Pack 9 Q2: Developed during the voyage of the HMS Beagle...

Question

Pack 9, Question 2 of 5:

Developed during the voyage of the HMS Beagle,  Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection attributed the notable differences in the Galapagos Islands finches to  organisms changing physical and behavioral traits over time to adapt to the needs of the environment.

A. Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection attributed the notable differences in the Galapagos Islands finches to
B. Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection attributed the notable differences in the Galapagos Islands finches to result from
C. Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection attributed the notable differences in the Galapagos Islands finches to be the result of
D. Charles Darwin, in the theory of evolution by natural selection, attributed the notable differences in the Galapagos Islands finches to
E. in the theory of evolution by natural selection, Charles Darwin attributed the notable differences in the Galapagos Islands finches to

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AnirudhaS · Answer

It has to the the "theory" which has to be developed. 
Developed during the voyage of the HMS Beagle, Charles Darwin ... is wrong. D is out.
Developed during the voyage of the HMS Beagle, in the theory of evolution... is wrong as well. E is out.

Out of the remaining -
A: attributed the notable differences ...  to  organisms changing physical and behavioral traits
attribute difference to organism? No. A is out.

B: attributed the notable differences ...  to result from  organisms changing physical and behavioral traits
This is definitely wrong.

C: attributed the notable differences ...  to be the result of  organisms changing physical and behavioral traits
Yes, attributed to be the result of something. C is our answer.

XyLan · Answer

Sentence Structure  
 Subject  -  Verb  -  Modifier 
 
  Developed during the voyage of the HMS Beagle,   
 Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection   attributed  the notable differences in the Galapagos Islands finches to result from organisms changing physical and behavioral traits over time to adapt to the needs of the environment.

Issues:  
 In the 1st glance could NOT find any errors.
Let's jump to splits -

Governing thought - 
 Developed during the voyage of the HMS Beagle: 
So, what was developed?
  A theory  or  Charles Darwin himself   
 D and E  - Modifier issue.

Answer choice analysis  
 A. Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection attributed the notable differences in the Galapagos Islands finches  to 
   Meaning issue: The theory was attributed to organisms changing ...
Nope, the theory was attributed to  the insights  fetched from the behaviour of organisms changing ... 
Subtle!   
B. Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection attributed the notable differences in the Galapagos Islands finches to  result from 
   Better than the rest - The theory was attributed to result from X -  B  is the champ! 
   
C. Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection attributed the notable differences in the Galapagos Islands finches  to be the result of 
   Meaning issue: The theory was attributed to BE result of X
Nope, the theory was attributed to the insights fetched from the behaviour of organisms changing ...
The usage of BE changes the intent of the sentence - The theory was attributed to BECOME the result of X.
In between B and C,  B  is better than  C .   
D.  Charles Darwin , in the theory of evolution by natural selection, attributed the notable differences in the Galapagos Islands finches to
   Modifier issue   
E. in the theory of evolution by natural selection,  Charles Darwin  attributed the notable differences in the Galapagos Islands finches to
   Modifier issue

Tushrgupta · Answer

My pick is B

Option D and E is wrong in modifier usage "Developed" should modify Drawin's theory.
Option A is wrong for using theory attributed theory to organism.
B and C are quite though to choose in.

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Official Explanation

Developed during the voyage of the HMS Beagle,  Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection attributed the notable differences in the Galapagos Islands finches to  organisms changing physical and behavioral traits over time to adapt to the needs of the environment.

A. Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection attributed the notable differences in the Galapagos Islands finches  to  
 B. Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection attributed the notable differences in the Galapagos Islands finches  to result from  
 C. Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection attributed the notable differences in the Galapagos Islands finches  to be the result of  
 D. Charles Darwin, in the theory of evolution by natural selection, attributed the notable differences in the Galapagos Islands finches  to  
 E. in the theory of evolution by natural selection, Charles Darwin attributed the notable differences in the Galapagos Islands finches  to

This question deals with two issues. The first is the correct use of commas and modifiers. The second is proper idiom format, being “attributed A to B.” Differences within the text are highlighted.

Since idioms tend to be easier to deal with than modifier, let’s start with that.  The proper idiom is  “attributed A to B.”  Let’s eliminate any options that don’t follow that format. To make it easier to spot, let’s add in the non-underlined end of the sentence:

Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection  attributed  the notable differences in the Galapagos Islands finches  to 
Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection  attributed  the notable differences in the Galapagos Islands finches  to result from 
Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection  attributed  the notable differences in the Galapagos Islands finches  to be the result of 
Charles Darwin, in the theory of evolution by natural selection,  attributed  the notable differences in the Galapagos Islands finches  to  
in the theory of evolution by natural selection, Charles Darwin  attributed  the notable differences in the Galapagos Islands finches  to

We can eliminate options B & C because they don’t follow the “attributed A to B” idiom structure properly.

Now that we have it narrowed down to 3 options, let’s tackle our next issue: punctuation and modifiers. First, we need to make sure what immediately follows the modifier phrase “Developed during the voyage of the HMS Beagle” makes sense. Next, we need to make sure the punctuation works. To make mistakes easier to spot, let’s add in that modifier phrase:

A. Developed during the voyage of the HMS Beagle,   Charles Darwin’s theory  of evolution by natural selection attributed the notable differences in the Galapagos Islands finches to 
This is  CORRECT ! The modifier makes sense with what comes after it, and we can’t find any other issues with punctuation.
 D. Developed during the voyage of the HMS Beagle,   Charles Darwin,  in the theory of evolution by natural selection, attributed the notable differences in the Galapagos Islands finches to 
This is  INCORRECT  because Charles Darwin wasn’t developed - his theory was! 
 E.  Developed during the voyage of the HMS Beagle,   in the theory of evolution by natural selection ,  Charles Darwin  attributed the notable differences in the Galapagos Islands finches to 
This is also  INCORRECT  because the modifier is attributed to Charles Darwin, and not his theory. How so? Because the phrase “in the theory of evolution by natural selection” is off-set by commas, making it a non-essential phrase. If you remove it (because you can remove any phrases with this punctuation), the modifier/antecedent pair doesn’t work. By placing that phrase in between the modifier and antecedent, it’s meant to confuse or distract you!

There you have it - option A was the correct choice all along!  By focusing on one problem at a time, we can eliminate our options quickly!

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

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

You were very close,  AnirudhaS ! The idiom should be "attributed X to Y," not "attributed X to be the result of Y." The rest of your explanation was spot-on, though!

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

You were very close, XyLan ! Check out the official explanation in the comments for more details on how to handle the "attributed X to Y" idiom.

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

You were close, Tushrgupta ! Check out the official explanation in the comments to see how to handle the "attributed X to Y" idiom.

numb007 · Answer

Agree with the official solution, however I have a doubt:
What if the non essential modifier were to be an essential one (not bracketed with a comma pair). Would the sentence be right?
Will the starting phrase " Developed during the voyage of the HMS Beagle" still be able to refer to "he theory of evolution by natural selection" by passing over the preposition "In" ?
e.g : Is this a correct formation?: Developed during the voyage of the HMS Beagle,in the theory of evolution by natural selection Charles Darwin attributed the feature differences to the organisms' surroundings"

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Thanks for the question  numb007 !

Let's look at the construction you proposed using:

Developed during the voyage of the HMS Beagle, in the theory of evolution by natural selection Charles Darwin attributed the feature differences to the organisms' surroundings.

The phrase "in the theory of evolution by natural selection" is a prepositional phrase. By nature, prepositional phrases are almost always non-essential, and this one definitely is. It is also incorrect to take out the comma after "selection" because this is also considered a parenthetical phrase (a non-essential phrase that's "tossed in" to an already intact sentence).

Modifiers (such as the one we have here) cannot refer back to prepositional phrases - they only refer back to nouns or noun phrases. No matter what you do, the phrase "Developed during the voyage of the HMS Beagle" should NOT modify Charles Darwin the person - it should only modify "Charles Darwin's theory."

I hope this helps!

VerbalBot · Answer

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Pack 9 Q2: Developed during the voyage of the HMS Beagle...

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Pack 9 Q2: Developed during the voyage of the HMS Beagle...

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