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The Official Guide for GMAT Review 2018Practice QuestionSentence Correction
Question No.: 763
Positing an enormous volcanic explosion at the end of the Permian period would explain the presence of a buried crater,
account for the presence of the element iridium (originating deep within the earth), and the presence of quartz having been shattered by high-impact shock waves.
(A) account for the presence of the element iridium (originating deep within the earth), and the presence of quartz having been
(B) of the element iridium (originating deep within the earth), and of quartz
(C) the element iridium (originating deep within the earth), and explain the presence of quartz having been
(D) the presence of the element iridium (originating deep within the earth), and explain the presence of quartz
(E) explain the element iridium (originating deep within the earth), and the presence of quartz
Concepts tested here: Parallelism + Verb Forms• All elements in a list must be parallel.
• In modifying a noun, the past participle implies that the noun took an action that concluded in the past.
A: The sentence formed by this answer choice fails to maintain parallelism among "explain the presence of a buried crater", "account for the presence of the element iridium (originating deep within the earth)", and "the presence of quartz"; remember, all elements in a list must be parallel. Further, Option A incorrectly uses the present participle ("verb+ing" - "having" in this sentence) phrase "having been shattered" to refer to an action that concluded in the past; remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to events that concluded in the past.
B: Correct. The sentence formed by this answer choice correctly maintains parallelism among "of a buried crater", "of the element iridium (originating deep within the earth)", and "of quartz". Further, Option B correctly uses the past participle ("shattered" in this case) to refer to an action that concluded in the past; remember, in modifying a noun, the past participle implies that the noun took an action that concluded in the past.
C: The sentence formed by this answer choice fails to maintain parallelism among "explain the presence of a buried crater", "the element iridium (originating deep within the earth)", and "explain the presence of quartz"; remember, all elements in a list must be parallel. Further, Option C incorrectly uses the present participle ("verb+ing" - "having" in this sentence) phrase "having been shattered" to refer to an action that concluded in the past; remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to events that concluded in the past.
D: The sentence formed by this answer choice fails to maintain parallelism among "explain the presence of a buried crater", "the presence of the element iridium (originating deep within the earth)", and "explain the presence of quartz"; remember, all elements in a list must be parallel.
E: The sentence formed by this answer choice fails to maintain parallelism among "explain the presence of a buried crater", "explain the element iridium (originating deep within the earth)", and "the presence of quartz"; remember, all elements in a list must be parallel.
Hence, B is the best answer choice.To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team