TomB wrote:
Rock samples taken from the remains of an asteroid about twice the size of the 6-mile-wide asteroid that eradicated the dinosaurs
has been dated to be 3.47 billion years old and thus is evidence of the earliest known asteroid impact on Earth.
(A) has been dated to be 3.47 billion years old and thus is
(B) has been dated at 3.47 billion years old and thus
(C) have been dated to be 3.47 billion years old and thus are
(D) have been dated as being 3.47 billion years old and thus
(E) have been dated at 3.47 billion years old and thus are
Agreement; Idiom
The plural subject of this sentence, Rock samples, requires plural verb phrases—have been dated and are rather than has been dated and is. The idiomatic way of expressing estimation of age is with the phrase dated at.
(A) The subject and verbs do not agree; dated to be … is not idiomatic.
(B) The subject and verb do not agree; the conjunction and thus should be followed by a verb.
(C) Dated to be is not idiomatic.
(D) As being is not idiomatic; the conjunction and thus should be followed by a verb.
(E) Correct. The plural verbs match the plural subject, and the wording of the sentence is idiomatic.
The correct answer is E.
Main Issues:
1) SV: "Samples...have"
2) Correct Idiom: "dated at"
(A)
has been dated
to be 3.47 billion years old and thus
is - Wrong: 1) SV 2) Idiom(B)
has been dated at 3.47 billion years old and
thus - Wrong: 1) SV 2) Structure(C) have been dated
to be 3.47 billion years old and thus are
- Wrong: Idiom(D) have been dated
as being 3.47 billion years old and
thus - Wrong: 1) Idiom 2) Structure (E) have been dated at 3.47 billion years old and thus are
- Correct
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