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The human eye is a relatively recent development of nature—it evolved

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Abhi077
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The human eye is a relatively recent development of nature—it evolved [#permalink] New post   10 Jan 2020, 11:07
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70% (01:19) correct 30% (01:29) wrong based on 132 sessions
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The human eye is a relatively recent development of nature—it evolved from the eyes of earlier primates, which had in turn evolved over many generations from the primitive eyes of the pre-mammalian synapsids, which had themselves previously evolved from the simple photo receptors of our common single-celled ancestors.


A) which had themselves previously evolved
B) previously evolving themselves
C) themselves having evolved previously
D) having been previously evolved themselves
E) previously themselves being evolved

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A
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Re: The human eye is a relatively recent development of nature—it evolved [#permalink] New post   11 Jan 2020, 13:39
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Cool sentence.

Some people would want to eliminate A, based on the fact that which is not directly touching the noun "eyes". However, this is a common mistake, because "primitive eyes of the pre-mammalian synapsids" is a whole noun phrase. Therefore, "which" is correctly modifying "eyes.

In summary

A) which had themselves previously evolved --- CORRECT, and good use of past perfect tense, as this evolution happens before the other evolution from the primates.
B) previously evolving themselves --- The use of the adverbial phrase -ING is incorrect, as it does not give the correct tense. The -ing is mostly used for consequences or explanations.
C) themselves having evolved previously --- "having evolved" does give you an indication of a past tense, but it does not set this action before the other past tense "had in turn evolved over many generations".
D) having been previously evolved themselves ------ "been evolved" by whom?
E) previously themselves being evolved ------ wrong tense
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Re: The human eye is a relatively recent development of nature—it evolved [#permalink] New post   10 Jan 2020, 11:19
The human eye is a relatively recent development of nature—it evolved from the eyes of earlier primates, which had in turn evolved over many generations from the primitive eyes of the pre-mammalian synapsids, which had themselves previously evolved from the simple photo receptors of our common single-celled ancestors.


A) which had themselves previously evolved
B) previously evolving themselves
C) themselves having evolved previously
D) having been previously evolved themselves
E) previously themselves being evolved

Meaning Analysis :-

The human eye is a relatively recent development of nature - How - it evolved from c- which (the eyes of earlier primates) had in turn evolved over many generations from the primitive eyes of the pre-mammalian synapsids, which (the primitive eyes of the pre-mammalian synapsids) had themselves previously evolved from the simple photo receptors of our common single-celled ancestors.

to modify a noun preceding a comma - only a noun + noun modifier or a relative pronoun works (From what I can gather) which is presented only in A. Additionally, time sequence is best captured with past perfect -

the primitive eyes of the pre-mammalian synapsids evolved first -> then the primitive eyes of the pre-mammalian synapsids -> human eye

No Errors - Answer - A
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Re: The human eye is a relatively recent development of nature—it evolved [#permalink] New post   11 Jan 2020, 11:12
OFFICIAL EXPLANATION


This sentence describes something that happened after something else, which happened after something else. So, for the underlined part of the sentence, we will need to use the past perfect tense, which is used to describe something that happened before something else in particular. Only (A) uses that particular tense and clearly conveys this sequence of events. The other answers are confusing and don't give the reader a clear understanding of the timeline.

The correct answer is Choice (A).


Learnings & Insights



  • Relative Pronoun modifier modifies the closest noun
  • Past perfect tense is required to establish the sequencing
  • Past perfect tense is used to represent earlier of the two events
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Re: The human eye is a relatively recent development of nature—it evolved [#permalink] New post   17 Jan 2020, 06:15
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Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Abhi077 wrote:
The human eye is a relatively recent development of nature—it evolved from the eyes of earlier primates, which had in turn evolved over many generations from the primitive eyes of the pre-mammalian synapsids, which had themselves previously evolved from the simple photo receptors of our common single-celled ancestors.

A) which had themselves previously evolved
B) previously evolving themselves
C) themselves having evolved previously
D) having been previously evolved themselves
E) previously themselves being evolved


Choice A: Option A utilizes the correct tense, past perfect, in the verb phrase "had themselves previously evolved". Thus, Option A is correct.

Choice B: Option B utilizes the incorrect tense in the verb phrase "previously evolving". Thus, Option B is incorrect.

Choice C: Option C utilizes the incorrect tense in the verb phrase "having evolved previously". Thus, Option C is incorrect.

Choice D: Option D utilizes the incorrect tense in the verb phrase "having been previously evolved". Option D also uses the passive voice which often makes an answer choice wordier than it needs to be. Thus, Option D is incorrect.

Choice E: Option E utilizes the incorrect tense in the verb phrase "previously themselves being evolved". Moreover, the use of “being” to refer to a state of existence also makes Option E quite awkward. Thus, Option E is incorrect.

Hence, A is the best answer choice.

In this sentence, the past perfect is the correct tense to use because it describes one event, the evolution of the primitive eyes of the pre-mammalian synapsids, which took place before another event, the evolution of the eyes of earlier primates.

To understand the concept of “Past perfect Tense and the use of ‘Had’ on GMAT”, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



To understand the concept of “Use of ‘Being’ on GMAT”, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):



All the best!
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GMAT Club Bot
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Re: The human eye is a relatively recent development of nature—it evolved [#permalink]
17 Jan 2020, 06:15
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