I could not find any option correct. Finally went with A.
Just few doubts, is the tense sequencing correct in the original sentence ?
"noted" -> Past
"Has grown" -> recent past.
The growth must have happened before it got noted. But according to the sentence the sequence is reversed.

Regarding use of "they" in original sentence, i think we need to consider parallelism in this case.
"they" should replace the subject of previous clause, which is Zoologists.

Kindly post the explanation for this sentence, if possible.

I also thought that A was correct, though i was confused that the word 'they' was modifying 'hunters' or 'zoologists'. Can someone please clarify this?

hi
The question is correct and here is the explanation:-

A>The zoologists pointed out that hunters had nearly exterminated the northern elephant seal 100 years ago, but they also noted that the seal population has grown dramatically in recent years.

> "they" clearly refers to Zoologists.
>Also "The zoologists pointed out that" _________" > After "that" it'sadditional information. So they refers to the subject ie Zoologists. NO AMBIGUITY

>Moreover sequencing of the events is correct

B>There has been dramatic growth in recent years in the northern elephant seal population noted by the zoologists, although they also pointed out that hunters had nearly exterminated the seals 100 years ago.

>passive voice > not considered correct on the GMAT
> Construction is not correct
> WORDY

C>Although northern elephant seals had been, according to the zoologists, nearly exterminated 100 years ago, they also noted that the seal population has grown dramatically in recent years.

>"they" is the subject of the sentence, but it does not have a clear antecedent. We can eliminate answer this choice

D>Hunters had nearly exterminated the northern elephant seal 100 years ago according to the zoologists, but they also noted that there has been dramatic growth in the seal population in recent years.

>the pronoun "they" does not have a clear antecedent

E>Added to noting that the elephant seal population has grown dramatically in recent years, the zoologists pointed out that they had been nearly exterminated by hunters 100 years ago.[/size]

>Added to noting that the elephant" does not make sense

All 4 options starting from B has different structures, which actually made me to stick with A

Hi,
Thank you for the colorful reply.
But my question is still the same.
Could you please explain the sequencing between "noted" and "has grown". Probably, I am not seeing something that is quite obvious to you.
Kindly shed some light.

Thank you.

Hi aniteshgmat1101

I am not sure what you are trying to ask

B/w noted and has grown > SEQUENCE ..!!

It just says that they NOTED that the population HAS GROWN in recent years. Obviously we cannot say GROWN because the population was not a burst on a single day . The population grew over the years, therefore has grown .

Hi dpo28,

Please consider:

The zoologists pointed out that hunters had nearly exterminated the northern elephant seal 100 years ago, but they also noted that the seal population has grown dramatically in recent years.

The complete sentence is about past and written in present.

For the first part of the sentence sequence is correct. Please see the following time sequence:
--------- ( hunters had nearly exterminated) --------------------- ( zoologists pointed out)---------->Present
"Extermination" happened before "pointing out", and so use of past perfect is correct.

Now, in the second part of the sentence, obviously "population growth" must have happened before zoologists "noted" the growth. So, past perfect should have been used: "population had grown in the recent year..". Also, the "recent year" shows the year recent to when zoologist noted the growth trend, not recent to present time.
--------- ( population had grown ) --------------------- ( zoologists noted)---------->Present

But, in the given sentence Present perfect is used which reverses sequence as follows:
----------( zoologists noted [Past] )--------------------------( population has grown [Present perfect] ) ----------->Present

So, i doubt that Past perfect should have been used instead of Present perfect for the second half of the sentence also.

Thank you.

Hi aniteshgmat1101

I understood where you are getting wrong.

First of all Past perfect "HAD"is usedin the following two scenarios :- [Both of these must be present]

1. Two past actions are in the sentence and one happened before the other. Had is used with the event happen earlier to the recent one.
2. Both the actions started at a particular time in the past and are complete or finished at a particular time in the past.

Now in this question for the first part as you stated the usage is correct because both the actions fulfill the two requirements stated above.

Whilst in the second part population growth must have started at a some time in the past before noting but has not come to halt.
I think it's clear now. Has is showing > PAST coming into present.

Also "exterminated" shows a completed action at a particular but it's no the same case with the population growth

It's good to learn concepts during your preparation but i would like to mention that in SC questions just eliminate the choices during the exam time and don't be stuck in such scenarios. It'll waste a lot of time of yours. Just ELIMINATE and move ahead.

Thank you for the suggestion. Through POE only i reached to option A.
I will look for some examples of the explanation given by you.
Somehow i am still not convinced with the shift of verb reference.
Meanwhile, if you get any other SC on the same concept, kindly post it in the same thread.
Anyways thanks a lot for your time. Cheers..!!

Hi

Ok i'll

Also if you are still not convinced with the explanation than i wonder you need to work on your grammar concepts. I think you are not clear with the concepts.

I would suggest first clear your doubts about the application of the rules and then move ahead.

Happy preparations

Thank you dpo28. I appreciate.
I misunderstood a rule, which is now clear.
Also, I asked the same question in another forum and got reply from Veritas GMAT instructor just a while ago. Thought to share in this forum:

"All the present perfect tense tells us is that an action began in the past and continues into the present - it doesn't set limits on when that action began in the past with respect to other past tense actions. Consider a simpler version of the sentence you've analyzed. "Yesterday I noticed that my grass has grown considerably." "Has grown" indicates that the grass began growing in the past and continues to grow in the present. "Noticed" indicates that I became aware of this phenomenon in the past. The sentence does not mean that I noticed the growth before it happened! Growth the began two weeks ago and that continues today will require a present perfect verb."

I decided to post because I was somewhat dissatisfied with the explanation of "has grown" not only in your post but also in the post above that mentions information from another GMAT expert.

In reality, the present perfect can be used in multiple ways. The key to the present perfect, however, is that it always connects in some way, to now.

When we say:

Prices have gone up.
John has lost his keys.
Have you seen Cathy?

We are not thinking about the recent past. We are thinking about now. What I mean to indicate is that prices are higher now, that John does not have his keys now, and that I want to know where Cathy is now.

Certainly it is true that the present perfect can be used for things that started in the past and continue till now (e.g., John has lived here since 2007. // Cathy has been married for 5 years.). However, this is not the only way that the present perfect can be used.

We can also use the present perfect to talk about unfinished time periods. For example, if I say "I have never been to India." then I mean that from the time I was born to now, I have never set foot in that country. If I say, "We sold 10 widgets last month, and have sold 8 this month." then I mean to say that we have sold 8 widgets so far this month. This month is not over, so I mean until now we have sold 8. Maybe we can sell more before this month is over.

By way of comparison, if I say, "John left 10 seconds ago." then I am certainly talking about the recent past – the very recent past. However, I do not use the present perfect because my focus is not on now but on the time that he left, a time that is clearly indicated in the sentence. Accordingly, the proper tense is the past simple.
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I read your post and i would like to say that the explanation i provided was for past perfect. Moreover the usage of present perfect as you sated also depends on the
context .Mostly present perfect encountered in the sentences denotes past coming into presents, continuation. "Has" itself denotes continuation OR we'll use simple present.
Also it's good to learn always and thanks to elaborate on the concept more.
I'll appreciate further discussion. Learning is the key to success.
Happy preparations.

Hi Zosimus,
I agree with your explanation on present perfect.
The use of Present perfect is context based.
My confusion about "Recent past" arose because present perfect can also be used to indicate an action which has happened and its effect exists in present.
But now i am clear about the correct concept.

Thank you.

The zoologists pointed out that hunters had nearly exterminated the northern elephant seal 100 years ago, but they also noted that the seal population has grown dramatically in recent years.

I could not find any specific error with the given sentence so we'll proceed to other choices.

B. There has been dramatic growth in recent years in the northern elephant seal population noted by the zoologists, although they also pointed out that hunters had nearly exterminated the seals 100 years ago.

also and although mean the same and thus redundancy is here.
The first part of sentence is in passive voice and the remaining in active voice.
sentecen construction order is incorrect as well in meaning sense.

C. Although northern elephant seals had been, according to the zoologists, nearly exterminated 100 years ago, they also noted that the seal population has grown dramatically in recent years.

voice error repeats here and modifier according to the zoologists seems misplaced.

D. Hunters had nearly exterminated the northern elephant seal 100 years ago according to the zoologists, but they also noted that there has been dramatic growth in the seal population in recent years.

they refers to hunters instead of zoologists incorrectly.

E. Added to noting that the elephant seal population has grown dramatically in recent years, the zoologists pointed out that they had been nearly exterminated by hunters 100 years ago.

what is added to noting.................the zoologists doesn't make sense at all.

QThe zoologists pointed out that hunters had nearly exterminated the northern elephant seal 100 years ago, but they also noted that the seal population has grown dramatically in recent years. ---

A>The zoologists pointed out that hunters had nearly exterminated the northern elephant seal 100 years ago, but they also noted that the seal population has grown dramatically in recent years. --- correct choice.

B>There has been dramatic growth in recent years in the northern elephant seal population noted by the zoologists, although they also pointed out that hunters had nearly exterminated the seals 100 years ago. ---- 1. northern elephant seal population noted by the zoologists – noted by the zoologists modifies the seal population, it should modify the growth. 2 The two factors mentioned are equal factors and hence a compound sentence is more appropriate as in A. Pushing the hunters’ extermination to a subordinate level doesn’t carry the original intent.

C>Although northern elephant seals had been, according to the zoologists, nearly exterminated 100 years ago, they also noted that the seal population has grown dramatically in recent years. --- ‘They’ stands for the elephant seals. Wrong.

D>Hunters had nearly exterminated the northern elephant seal 100 years ago according to the zoologists, but they also noted that there has been dramatic growth in the seal population in recent years. – ‘They’ refers to hunters

E>Added to noting that the elephant seal population has grown dramatically in recent years, the zoologists pointed out that they had been nearly exterminated by hunters 100 years ago. –The modification is faulty. This choice means that the zoologists were added to the noting.

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Why is it that they cant refer to hunters in option A ??

rohitkumar77

If you observe the given sentence, it is as below

The zoologists pointed out that hunters had nearly exterminated the northern elephant seal 100 years ago,
but they also noted that the seal population has grown dramatically in recent years.

Here zoologists explainied two facts
1. elephant seal extermination by hunters(pay attention to word nearly i,e., almost but not complete enough)
2. Seal population increased enormously in recent times.

Both of these facts are contradictory since one indicates decrease in population of seals whereas other indicates the increase in population of seals.

And both facts are explained by zoologists not hunters.

Even tough hunters seems to be the closes noun to the pronoun they, both meaning and parallelism structure of the sentence indicate that they refers to zoologists.

I hope this helps.