Pack 6 Q5: The curator of the museum is eager...

Initial Scan gives us to examine on/about/into. But we examine the artifacts is correct as per the context.


they cannot refer to possessive noun. Incorrect


to examine about artifacts might be OK but while at the dig site is not correct
While is used to convey two actions happening simultaneously.


to examine into artifacts not a conveyed meaning Incorrect


Correct


to examine on the artifacts is awkward also while at the dig site is not correct Incorrect

The curator of the museum is eager to examine on the archeologists’ artifacts found at the site in Peru while they were digging.

Meaning: Someone is eager to examine ON the someones'artifacts found somewhere while they were digging. - Red flag to say examine on the someones'artifacts. Correct usage can be, examine someone on something, which doesn't apply in the example. Pronoun ambiguity error, usage of they.

A. on the archeologists’ artifacts found at the site in Peru while they were digging - incorrect as mentioned above.
B. about the artifacts archeologists found while at the dig site in Peru - examine about is somewhat weird idiom and nonsensical, but let's hold rather than rejecting.
C. into the archeologists’ artifacts found while digging in Peru- someone is eager to examine into the archeologists’ artifacts,, where??? Word about site is missing.
D. the artifacts archeologists found at the dig site in Peru - far better option till option D, seems correctly expressed that someone is eager to examine something archeologists found at the dig site in Peru.
E. on the artifacts from the archeologists, found while at the dig site in Peru - from the archeologists is unnecessarily wordy. found while at the dig site in Peru, comma before found is incorrect.

Imo. D.

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"Examine the X" is the most common idiom usage I have come across of the verb examine. The modifier "found at the dig site" should modify artifacts and is best placed closest to the noun.

A. on the archeologists’ artifacts found at the site in Peru while they were digging
The artifacts don't belong to archeologists.
B. about the artifacts archeologists found while at the dig site in Peru
Option D is better than this option. While is redundant.
C. into the archeologists’ artifacts found while digging in Peru
Same error as A. The artifacts don't belong to archeologists.
D. the artifacts archeologists found at the dig site in Peru
Correct
E. on the artifacts from the archeologists, found while at the dig site in Peru
This option also sounds as if the artifacts belong to archeologists.
The modifier found, a Verb-ed is modifying archeologists

Official Explanation

The curator of the museum is eager to examine on the archeologists’ artifacts found at the site in Peru while they were digging.

A. on the archeologists’ artifacts found at the site in Peru while they were digging
B. about the artifacts archeologists found while at the dig site in Peru
C. into the archeologists’ artifacts found while digging in Peru
D. the artifacts archeologists found at the dig site in Peru
E. on the artifacts from the archeologists, found while at the dig site in Peru

A review of our answer choices shows that there is a split on how the underlined phrase starts—a preposition or a noun. There is also a split between the use of digging and dig.

When we see that we need to choose between a phrase that starts with a noun or one that starts with a preposition, we should always begin by looking at the non-underlined portion of the sentence. The sentence begins “The curator of the museum is eager to examine.” “Examine” is a transitive verb, which means it must have an object. A prepositional phrase cannot be the object of a verb. An object is always a noun or pronoun or, in some cases, a noun clause. Options A, B, C, and E all start with a preposition (on, about, into, and on, respectively), and a preposition cannot immediately follow a transitive verb. This means the only possible correct answer is Option D.

And just in case that seems a little too easy, we’ll quickly review some other issues with the incorrect answer options. Option A uses “at the site in Peru while they were digging.” This is wordy and redundant, and other options offer more concise ways of saying the same thing.

Option E makes it hard to tell if the phrase “found while at the dig site in Peru” is modifying “archeologists,” which would mean the archeologists were found at the dig site, and that makes no sense. An argument could be made, though it would be poor placement, that it is modifying artifacts, but then it would mean the artifacts were found while they were at the dig site in Peru, implying that sometimes the artifacts were at other dig sites. That is also nonsensical.

Option B could be clearer, because you could infer that the artifacts were found while the artifacts were digging in Peru. That is definitely illogical.

Now, this narrows our answer choices down to two, and once again, we’re left needing to simply know that transitive verbs are not followed by prepositions.

Option D is best answer.

Great job, DinoPen! You cracked the code! You are correct that "to examine" can't be followed by a preposition - hence why "to examine on" and "to examine about" sounded wrong to you.

I can't wait to see more great explanations in Pack 7!

Well done, TheNightKing! You cracked the code on this one! Great explanations for each option, and I like that you also shared your thought process! I'm looking forward to seeing more great explanations from you in Pack 7. These are tough questions, and you've done a great job helping yourself and others learn how to beat them!

Kudos to you!

Well done, NandishSS! You cracked the code on this one! I like how you set up your explanation - it's easy to read and follow. I can't wait to see more great responses from you in Pack 7!

Kudos to you!

Well done, Raxit85! Great breakdown of how you found the problems in the original sentence and how you focused on those in the 5 options. I'm excited to see more great answers from you in Pack 7! Kudos to you!

Well done, suchithra! You cracked the code on this one! I also appreciate that you added in your thought process so others could see how you came to find the correct answer.

Kudos to you!

Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

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