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Michelangelo, it is believed, had made his sculpture of David using an 22 Feb 2023, 11:25
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Hi GMATNinja avigutman GMATGuruNY

I have a doubt in the portion cited :

And if we treat "discovered" as a modifier parallel to "believed" we get, "An eight-inch plaster model is believed...and [is] discovered..." If it happened "recently," the verb "is" makes no sense. --- [b]Why does this not make sense?[/b]

Also whats wrong with 'used' and 'discovered' to be parallel? This would say that the he model was only "believed to have been recently discovered" so whats the issue?
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If you treat "discovered" as a modifier parallel to "believed," then the tense of the shared verb ("is") doesn't work:

  • The 300-year period during which the model was lost must have ended sometime in the past (hence the simple past verb, "was lost").
  • The model must have started being discovered at that same moment in the past (whenever the 300-year period ended).
  • The action of being discovered started in the past and continues into the present--so a present perfect verb (e.g. "has been discovered") would be more clear.
  • The simple present verb ("is") leaves the reader wondering what was going on in between the present moment and the moment when the 300-year period ended. Was the model "discovered" during that time? If so, why are we using a simple present verb?

It makes a lot more sense to say that the model was discovered after it was lost or to say that the model has been discovered after having been lost (as in choice C).

Quote:
Also whats wrong with 'used' and 'discovered' to be parallel? This would say that the he model was only "believed to have been recently discovered" so whats the issue?
Show more
At best, this interpretation is confusing. We're talking about some centuries-old model and saying, "Hey, we believe that Michelangelo used this model for his sculpture of David! Also, we believe that it's been recently discovered!!"

Um, you believe that it's been discovered? If it hasn't been discovered, how do you know about it?

Yes, you can come up with some scenario to justify that (who knows, maybe the model was referenced in a book or something). But (C) presents a much clearer and more logical meaning:

  • The model has been discovered after having been lost for nearly 300 years.
  • The model is believed to have been used by Michelangelo for his sculpture of David.

Remember, SC isn't about looking at each choice in a bubble and labeling it definitively wrong or right -- it's about comparing your options and picking the best one. Can we do some mental gymnastics to justify choice (B)? Maybe. But (C) is far simpler, clearer, and more logical, so it's our winner.

I hope that helps!
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GMATNinja, can you please help with choice E?

Why is choice E wrong? Because the 'it' used after comma + and doesn't have a clear referent? 'It' could refer to the plaster model or it could refer to the sculpture. This creates ambiguity in the meaning.

Also, can the same pronoun be used twice in a sentence to refer to two different antecedents?

Thank you!
I think you have the right idea here.

The first "it" in choice (E) doesn't refer to any specific noun in the sentence -- this is known as a non-referential pronoun (check out this thread for more on that). Non-referential pronouns only make sense in very limited circumstances, and they're relatively rare on the GMAT. However, there are not automatically wrong.

But in choice (E), the use of a non-referential pronoun to start the sentence leads us to believe that the second "it" is non-referential as well. In other words, we expect something like, "and it was recently discovered THAT _____". Once we realize that the second "it" actually DOES have a referent, we aren't clear about what that referent actually IS (model? sculpture?).

Does that make (E) wrong? Maybe, maybe not. But choice (C) avoids those issues entirely, so, regardless, (C) is a much better answer.

There's a good discussion of your second question ("can the same pronoun be used twice in a sentence to refer to two different antecedents?") starting with this post (make sure to check out the follow-up questions and answers).

In this official question, "it" and "its" refer to two different things, suggesting that we can't automatically eliminate a sentence that uses the same pronoun to refer to two different things. That said, if other answer choices avoid that issue, that might be a small vote in favor of those other choices.

I hope that helps!
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Hi GMATNinja expert,

I had a hard time deciding between C and E, I eliminated C on the basis that [An eight-inch plaster model "believed" ] felt like the model itself can believe(active voice rather than a passive voice here). Wouldn't "is believed" be more appropriate?
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GMATNinja, can you please help with choice E?

Why is choice E wrong? Because the 'it' used after comma + and doesn't have a clear referent? 'It' could refer to the plaster model or it could refer to the sculpture. This creates ambiguity in the meaning.

Also, can the same pronoun be used twice in a sentence to refer to two different antecedents?

Thank you!
I think you have the right idea here.

The first "it" in choice (E) doesn't refer to any specific noun in the sentence -- this is known as a non-referential pronoun (check out this thread for more on that). Non-referential pronouns only make sense in very limited circumstances, and they're relatively rare on the GMAT. However, there are not automatically wrong.

But in choice (E), the use of a non-referential pronoun to start the sentence leads us to believe that the second "it" is non-referential as well. In other words, we expect something like, "and it was recently discovered THAT _____". Once we realize that the second "it" actually DOES have a referent, we aren't clear about what that referent actually IS (model? sculpture?).

Does that make (E) wrong? Maybe, maybe not. But choice (C) avoids those issues entirely, so, regardless, (C) is a much better answer.

There's a good discussion of your second question ("can the same pronoun be used twice in a sentence to refer to two different antecedents?") starting with this post (make sure to check out the follow-up questions and answers).

In this official question, "it" and "its" refer to two different things, suggesting that we can't automatically eliminate a sentence that uses the same pronoun to refer to two different things. That said, if other answer choices avoid that issue, that might be a small vote in favor of those other choices.

I hope that helps!

Hi GMATNinja expert,

I had a hard time deciding between C and E, I eliminated C on the basis that [An eight-inch plaster model "believed" ] felt like the model itself can believe(active voice rather than a passive voice here). Wouldn't "is believed" be more appropriate?
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Hello RuoChen,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, in Option C the subject noun "eight-inch plaster model" is acted upon by the verb "has been discovered"; "believed" is a past participle serving as a noun modifier, as such it implies that certain information - the fact that Michelangelo used the model for his sculpture of David - is believed.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
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Hi GMATNinja expert,

I had a hard time deciding between C and E, I eliminated C on the basis that [An eight-inch plaster model "believed" ] felt like the model itself can believe(active voice rather than a passive voice here). Wouldn't "is believed" be more appropriate?
Show more
Hi RuoChen,

Believed in this option is like taken in the example below:
1. an exam taken by thousands of people

We could go with either believed (participle) or is believed (verb). If we want a verb there, we will need to insert a that before the verb so that we don't end up with a complete verb for the subject.

2. An eight-inch plaster model that is believed to have been used by Michelangelo for his sculpture of David has been discovered...
and not
3. An eight-inch plaster model is believed to have been used by Michelangelo for his sculpture of David has been discovered...
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[url=https://gmatclub.com:443/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&un=GMATNinja%5D%5Bb%5DGMATNinja%5B/b%5D%5B/url%5D, can you please help with choice E?

Why is choice E wrong? Because the 'it' used after comma + and doesn't have a clear referent? 'It' could refer to the plaster model or it could refer to the sculpture. This creates ambiguity in the meaning.

Also, can the same pronoun be used twice in a sentence to refer to two different antecedents?

Thank you!
I think you have the right idea here.

The first "it" in choice (E) doesn't refer to any specific noun in the sentence -- this is known as a non-referential pronoun (check out this threadfor more on that). Non-referential pronouns only make sense in very limited circumstances, and they're relatively rare on the GMAT. However, there are not automatically wrong.

But in choice (E), the use of a non-referential pronoun to start the sentence leads us to believe that the second "it" is non-referential as well. In other words, we expect something like, "and it was recently discovered THAT _____". Once we realize that the second "it" actually DOES have a referent, we aren't clear about what that referent actually IS (model? sculpture?).

Does that make (E) wrong? Maybe, maybe not. But choice (C) avoids those issues entirely, so, regardless, (C) is a much better answer.

There's a good discussion of your second question ("can the same pronoun be used twice in a sentence to refer to two different antecedents?") starting with [url=https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-intricate-structure-of-the-compound-insect-eye-having-hundreds-of-132417-40.html#p2533685%5Dthis post[/url](make sure to check out the follow-up questions and answers).

In url=[https://gmatclub.com/forum/schistosomiasis-a-disease-caused-by-a-parasitic-worm-is-prevalent-in-148535.html]this official question[/url], "it" and "its" refer to two different things, suggesting that we can't automatically eliminate a sentence that uses the same pronoun to refer to two different things. That said, if other answer choices avoid that issue, that might be a small vote in favor of those other choices.

I hope that helps!

Hi GMATNinja expert,

I had a hard time deciding between C and E, I eliminated C on the basis that [An eight-inch plaster model "believed" ] felt like the model itself can believe(active voice rather than a passive voice here). Wouldn't "is believed" be more appropriate?
Show more
When we use "believed" as a modifier, it doesn't necessarily need a verb. For instance, I can write:

    "James Harden, believed to have been one of the most selfish players in the NBA, somehow led the league in assists."

Here, "believed to have been" is a modifier describing the popular perception of "James Harden." That's fine. And we don't have to worry about any confusion regarding the possibility that Harden himself believes something because the phrase "to have been" makes it clear that we're discussing how others view him.

Same deal in (C). There's only one way to interpret the phrase, "An eight-inch plaster model believed to have been used by Michelangelo." Again, we get the "to have been" to make it clear that others believed that the model was used by Michelangelo. Makes sense.

I hope that clears things up!
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Michelangelo, it is believed, had made his sculpture of David using an eight-inch plaster model that was recently discovered after being lost for nearly 300 years.

C) An eight-inch plaster model believed to have been used by Michelangelo for his sculpture of David has been discovered after having been

Can someone please explain use of this verb 'have been used'? Is this present perfect?
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Can someone please explain use of this verb 'have been used'? Is this present perfect?
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Hi Satya001,

That's not a complete verb. Instead, it's part of the infinitive phrase to have been used (perfect infinitive, passive). It's a way to refer to the past.
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Hi KarishmaB thank for your answer. I have a few clarification questions if you can please help :

Q1. I think the parallelism in Option B is on point. Please suggest if I am right or wrong?

An eight-inch plaster model is believed to have been (a) used [ acting as a modifier] by Michelangelo for his sculpture of David and (b)recently [ modifying discovered] discovered after it was

Logic for "used" is a modifier : Check if the action denoted by the verb placed after the noun entity has been performed by that noun entity or not. If the answer is yes, then it is a verb, else it is a modifier. Eight inch plaster model cannot perform the action of "used"


Thus both used and recently are modifier and parallelism is on point

Q2. Only option B has correct tense usage. Please correct if I am wrong.

When looking at sequence of actions
Step 1:Michelangelo made David using plaster model
Step 2: Plaster Model was lost for 300 years
Step 3: Plaster Model is recently discovered

Thus any form of Perfect Tense should only be used with Step1 or Step2 and not with Step3. Step 3 will be simple tense

Out of all options, only Option B seems to fit this criterion. In option C perfect tense / perfect continuous tense variations are appearing and confusing me


3. When we say it is not clear who is "it" referring to it confuses me. Via parallelism I can clearly understand that the sequence following "and" is connecting to an eight inch plaster model .

The stem according to me is "An eight-inch plaster model is believed to have been"


Can you please take the time to address these three queries? Will really help my understanding a lot. Thanks!







KarishmaB
generis
Michelangelo, it is believed, had made his sculpture of David using an eight-inch plaster model that was recently discovered after being lost for nearly 300 years.

A) Michelangelo, it is believed, had made his sculpture of David using an eight-inch plaster model that was recently discovered after being

B) An eight-inch plaster model is believed to have been used by Michelangelo for his sculpture of David and recently discovered after it was

C) An eight-inch plaster model believed to have been used by Michelangelo for his sculpture of David has been discovered after having been

D) It is believed that an eight-inch plaster model that Michelangelo used for his sculpture of David and has recently been discovered after it was

E) It is believed that Michelangelo used an eight-inch plaster model for his sculpture of David, and it was recently discovered after having been


SC07920.02

I was deciding between (A) and (C) and these points made me choose (C) over (A).

A) Michelangelo, it is believed, had made his sculpture of David using an eight-inch plaster model that was recently discovered after being

"using ..." is a present participle and when it is used without a comma after a noun, it modifies the noun.
Present participle can be used at the end of the sentence to modify the entire previous clause with a comma. So there is that problem.
It seems that David was using the eight-inch plaster model.

Another problem, and one that seemed to be a bigger problem to me - the point of the sentence is not to tell you that M made his sculpture using a model (that has now been found), the point is to tell you that a model (that is believed to have been used by M) has been found. The critical information is tucked away in a modifier in option (A).
Also, here it seems that it was known that M had made David using the model and it is just additional info that the model has been found recently. Whereas, it seems more likely that the model was found and that is what gave the idea that M must have used it to make David.


C) An eight-inch plaster model believed to have been used by Michelangelo for his sculpture of David has been discovered after having been

Rectifies all our issues with (A).

It seems there are some questions about (D) too.

D) It is believed that an eight-inch plaster model that Michelangelo used for his sculpture of David and has recently been discovered after it was

It is believed that ... a model (that M used) ... and has been discovered ...
It is missing the verb of subject model.
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Hi KarishmaB thank for your answer. I have a few clarification questions if you can please help :

Q1. I think the parallelism in Option B is on point. Please suggest if I am right or wrong?

An eight-inch plaster model is believed to have been (a) used [ acting as a modifier] by Michelangelo for his sculpture of David and (b)recently [ modifying discovered] discovered after it was

Logic for "used" is a modifier : Check if the action denoted by the verb placed after the noun entity has been performed by that noun entity or not. If the answer is yes, then it is a verb, else it is a modifier. Eight inch plaster model cannot perform the action of "used"


Thus both used and recently are modifier and parallelism is on point
Show more

Before you get into nouns and verbs for parallelism, think about whether you should put the elements in parallel at all. Are they a list of equal things?
If each element is taken separately and put in the sentence, does it work and make sense?

An eight-inch plaster model is believed to have been
- used by Michelangelo for his sculpture of David and
- recently discovered after it waslost for nearly 300 years.

An eight-inch plaster model is believed to have been used by Michelangelo for his sculpture of David - ok
An eight-inch plaster model is believed to have been recently discovered after it was lost for nearly 300 years. - ?? It has been recently discovered, not believed to have been recently discovered. Not correct.


MissionAdmit

Q2. Only option B has correct tense usage. Please correct if I am wrong.

When looking at sequence of actions
Step 1:Michelangelo made David using plaster model
Step 2: Plaster Model was lost for 300 years
Step 3: Plaster Model is recently discovered

Thus any form of Perfect Tense should only be used with Step1 or Step2 and not with Step3. Step 3 will be simple tense

Out of all options, only Option B seems to fit this criterion. In option C perfect tense / perfect continuous tense variations are appearing and confusing me

Show more


The discovery has been done. It is complete though it has recency attached to it. So use of present perfect is the best.

A has been discovered ...

(C) An eight-inch plaster model believed to have been used by Michelangelo for his sculpture of David has been discovered after having been lost for nearly 300 years.

believed to have been used by Michelangelo for his sculpture of David - Past participle modifier modifying the model

An eight-inch plaster model has been discovered after having been lost for nearly 300 years - Use of 'after' gives the sequence of events so we can use the same tense. As I said above, present perfect tense 'has been discovered' makes sense here. Present perfect continuous works (having been lost) because it spans over a period of time.


MissionAdmit

3. When we say it is not clear who is "it" referring to it confuses me. Via parallelism I can clearly understand that the sequence following "and" is connecting to an eight inch plaster model .

The stem according to me is "An eight-inch plaster model is believed to have been"


Can you please take the time to address these three queries? Will really help my understanding a lot. Thanks!

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The ambiguity of 'it' is a non issue since the sentence structure doesn't make sense as given.
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in option c, An eight-inch plaster model believed to have been used by Michelangelo for his sculpture of David has been discovered after having been lost for nearly 300 years.
I understand that we need a present participle tense in a passive form since it represents earlier to two actions so we use 'having been lost for nearly 300 years' but not able to understand why in modifier "believed to have been used by Michelangelo for his sculpture of David" we used HAVE BEEN ?
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EMPOWERgmatVerbal

in option c, An eight-inch plaster model believed to have been used by Michelangelo for his sculpture of David has been discovered after having been lost for nearly 300 years.
I understand that we need a present participle tense in a passive form since it represents earlier to two actions so we use 'having been lost for nearly 300 years' but not able to understand why in modifier "believed to have been used by Michelangelo for his sculpture of David" we used HAVE BEEN ?
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It is perfect infinitive in passive form.

Perfect infinitive is often found in third conditionals – unreal, hypothetical situations from the past or things that might have happened in the past or something that will be complete at a point in the future. We often use perfect infinitives with verbs such as hate, hope, like, seem, love, prefer, expect, pretend, believe, claim etc.

It has the following structure: ‘to have + past participle’
Examples:
You seem to have done a great job.

Here, the sentence says:
The model believed to have been used by M ... has been discovered...
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EMPOWERgmatVerbal

in option c, An eight-inch plaster model believed to have been used by Michelangelo for his sculpture of David has been discovered after having been lost for nearly 300 years.
I understand that we need a present participle tense in a passive form since it represents earlier to two actions so we use 'having been lost for nearly 300 years' but not able to understand why in modifier "believed to have been used by Michelangelo for his sculpture of David" we used HAVE BEEN ?
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Hello, AnujL. It is good to be called in on a question on my fourth-year anniversary since joining the site. A far less technical approach to the matter than that outlined by Karishma (or Ajitesh Arun above on this very page) is to ask yourself what else the verb tense could be, and how such a change would affect the meaning of the sentence. For example, believed to be used by Michelangelo suggests that the sculptor is still among us, and that is clearly incorrect. I can think of no other substitute that would make sense either. Sometimes it can help to think like a scientist and allow yourself to explore another possibility objectively.

Thank you for thinking to ask me about this one, and good luck with your studies.

- Andrew
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daagh I rejected answer option C because it used the present perfect tense 'has been' with discovery. My logic is any discovery is a single incident and not something that can happen in a continuous manner. Please correct me if I am wrong.
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Michelangelo, it is believed, had made his sculpture of David using an 08 Aug 2023, 21:43
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priyadabas01
daagh I rejected answer option C because it used the present perfect tense 'has been' with discovery. My logic is any discovery is a single incident and not something that can happen in a continuous manner. Please correct me if I am wrong.
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Hi priyadabas01,

The present perfect can be used be for something that started in the past and continues in the present, but it can also be used for something that happened in the (unspecified) past. For example:

1a. Have you taken the GMAT?
1b. Yes, I have taken the GMAT.

(1b) is fine even if the speaker took the GMAT many years ago.
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Michelangelo, it is believed, had made his sculpture of David using an 12 Aug 2023, 14:00
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priyadabas01
daagh I rejected answer option C because it used the present perfect tense 'has been' with discovery. My logic is any discovery is a single incident and not something that can happen in a continuous manner. Please correct me if I am wrong.
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Looks like AjiteshArun has you covered wonderfully!

For our rather long-winded take on this, check out this post from earlier in the thread: https://gmatclub.com/forum/michelangelo ... l#p2927237.
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Michelangelo, it is believed, had made his sculpture of David using an 06 Nov 2025, 08:04
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