Pack 13 Q2: Reef diving in the Caribbean, proof has been found...

Reef diving in the Caribbean, proof has been found by divers indicating that white lesions caused more coral damage than they had previously thought.

A. proof has been found by divers indicating that white lesions caused more coral damage than they had - the first clause (non-underlined) is a key decider here because the action of 'diving' indicated in the first clause (non-underlined) means that this clause must be immediately succeeded by the "doer" of this action ('diving'). Here, what succeeds the first clause is "proof", which obviously is not the doer of the action. Hence, eliminate (A)

B. proof found by divers indicates more coral damage by white lesions than had been - the same error in (A) exists here in (B) [ the first clause is not succeeded immediately by the doer of the action 'diving' ]. Hence, eliminate (B)

C. divers have found proof indicating that white lesions caused more coral damage than - Okay. here, the first clause is immediately followed by the doer of the action (the action - diving, the doer - the diver). This clause has no other error. Hence, (C) is the right answer.

D. divers have found proof that indicates more coral damage by white lesions than that which was - there are lots of errors here. If you are using 'which' as a relative pronoun to modify a noun, then this relative pronoun must be separated from the main target noun with a comma and must appear immediately after the target noun. Here, 'which' is not separated by a comma, from the target noun. Hence, (D) is incorrect.

E. divers have found proof which indicates more coral damage by white lesions than that - uses 'which' in the same incorrect manner as described in (D). Hence, eliminate (E)

C option is Winner

Area tested- Modifiers
Reef diving: Who Dives? Obviously Divers.
Eliminate A and B

D is very Redundant and Complex. ( Passiveness and Redundancy(Was + Previously thought) )
E is wrong because firstly there is no need to have a passive voice when we have a crisp clear option like C, then 'that' reference is unclear.

A. proof has been found by divers indicating that white lesions caused more coral damage than they had

B. proof found by divers indicates more coral damage by white lesions than had been

C. divers have found proof indicating that white lesions caused more coral damage than- Champ

D. divers have found proof that indicates more coral damage by white lesions than that which was

E. divers have found proof which indicates more coral damage by white lesions than that

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Let us first dissect the sentence into different clauses.
Reef diving in the Caribbean, - This is a modifier modifying the noun divers
proof has been found by divers indicating
that white lesions caused more coral damage than they had previously thought.
Indicating that – that is a replacing the action of indicating.
Had is used to compare two actions in the past with the previous action with a had. There are no two actions that are being compared on a timeline in this sentence hence had is incorrect in this answer choice.

A. proof has been found by divers indicating that white lesions caused more coral damage than they had
Reef diving in the Caribbean, - This is a modifier modifying the noun divers
Incorrect modifier modifying proof.
Had is used to compare two actions in the past with the previous action with a had. There are no two actions that are being compared on a timeline in this sentence hence had is incorrect in this answer choice.

B. proof found by divers indicates more coral damage by white lesions than had been

Reef diving in the Caribbean, - This is a modifier modifying the noun divers
Incorrect modifier modifying proof.
Had is used to compare two actions in the past with the previous action with a had. There are no two actions that are being compared on a timeline in this sentence hence had is incorrect in this answer choice.

C. divers have found proof indicating that white lesions caused more coral damage than
This answer choice is clear concise and direct. This is also grammatically and idiomatically correct choice.

D. divers have found proof that indicates more coral damage by white lesions than that which was
Than that which was is unnecessarily wordy and awkward. It is unclear what that refers to.
This choice is in inactive voice which makes it unattractive.


E. divers have found proof which indicates more coral damage by white lesions than that
It is unclear what that refers to.
This choice is in inactive voice which makes it unattractive.
Answer choice C

A. proof has been found by divers indicating that white lesions caused more coral damage than they had - Misplaced Modifier

B. proof found by divers indicates more coral damage by white lesions than had been- Misplaced Modifier

C. divers have found proof indicating that white lesions caused more coral damage than - Correct

D. divers have found proof that indicates more coral damage by white lesions than that which was - That which was, Awkward

E. divers have found proof which indicates more coral damage by white lesions than that- Comma Before which was required and Pronoun error with that.

Reef diving in the Caribbean, proof has been found by divers indicating that white lesions caused more coral damage than they had previously thought.

A. proof has been found by divers indicating that white lesions caused more coral damage than they had :- Modifier Error - Reef diving in the Caribbean must modify divers

B. proof found by divers indicates more coral damage by white lesions than had been :- Same as above

C. divers have found proof indicating that white lesions caused more coral damage than :- correct

D. divers have found proof that indicates more coral damage by white lesions than that which was :-That which is wrong

E. divers have found proof which indicates more coral damage by white lesions than that we need comma before which

best choice is C.. first of all reef diving is done by divers and divers found proof. this is correct sequence of actions. so reef diving subordinate clause must modify divers.

A. proof has been found by divers indicating that white lesions caused more coral damage than they had - wrongly compared reef diving with proof.They creates confusion and also, unnecessary use of past perfect.

B. proof found by divers indicates more coral damage by white lesions than had been - wrong comparison.

C. divers have found proof indicating that white lesions caused more coral damage than - little bit confuse about what indicating is modifying. But, keep this option aside.

D. divers have found proof that indicates more coral damage by white lesions than that which was - wrong use of which modifier.

E. divers have found proof which indicates more coral damage by white lesions than that - there should be a comma before which, as we which is used as non-essential modifier.

EMPOWERgmatVerbal - I reached to option c just a small doubt, is 'proof indicating that' is right construction?...I am not able to understand what ' indicating ' is modifying.... Also, in option E , I think comma is the only error. Does GMAT check only on punctuation? or I just missed something..

Official Explanation

Reef diving in the Caribbean, proof has been found by divers indicating that white lesions caused more coral damage than they had previously thought.

A. proof has been found by divers indicating that white lesions caused more coral damage than they had

B. proof found by divers indicates more coral damage by white lesions than had been

C. divers have found proof indicating that white lesions caused more coral damage than

D. divers have found proof that indicates more coral damage by white lesions than that which was

E. divers have found proof which indicates more coral damage by white lesions than that

After a quick glance over the options, we have a few places we can focus on:

1. proof / divers (Modifier-Antecedent Agreement)
2. indicating / indicates / that indicates / which indicates (Verb Tense)
3. than they had / than had been / than / than that which was / than that (Pronouns)

The modifying phrase, “Reef diving in the Caribbean,” is referring to divers, so the word divers should come directly after. Let’s see how our options stack up:

A. proof has been found by divers indicating that white lesions caused more coral damage than they had

B. proof found by divers indicates more coral damage by white lesions than had been

C. divers have found proof indicating that white lesions caused more coral damage than

D. divers have found proof that indicates more coral damage by white lesions than that which was

E. divers have found proof which indicates more coral damage by white lesions than that

We can eliminate options A & B because the antecedent “proof” doesn’t match up with the modifier “Reef diving in the Caribbean.”

Now that we have it narrowed down to 3 options, let’s focus on the end of each option. The vague pronoun “that” is unnecessary at the end of the sentence, so let’s get rid of any options that use it.

C. divers have found proof indicating that white lesions caused more coral damage than
This is correct. This is the most logical, clear answer. There is not a confusing pronoun and the correct noun comes directly after the modifier.

D. divers have found proof that indicates more coral damage by white lesions than that which was
This is incorrect. The pronoun “that” is unclear in this sentence. It is also overly wordy using “than that which was.”

E. divers have found proof which indicates more coral damage by white lesions than that
This is incorrect. The pronoun “that” is unclear in this sentence. “Than that” is also awkward phrasing.

There you have it - option C is the correct choice!


Don’t study for the GMAT. Train for it.

Well done, NiftyNiffler! Great explanation, and great job catching all the various problems with each option! Kudos to you!

Well done, kiranaimhigh! Welcome to the contest, and we look forward to more explanations on future questions. Kudos to you for cracking the code on this one!

Well done, jaisonsunny77! You cracked the code on this one! We also appreciate that you looked deeper into the "that/which indicates" issue. We went a different route with our official explanation, so it's great to see different ways students are tackling the questions. Kudos to you!

Thanks for another great explanation thenikhilseth! Kudos to you!

Well done, 1BlackDiamond1! Great explanation! Looking forward to the next one! Kudos to you!

Great work, naveenban! You cracked the code on this one, and we look forward to the next explanation soon! Kudos to you!

Well done, Praveenksinha! You cracked the code on this one! Kudos to you!

Well done, aniket2045! You cracked the code on this one! Kudos to you!

To answer your questions:

1. The construction "proof indicating that" is correct. The phrase "indicating that white lesions cause more damage than..." is modifying "proof." It's giving the term "proof" more specific information so the reader can clearly tell what the "proof" was about.

2. The GMAT does test on punctuation, but usually it's something much more obvious, such as a semicolon creating a sentence fragment. In option E, the missing comma is one problem. The other problem is the vague pronoun "that" at the end. We don't have a clear idea of what "that" is referring to, so it's another issue that makes E incorrect.

I hope that helps! If you have another other follow-up questions, please tag us at EMPOWERgmatVerbal and we'll be happy to help!

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