Highly adaptive and in no danger of extinction, cats have changed litt

Question

Highly adaptive and in no danger of extinction,  cats have changed little in the millions of years that it has existed .

A. cats have changed little in the millions of years that it has existed.

B. the cat changed little in the millions of years of its existence.

C. the cat has changed little in the millions of years it was existing.

D. the cat has changed little in the millions of years of its existence.

E. little has changed for the cat in the millions of years of its existence.

Bunuel · Accepted Answer

VERITAS PREP OFFICIAL SOLUTION:

Correct Answer: D

Explanation: This question features Pronoun, Verb Tense, and Modifier errors in various answer choices. Answer choice A uses the singular pronoun 'its' to refer to the plural 'cats', and is therefore incorrect. Answer choices B and C each contain Verb Form errors. Using past tense verbs to describe the cat, which is clearly an ongoing species. Accordingly, each is incorrect. Answer choice E is guilty of a Modifier error, as the introductory phrase 'Highly adaptiveÂ…' needs to modify the cat, and E incorrectly has it modify the word 'little'. Accordingly, answer choice D, which correctly modifies the cat, uses the proper verb tense 'has changed', and the correct pronoun 'its' to refer to 'cat', is correct.

SonalSinha803 · Answer

B and D are contenders. Rest have incorrect structures.

Coming to D I really don't understand why should we need D. B conveys the meaning without the use of "has". Thus, I would go for B.

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pikolo2510 · Answer

A. cats have changed little in the millions of years that it has existed. --->  Pronoun error. "Cats" is plural whereas "it" is singular.   INCORRECT

B. the cat changed little in the millions of years of its existence. --->  We need to show continuity here by saying that since millions of years, there has been little change. The verb "has" is missing. The current sentence changes the meaning.   INCORRECT

C. the cat has changed little in the millions of years it was existing. --->  "was existing" ? The cat is still alive today per the meaning of the sentence.   INCORRECT

D. the cat has changed little in the millions of years of its existence. --->  Everything looks fine.   CORRECT

E. little has changed for the cat in the millions of years of its existence. --->  little cannot be the subject for the modifier "Highly adaptive and in no danger of extinction". We need the noun "the cat" .   INCORRECT

Answer is D

daagh · Answer

D for maintaining the subject-pronoun agreement and for using the correct verb-tense form of present perfect

Sdpl0118 · Answer

Answer B would make more sense/be trickier if it's referring to a species that no longer exists.

tejyr · Answer

H i  daagh  / experts,
B vs d .Both are grammatically correct.
But Can any one clearly explain why d can be appearing correct in the context.
How can we know if cat is still changing in present or not.

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pikolo2510 · Answer

Hey,

you can read my explanation above over  here

Adding to the above, the sentence mentions "in no danger of extinction" which means the cat is still alive today. Rather it is plenty in number. So we need to talk about something that is true in the past and also very much true today. Only the present perfect tense does that.

Hence option D

daagh · Answer

Between B and D.

IMO, B is not correct both grammatically and semantically. We do need a present perfect tense verb to transmit the sense of an organism that is still in existence. That is the intention of this sentence. A simple past tense would mean that cats no longer live on this earth like the dinosaurs. Grammar's purpose is to bring out clarity and reality

Evolutionary changes are not that visible. Not just cat, but take other organisms on the earth including human beings; they all keep evolving silently. We only don't see them or feel those changes. No one can overrule Einstein in this matter who said" change is permanent on this earth"

sumitkrocks · Answer

Highly adaptive and in no danger of extinction, cats have changed little in the millions of years that it has existed.

A. cats have changed little in the millions of years that it has existed.
Pronoun it is wrongly referring to plural antecedent Cats. INCORRECT

B. the cat changed little in the millions of years of its existence.
No verb for the subject cat , changed here is acting as a modifier ..meaning is distorted and it's no more a valid sentence INCORRECT

C. the cat has changed little in the millions of years it was existing.
meaning is not as intended in the original sentence ...it means cats do not exist anymore . INCORRECT

D. the cat has changed little in the millions of years of its existence.

It corrects the error in the original sentence .CORRECT

E. little has changed for the cat in the millions of years of its existence.
Phrase modifier is modifying "Little" INCORRECT

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Hero8888 · Answer

Hi,  SonalSinha803

The action "has changed little" started in the past and is still in effect, thus present perfect is requered.

SajjitaKundu · Answer

IMO the answer is D, only that brings out the correct meaning. The cats are still existing and they are still evolving, hence, the use present perfect.

prathi123 · Answer

Highly adaptive and in no danger of extinction, cats have changed little in the millions of years that it has existed.

A. cats have changed little in the millions of years that it has existed. incorrect due to mismatch of singular and plural noun

B. the cat changed little in the millions of years of its existence. incorrect due to usage of past tense

C. the cat has changed little in the millions of years it was existing. incorrect

D. the cat has changed little in the millions of years of its existence. correct

E. little has changed for the cat in the millions of years of its existence. incorrect

GMATGuruNY · Answer

In A,  it  (singular) does not agree with  cats  (plural).
Eliminate A.

B:  the cat changed little in the millions of years of its existence 
Since  changed  expresses an action performed by the cat IN THE PAST, the implication is that the modifier for this verb --  in the millions of years of its existence  -- also refers to the past.
As a result, B conveys that the cat NO LONGER EXISTS.
This meaning is nonsensical, given the vast number of cat videos on YouTube.
Eliminate B.

C:  the cat has changed little in the millions of years it was existing 
Here,  it  refers to  the cat .
As a result,  it was existing  conveys that the cat no longer exists -- a nonsensical meaning, as discussed above.
Eliminate C.

E:   Highly adaptive and in no danger of extinction , little has changed 
Here, the phrase in red seems to refer to  little  -- the subject of the following clause -- implying that LITTLE is  highly adaptive and in no danger of extinction .
This meaning is nonsensical.
Eliminate E.

D

ArtVandaley · Answer

Shouldnt it be "a cat" rather than "the cat"?

It feels like we are talking about a specific cat which existed for million years.

EducationAisle · Answer

Some people may have exactly the  same  comment about the usage of  a cat :)

I haven't seen GMAT ever testing you on  articles  ( a/an/the ) though.

VerbalBot · Answer

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Highly adaptive and in no danger of extinction, cats have changed litt

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Highly adaptive and in no danger of extinction, cats have changed litt

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