The DNA of two 7,700-year-old women found in a Russian cave
have been shown to be closely related to the DNA of some modern, indigenous East Asian populations and therefore are a sign that farming in this region developed gradually, rather than through an influx of foreigners.
This sentence can be solved mechanically. What is the main issues here? The subject "The DNA" is singular— the sentence is tricking us to think two women are the subject of the sentence; prepositional nouns can never be the main subject— but the verb "have" and "are" are in plural form. They should be corrected to "has" and "is"
Quote:
A. have been shown to be closely related to the DNA of some modern, indigenous East Asian populations and therefore are
A's error is discussed above.
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B. has been shown as closely related to the DNA of some modern, indigenous East Asian populations and therefore
This corrects "have" to has. Let's keep it.
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C. have been shown it is closely related to the DNA of some modern, indigenous East Asian populations and therefore are
Same as A. C is out.
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D. have been shown as being closely related to the DNA of some modern, indigenous East Asian populations and therefore
Same as A. D is out.
Quote:
E. has been shown to be closely related to the DNA of some modern, indigenous East Asian populations and therefore is
Both verbs are corrected as discussed. Keep E.
What is the different between B and E? The verb for the second part "IS".
Can B omit the word "is"? Let's check the verb on the other side of the sentence, "has been shown". Plug this to the second part of the sentence: " The DNA therefore has been shown a sign". This does not make any sense. So E is the correct answer.