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Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past 13 Oct 2020, 01:06
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Sumi1010
May I request you to help me getting a better reason to eliminate D.
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Hi Sumi1010, when the present participial phrase depicts cause and effect, in such cases the present participial phrase must identify an inevitable consequence of the previous clause.

For example:

India won the third consecutive match, reaching the finals.

Here, reaching the finals was not a separate and distinct action from India winning the third match; reaching the finals was an inevitable consequence of India winning the third consecutive match.

However, in the sentence under consideration, Neuroscientists amassing a wealth of knowledge and Neuroscientists drawing solid conclusions are two separate activities; in other words, drawing conclusions is not an inevitable consequence of Neuroscientists amassing a wealth of knowledge; it is a distinct action.
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Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past 13 Oct 2020, 02:49
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Thanks EducationAisle
However, I believe Neuroscientists concluded based on the knowledge they amassed .
IMO,
India won the third consecutive match, reaching the finals.
India reached the finals -- How? -- India won the 3rd match.
In other words, Winning the 3rd match made India reach the finals.

Similarly, Neuroscientists amassed a wealth of knowledge...,drawing conclusions ...
Neuroscientists drew conclusions ... How? -- They amassed the knowledge.
In other words, Amassing the knowledge helped them to conclude.

Where do I miss?
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Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past 13 Oct 2020, 07:03
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Sumi1010
Where do I miss?
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Hi Sumi1010, hope you were able to go thru my previous post minutely:). inevitable consequence is the difference between the sentences.
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Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past 14 Oct 2020, 04:53
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Sumi1010
Dear Experts,
I read all the responses suggesting the explanation why D/E is incorrect, but I am still not confident on eliminating it.

I see the posts from egmat in which it is said - "Present perfect tense verb is also used when the there is no definite time frame of the action OR the action has finished in the past but the effect of which continues in the present"
https://gmatclub.com/forum/fossils-of-t ... 77781.html
https://e-gmat.com/blogs/verbs-tenses/

If present perfect tense can be used in such cases, I feel this is not in-line with how daagh has eliminated D

Quote:
Over the "past" twenty years is a closed chapter. There is no indication that the scientists are continuing to amass knowledge. Therefore, "have amassed" is not appropriate in the context.

I agree to VeritasKarishma explanation , but not sure if D is incorrect just because of "now drawing..." rather than "drawing...".

May I request you to help me getting a better reason to eliminate D.
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Please read my comment again.
The difference is not "now drawing" vs "drawing" (anyway, now is not underlined so it's not optional).

The difference is "now drawing" vs "are now drawing". You are missing the helping verb in (D) which will make it a verb instead of a present participle. Without "are", "drawing" is being used as a modifier (present participle). What you actually need is a proper action verb since this action is taking place.

Neuroscientists have amassed a wealth of knowledge ..., and are now drawing ...
would be acceptable.

Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge..., are now drawing ...
is acceptable (this is option A)
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Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past 16 Dec 2020, 12:03
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Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past twenty years about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood, are now drawing solid conclusions about how the human brain grows and how babies acquire language.


(A) Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past twenty years about the human brain and its development from birth to adulthood, are-> what is "having". It is modifier. Okay. Neuroscientists are...It's okay too. Let's keep it.

(B) Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood over the past twenty years, and are-> We don't have verb, Neuroscientists....and.

(C) Neuroscientists amassing a wealth of knowledge about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood over the past twenty years, and are-> We don't have verb, Neuroscientists....and.

(D) Neuroscientists have amassed a wealth of knowledge over past twenty years about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood,-> "now drawing solid.... ", here drawing is working a modifier. Which changed the meaning.

(E) Neuroscientists have amassed, over the past twenty years, a wealth of knowledge about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood,->"now drawing solid.... ", here drawing is working a modifier. Which changed the meaning.

So, I think A. :)
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Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past 14 Feb 2021, 16:12
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Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past twenty years about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood, are now drawing solid conclusions about how the human brain grows and how babies acquire language.


(A) Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past twenty years about the human brain and its development from birth to adulthood, are CORRECT

(B) Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood over the past twenty years, and are X

The “and” conjunction is unnecessary because it renders the sentence without a main verb.

(C) Neuroscientists amassing a wealth of knowledge about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood over the past twenty years, and are X

Again “and” is unnecessary…we don’t have a main verb.

(D) Neuroscientists have amassed a wealth of knowledge over past twenty years about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood, X

There’s logical connection between the first and second clause of the sentence

(E) Neuroscientists have amassed, over the past twenty years, a wealth of knowledge about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood, X

Same issue as D.
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Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past 14 Feb 2021, 16:35
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Just a confirmation:

Has Having not similar usage as being - something temporary state or , having been - caused by /existed before particular point of view), an usage that GMAT doesn't prefer usually ?

Shall we keep having not as first priority and choose this option only if other options have definite errors , a strategy that we follow while handling "being"

Experts' Opinion: EducationAisle EMPOWERgmatVerbal AjiteshArun VeritasKarishma please.

Thanks!
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Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past 29 Jun 2022, 19:37
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AjiteshArun

I have seen some instances where the experts cross off the non-essential modifiers within two commas to make the structure of the sentence less complex. They claim that crossing off the non-essential modifies doesn't take away the meaning of the original sentence.

In this question the Neuroscientists are now drawing solid conclusions about how the human brain grows and how babies acquire language because they amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past twenty years about the human brain and its development from birth to adulthood. So having done X they are now doing Y.

Although removing the modifier. "..., having amassed a wealth of.....," would still not make the right option A grammatically wrong. I wouldn't consider the modifier as a non-essential though because crossing it off would definitely take away the true meaning of the sentence.

Let me know your thoughts.
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Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past 30 Jun 2022, 05:02
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AjiteshArun

I have seen some instances where the experts cross off the non-essential modifiers within two commas to make the structure of the sentence less complex. They claim that crossing off the non-essential modifies doesn't take away the meaning of the original sentence.

In this question the Neuroscientists are now drawing solid conclusions about how the human brain grows and how babies acquire language because they amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past twenty years about the human brain and its development from birth to adulthood. So having done X they are now doing Y.

Although removing the modifier. "..., having amassed a wealth of.....," would still not make the right option A grammatically wrong. I wouldn't consider the modifier as a non-essential though because crossing it off would definitely take away the true meaning of the sentence.

Let me know your thoughts.
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Hello Vegita,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, the core meaning of this sentence is that neuroscientists are now drawing solid conclusions about how the human brain grows and how babies acquire language; the phrase "having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past twenty years about the human brain and its development from birth to adulthood" is an adverbial modifier that simply provides more context to an otherwise complete meaning.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
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Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past 10 Jul 2022, 23:10
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adj/adv clause-ving

Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past twenty years about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood, are now drawing solid conclusions about how the human brain grows and how babies acquire language.


(A) Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past twenty years about the human brain and its development from birth to adulthood, are

(B) Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood over the past twenty years, and are

(C) Neuroscientists amassing a wealth of knowledge about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood over the past twenty years, and are

(D) Neuroscientists have amassed a wealth of knowledge over past twenty years about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood,

(E) Neuroscientists have amassed, over the past twenty years, a wealth of knowledge about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood,

Emily Dickinson’s letters to Susan Huntington Dickinson were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan’s marriage to Emily’s brother and ending shortly before Emily’s death in 1886, outnumbering her letters to anyone else.
(A) Dickinson were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan’s marriage to Emily’s brother and ending shortly before Emily’s death in 1886, outnumbering
(E) Dickinson, which were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan’s marriage to Emily’s brother and ending shortly before Emily’s death in 1886, outnumber

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
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Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past 08 Aug 2023, 23:15
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RenukaD
Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past twenty years about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood, are now drawing solid conclusions about how the human brain grows and how babies acquire language.


(A) Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past twenty years about the human brain and its development from birth to adulthood, are

(B) Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood over the past twenty years, and are

(C) Neuroscientists amassing a wealth of knowledge about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood over the past twenty years, and are

(D) Neuroscientists have amassed a wealth of knowledge over past twenty years about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood,

(E) Neuroscientists have amassed, over the past twenty years, a wealth of knowledge about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood,

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MartyTargetTestPrep GMATNinja

Is it right to eliminate (D) and (E) just because the actions "have amassed" can't occur simultaneously with the present-participial phrase "drawing conclusions..."? IMO, it seems to indicate that the neuroscientists were drawing conclusions while amassing a wealth of knowledge. Only after amassing amassing all the information can the conclusion be drawn.

If my reasoning is incorrect, please help me understand why the modifiers in (D) and (E) are incorrect.
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Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past 11 Aug 2023, 10:08
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SlowTortoise
Is it right to eliminate (D) and (E) just because the actions "have amassed" can't occur simultaneously with the present-participial phrase "drawing conclusions..."? IMO, it seems to indicate that the neuroscientists were drawing conclusions while amassing a wealth of knowledge. Only after amassing amassing all the information can the conclusion be drawn.

If my reasoning is incorrect, please help me understand why the modifiers in (D) and (E) are incorrect.
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You have the right idea here. The "amassing" logically came before the "drawing," and choice (A) expresses that logical meaning in a perfectly clear way.

That said, you could argue that the neuroscientists made some conclusions WHILE they were in the process of amassing the knowledge. In that case, "drawing" could make sense as a modifier for the main clause in (D) and (E): "Neuroscientists have amassed...".

But if that's the interpretation we want, we'd have to drop the "now" to make it clear that the "amassing" and the "drawing" are overlapping actions. The "now" seems to separate the "drawing" and the "amassing" on the timeline, and that throws a wrench in an otherwise plausible interpretation.

Choice (A) avoids this issue by using "drawing" as a verb instead of a modifier: the drawing is happening now, and the amassing happened before that. The meaning is perfectly clear and logical, making (A) a much better choice. (For more on "-ing" verbs vs modifiers, check out this article.)

I hope that helps!
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Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past 08 Apr 2025, 10:05
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egmat
Hi there,

Thanks for posting your query here, as suggested. :-)

I'm happy you brought up this question, because it’s a very pertinent doubt and it shows that your thinking is thorough.

The problem with options D and E is in the use of present perfect tense. Note that the original sentence is in the present tense: Neuroscientists... are now drawing solid conclusions. In the original sentence, there is no verb in the present perfect tense. However, options D and E change ‘amassed’ into ‘have amassed’. ‘Have amassed’ is only referring to the period of twenty years, not to what is happening ‘now’. The present tense verb ‘are’ is necessary to make the meaning clear, but it’s missing from these two options. We’re talking about two separate actions here: what scientists have done over the past twenty years (amassed knowledge), and what they are doing now (drawing conclusions).

I hope this helps! :-)

Regards,
Meghna
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I don't understand why the Present Perfect tense is wrong?
Neuroscientists have amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past twenty years about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood.
This would mean that for the past 20 years up until now the present they have amassed a wealth of knowledge. What is wrong with that?
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Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past 08 Apr 2025, 10:19
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SlowTortoise
Is it right to eliminate (D) and (E) just because the actions "have amassed" can't occur simultaneously with the present-participial phrase "drawing conclusions..."? IMO, it seems to indicate that the neuroscientists were drawing conclusions while amassing a wealth of knowledge. Only after amassing amassing all the information can the conclusion be drawn.

If my reasoning is incorrect, please help me understand why the modifiers in (D) and (E) are incorrect.
You have the right idea here. The "amassing" logically came before the "drawing," and choice (A) expresses that logical meaning in a perfectly clear way.

That said, you could argue that the neuroscientists made some conclusions WHILE they were in the process of amassing the knowledge. In that case, "drawing" could make sense as a modifier for the main clause in (D) and (E): "Neuroscientists have amassed...".

But if that's the interpretation we want, we'd have to drop the "now" to make it clear that the "amassing" and the "drawing" are overlapping actions. The "now" seems to separate the "drawing" and the "amassing" on the timeline, and that throws a wrench in an otherwise plausible interpretation.

Choice (A) avoids this issue by using "drawing" as a verb instead of a modifier: the drawing is happening now, and the amassing happened before that. The meaning is perfectly clear and logical, making (A) a much better choice. (For more on "-ing" verbs vs modifiers, check out this article.)

I hope that helps!
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I don't understand why the Present Perfect tense is wrong?
Neuroscientists have amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past twenty years about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood.
This would mean that for the past 20 years up until now the present they have amassed a wealth of knowledge. What is wrong with that?
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Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past 08 Apr 2025, 17:51
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ExpertsGlobal5
Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
RenukaD
Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past twenty years about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood, are now drawing solid conclusions about how the human brain grows and how babies acquire language.


(A) Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past twenty years about the human brain and its development from birth to adulthood, are

(B) Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood over the past twenty years, and are

(C) Neuroscientists amassing a wealth of knowledge about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood over the past twenty years, and are

(D) Neuroscientists have amassed a wealth of knowledge over past twenty years about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood,

(E) Neuroscientists have amassed, over the past twenty years, a wealth of knowledge about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood,


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 neuroscientists are now drawing solid conclusions about how the human brain grows and how babies acquire language, and over the past twenty years they have amassed a wealth of knowledge about the human brain and its development from birth to adulthood.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Grammatical Construction

• The introduction of the present participle ("verb+ing"- “drawing” in this case) after comma generally leads to a cause-effect relationship.

A: Correct. This answer choice acts upon the subject - "Neuroscientists" - with the independent verb "are now drawing" to form a complete thought, leading to a complete sentence. Further, Option A uses the phrases "having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past twenty years" and "are now drawing", conveying the intended meaning - that over the past twenty years, neuroscientists have amassed a wealth of knowledge about the development the human brain undergoes from birth to adulthood, and as a separate action, they are now drawing solid conclusions about how the human brain grows and how babies acquire language.

B: This answer choice fails to form a complete sentence; "having amassed" is part of a modifying phrase, and "are now drawing" is part of a dependent clause, meaning there is no independent verb to act upon the subject - "Neuroscientists". Further, Option B alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "development from birth to adulthood over the past twenty years"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that over an unspecified amount of time neuroscientists have amassed a wealth of knowledge about the development the human brain underwent over the past twenty years, specifically, from birth to adulthood; the intended meaning is that over the past twenty years, neuroscientists have amassed a wealth of knowledge about the development the human brain undergoes from birth to adulthood.

C: This answer choice fails to form a complete sentence; "amassing" is a present participle acting as a noun modifier, and "are now drawing" is part of a dependent clause, meaning there is no independent verb to act upon the subject - "Neuroscientists". Further, Option C alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "development from birth to adulthood over the past twenty years"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that over an unspecified amount of time neuroscientists have amassed a wealth of knowledge about the development the human brain underwent over the past twenty years, specifically, from birth to adulthood; the intended meaning is that over the past twenty years, neuroscientists have amassed a wealth of knowledge about the development the human brain undergoes from birth to adulthood.

D: The sentence formed by this answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "now drawing solid conclusions"; the use of the "comma + present participle ("verb+ing" - "drawing" in this sentence)" construction incorrectly implies that over the past twenty years, neuroscientists have amassed a wealth of knowledge about the human brain and its development from birth to adulthood, and as a result, they are now drawing solid conclusions about how the human brain grows and how babies acquire language; the intended meaning is that neuroscientists are now drawing solid conclusions about how the human brain grows and how babies acquire language, and, as a separate action, over the past twenty years they have amassed a wealth of knowledge about the human brain and its development from birth to adulthood; remember, the introduction of the present participle ("verb+ing"- “drawing” in this case) after comma generally leads to a cause-effect relationship.

E: The sentence formed by this answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "now drawing solid conclusions"; the use of the "comma + present participle ("verb+ing" - "drawing" in this sentence)" construction incorrectly implies that over the past twenty years, neuroscientists have amassed a wealth of knowledge about the human brain and its development from birth to adulthood, and as a result, they are now drawing solid conclusions about how the human brain grows and how babies acquire language; the intended meaning is that neuroscientists are now drawing solid conclusions about how the human brain grows and how babies acquire language, and, as a separate action, over the past twenty years they have amassed a wealth of knowledge about the human brain and its development from birth to adulthood; remember, the introduction of the present participle ("verb+ing"- “drawing” in this case) after comma generally leads to a cause-effect relationship.

Hence, A is the best answer choice.

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!
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WHY is it not a cause-effect relationship? As a result of amassing knowledge over twenty years, they can now draw conclusions about how the brain grows.
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