationAisle
Nice debate!

There are three main contexts in which we use the present perfect. All of them are focused on the present time in relation to something in the past.
1. We use present perfect for something that happened in the past but has some kind of effect on the present.
2. We use the present perfect for something that happens in a time frame that continues up to now.
3. We use present perfect to talk about experiences that form part of who we are now. For example, “I have been to university” expresses the idea that now I am a person with a university education, and “I have never been to USA” expresses the idea that now I am a person who does not have the experience of going to USA.

Quote:

Peter has attended school.

Does it mean that Peter is still attending school? No.

This just means that at some point in the past, Peter attended school.

^^ This one just resembles your experience in attending the school; That does not mean that 'Peter is still attending school.
Am I clear to you?

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13 Nov 2020, 06:42

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TheUltimateWinner

That does not mean that 'Peter is still attending school.
Am I clear to you?

ok, it is heartening to know that we are making some progress here.

The way Peter has attended school does not mean that Peter is still attending school, similarly, Peter has lived in US does not necessarily mean that Peter is still in US.

This is because Peter has lived in US can definitely conform to the following scenario that you've mentioned in your post:

3. We use present perfect to talk about experiences that form part of who we are now.

My life in US is an experience that forms part of who I am now (without necessarily implying that I am still in US).

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13 Nov 2020, 06:48

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TheUltimateWinner

That does not mean that 'Peter is still attending school.
Am I clear to you?

ok, it heartening to know that we are making some progress here.

The way Peter has attended school does not mean that Peter is still attending school, similarly, Peter has lived in US does not necessarily mean that Peter is still in US.

This is because Peter has lived in US can definitely conform to the following scenario:

3. We use present perfect to talk about experiences that form part of who we are now.

My life in US is an experience that forms part of who I am now (without necessarily implying that I am still in US).

EducationAisle
But, the example of 'living in USA' is totally different.
Peter lives in USA and Peter has lived in USA are not the same thing!
Peter lives in USA--> it means Peter usually lives in USA (he does not like to live in Canada, maybe)

Peter has lived in USA-->Peter started to live in USA few minutes/hours/days/years back, but he still lives in USA.

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13 Nov 2020, 06:54

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TheUltimateWinner

Peter lives in USA--> it means Peter usually lives in USA (he does not like to live in Canada, maybe)

It means no such thing. We cannot extrapolate it (even remotely) to interpret that he does not like to live in Canada, or not even that he likes to live in USA.

Simple present represents a general truth or a current fact.

Quote:

Peter has lived in USA-->Peter started to live in USA few minutes/hours/days/years back, but he still lives in USA.

Yes, or it could mean that at some point in his life, Peter lived in USA (implying that he may not be in USA anymore). The experience of living in US (even if I am not in US right now) continues to stay with me, and hence I use present perfect.

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13 Nov 2020, 08:31

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TheUltimateWinner

Peter lives in USA--> it means Peter usually lives in USA (he does not like to live in Canada, maybe)

Quote:

Peter has lived in USA-->Peter started to live in USA few minutes/hours/days/years back, but he still lives in USA.

I'm not saying that 'Peter does not like to live in Canada directly'; I'm just using this hypothetical situation to enforce that 'Peter lives in USA' is just a general fact.

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06 Feb 2021, 06:40

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GMATNinja

I might need few clarifications regarding the "touch rule".

I understand that "that" and "which" cannot modify the sloths as such a sentence would be non-sensical.

But I can make an argument saying the "The fossils of the arm of a sloth" is actually a single entity (Prepositional phrase all the way till Fossils). So, "that" and "which" are actually perfectly normal here.

If you may, can you say what's wrong with my dissection?

Thanks,
Biswesh

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Biswesh

Check out this post for an explanation of why the "that" makes (C) incorrect even if it does reach back all the way to "fossils."

And if you're uncomfortable eliminating (E) because of the "which," there are other reasons to get rid of it (as described in this post).

Overall, though, exceptions to the "touch rule" are somewhat rare, and you should be skeptical of an answer choice that forces you to jump over two other nouns to reach the one that works. Is that enough to eliminate right away? Maybe not, but it should be a big red flag.

I hope that helps!

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Hello! I understand that Have been/Has been is used to indicate an action that started in the past and is continuing.
Eg- I have been practicing yoga since last monday.

Hence does Option D not change the meaning?

Where am i going wrong here, please help? TIA!

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13 Jun 2021, 05:36

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"Hence does Option D not change the meaning?"

If the meaning in an answer choice is clear and makes sense, it's a valid contender.

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Anusreenair

Hello! I understand that Have been/Has been is used to indicate an action that started in the past and is continuing.

Hi Anusreenair, Have been/Has been is basically present perfect and does not necessarily suggest that the action is continuing.

For example:

Country X has been attacked only once in its history.

This does not suggest that the attack is still continuing.

Quote:

Eg- I have been practicing yoga since last monday.

Yes, this sentence (which is in present perfect continuous tense) does suggest that the action (Yoga) started in the past and is continuing

Quote:

Hence does Option D not change the meaning?

Not at all. D just uses present perfect (and not present perfect continuous) and hence, does not necessarily suggest that the act of dating is still continuing. D basically just uses present perfect tense in passive voice.

For example:

The University has declared the results.
- Present perfect in active voice. Notice again that this does not necessarily suggest the the act of declaration of results in still continuing.

The results have been declared.
- Present perfect in passive voice. Notice that this construct is similar to the construct used in option D. Again, this does not necessarily suggest the the act of declaration of results in still continuing.

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses Present perfect tense, its application and examples in significant detail. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.

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24 Jun 2021, 11:34

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AjiteshArun MartyTargetTestPrep GMATNinja

In option E, is there any error in the usage of "made"?

Since its a past participle end modifier, it should ideally have a noun/noun phrase to refer back to, but it seems to modify the entire clause.

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Argp

In option E, is there any error in the usage of "made"?

Since its a past participle end modifier, it should ideally have a noun/noun phrase to refer back to, but it seems to modify the entire clause.

Actually "made" is not a participle in this context. It's a finite verb. In fact, in the (E) version, "made" is the main verb of the sentence.

Let's analyze the (E) version to see what's wrong with the use of "made." Here's the (E) version:

Fossils of the arm of a sloth which, found in Puerto Rico in 1991, was dated at 34 million years old, made the sloth the earliest known mammal of the Greater Antilles islands.

If we cross of the modifier that follows "sloth," here's what we get:

Fossils of the arm of a sloth ~~which, found in Puerto Rico in 1991, was dated at 34 million years old,~~ made the sloth the earliest known mammal of the Greater Antilles islands.

So, without the modifier the sentence is the following:

Fossils of the arm of a sloth ... made the sloth the earliest known mammal of the Greater Antilles islands.

Notice that the (E) version conveys the meaning that fossils "made the sloth the earliest known mammal of the Greater Antilles islands." Since fossils would not have made the sloth something, that meaning is nonsensical.

So, while "made" is not incorrectly used, the meaning conveyed via the use of "made" does not make sense.

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GMAT Sentence Correction - Cutting out fluff to better see structure errors in a sentence

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08 Aug 2021, 09:38

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loved this Q bcz bcz fossils were dated not sloth was....

B-- wrong, bcz of "they"
C-- wrong bcz fossils were dated not sloth was dated
E- wrong --which
in A vs D ==> D it the right choice bcz it is the dating of the fossil that makes it the earliest known mammal .... not dating and finding together as mentioned in A

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