Although the first Homo erectus, or early human, to be identified was

Question

Although the first Homo erectus, or early human, to be identified was in the 1890s by Dutch anatomist Eugene Dubois, it had not been followed by another such identification for over twenty years.

A. Although the first Homo erectus, or early human, to be identified was in the 1890s by Dutch anatomist Eugene Dubois, it had not been followed by another such identification for over twenty years.

B. Although not been followed by another such identification for over twenty years, in the 1890s Dutch anatomist Eugene Dubois found the first Homo erectus, or early human, to be identified.

C. Although identified by Dutch anatomist Eugene Dubois in the 1890s, the identification of the first Homo erectus, or early human, had not been followed by another such identification for over twenty years.

D. The first Homo erectus, or early human, to be identified was found in the 1890s by Dutch anatomist Eugene Dubois, but it was not followed by another such identification for over twenty years

E. The first identified Homo erectus, or early human, was not followed by another such identification for over twenty years, while it was found in the 1890s by Dutch anatomist Eugene

Nups1324 · Answer

A. Although the first Homo erectus, or early human, to be identified was in the 1890s by Dutch anatomist Eugene Dubois, it had not been followed by another such identification for over twenty years.

The use of "had" is wrong here. The discovery by Eugene happened first and then there was no follow up for over 20 years. By using "had" here we are saying that the follow up occurred first and then the discovery. Thus, A is out.

B. Although not been followed by another such identification for over twenty years, in the 1890s Dutch anatomist Eugene Dubois found the first Homo erectus, or early human, to be identified.

The structure is weak. Although...,in the 1890s...,to be identified. B is out.

C. Although identified by Dutch anatomist Eugene Dubois in the 1890s, the identification of the first Homo erectus, or early human, had not been followed by another such identification for over twenty years.

Same as A. The use of "had" is wrong. Thus C is out.

D. The first Homo erectus, or early human, to be identified was found in the 1890s by Dutch anatomist Eugene Dubois, but it was not followed by another such identification for over twenty years

Nice Structure. No such errors as it's counterparts. Therefore, D is the answer.

E. The first identified Homo erectus, or early human, was not followed by another such identification for over twenty years, while it was found in the 1890s by Dutch anatomist Eugene

The structure is weak. The last part after comma ", while it was found..." makes it sound as if the follow up was found in he 1890s. Basically the pronoun "it" doesn't clear state which part it refers to. Thus E is out.

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winterschool · Answer

Although the first Homo erectus, or early human, to be identified was in the 1890s by Dutch anatomist Eugene Dubois, it had not been followed by another such identification for over twenty years.

A. Although the first Homo erectus, or early human, to be identified was in the 1890s by Dutch anatomist Eugene Dubois,  it  had not been followed by another such identification for over twenty years.  Incorrect

pronoun error - it refers what?

B. Although not been followed by another such identification for over twenty years,  in the 1890s Dutch anatomist Eugene Dubois  found the first Homo erectus, or early human, to be identified.  Incorrect

modifier error - 'not been followed ' modifies Eugene Dubois

C.  Although identified by Dutch anatomist Eugene Dubois in the 1890s, the identification of the first Homo erectus, or early human, had not been followed by another such identification for over twenty years.   Correct

D. The first Homo erectus, or early human, to be identified was found in the 1890s by Dutch anatomist Eugene Dubois, but  it  was not followed by another such identification for over twenty years  Incorrect

pronoun error - it refers what?

E.  The first identified Homo erectus , or early human, was not followed by another such identification for over twenty years,  while it  was found in the 1890s by Dutch anatomist Eugene  Incorrect

meaning change, pronoun error - it refers what?

globaldesi · Answer

Official explanation:

This question tests verb sequence. The first verb in the sentence is 'was' (simple past) and the second verb is 'had not been' (past perfect). The past perfect should refer to a time before simple past, but in this sentence, it refers to a time after the simple past, which is incorrect, so eliminate choices (A) and (C), which repeats the error.

Choice (B) has a modifier error because what follows the comma should be the referent for 'not been followed by.' Instead you see 'in the 1890s.'
 
Choice (E) obscures the meaning of the sentence. The 1890s discovery was the first instance of the Homo erectus identification; the structure of this choice makes it sound like the 1890s discovery was the identification that followed 20 years later.

Choice (D) corrects the verb sequence error, does not introduce is other errors, and, therefore, is the best answer.

DUnada · Answer

Doesn't choice D change the meaning of the sentence:

D. The first Homo erectus, or early human, to be identified was found in the 1890s by Dutch anatomist Eugene Dubois, but it was not followed by another such identification for over twenty years

The first Homo erectus was identified in the 1890's by Eugene Dubois, not necessarily found in the 1890's by Eugene Dubois.
The first Homo erectus could have been found by someone else or been unable to be identified.

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Hello  DUnada ,

We hope this finds you well.

Having gone through the question and your query, we believe we can help resolve your doubts.

Your assessment is correct that Option D conveys that Eugene Dubois found the Homo Erectus, but does not convey that he identified it; however, this is, in fact, the intended meaning. Options B, D, and E all identify "Eugene Dubois" as the one who   found   the Homo Erectus, as conveyed through the constructions "Eugene Dubois found the first Homo erectus" (B), "was found in the 1890s by Dutch anatomist Eugene Dubois" (D), and "it was found in the 1890s by Dutch anatomist Eugene" (E). By contrast, Option A uses the construction "the first Homo erectus...to be identified was in the 1890s by...Eugene Dubois"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; it does not identify "Eugene Dubois" as the one who identified the Homo Erectus. Similarly, Option C incorrectly uses "identified by...Eugene Dubois in the 1890s" to modify "the identification", illogically implying the Eugene Dubois identified the identification of the Homo Erectus; please remember, in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun; this is one of the most frequently tested concepts on GMAT sentence correction. Thus, there is no answer choice that conveys the meaning that Eugene Dubois was the one to find the Homo Erectus.

Hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team

krndatta · Answer

ExpertsGlobal5

In option E, 
The option statement says that the first discovery was not followed by another such identification for 20 years. 
"while it was ….." The part after comma is not clear to what this refers to? Does "it" refer to the first discovery or second? 
Am I right in my analysis.

Please evaluate.

Thanks

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Hello  krndatta ,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, in Option E, "it" can only refer to "The first identified Homo erectus", as the second discovery is only referred to as "such identification", and it does not make any sense to say that an "identification" was "found"; remember, pronoun ambiguity does not apply if there is only one referent that the pronoun can logically refer to.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team

krndatta · Answer

ExpertsGlobal5

Then what would be the errors of Option E?

Please Elaborate.

Thanks

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Hello  krndatta ,

We hope this finds you well.

The most major error in Option E is the use of "while"; the use of "while" illogically implies that no other such identification took place for 20 years, during the time when the first Homo Erectus that was ever identified was found in the 1890s by Eugene Dubois; the intended meaning is that in the 1890s Eugene Dubois found the first Homo Erectus that was ever identified, but no other such identification took place for the following 20 years; remember, "while" is used to convey a sense of concurrence.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team

krndatta · Answer

ExpertsGlobal5 Sorry, But still not clear

Ritik25 · Answer

Please clarify why D is the best option and not C, the logic involving "had" is unconvincing.

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Hello  krndatta ,

We hope this finds you well.

To put it simply, "while" implies that two or more actions take place at the same time, and this implication does not make sense in this context.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team

krndatta · Answer

Ritik25

Hi, 
I hope I can resolve your query. 
The major error in option C is the opening modifier. 
"Although identified....." This cannot modify the opening entity. Although identified cannot be the identification. Hence, option C is incorrect. 
Plus the use of Past-Perfect requires another action to be in simple past tense. Hence, there is no action in simple past.

Base on the above two errors, option C is incorrect.

EducationAisle  :- Please validate my reasoning.

Thanks

EducationAisle · Answer

Your reasoning seems correct. Good job!

Ritik25 · Answer

Thank you very much. I agree the modifier was the major error, and shouldn't be missed.

Can you elaborate on the verb tenses? In addition, can you tell me where to study the theory regarding verb tenses specifically as they are used in the GMAT?

VerbalBot · Answer

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Although the first Homo erectus, or early human, to be identified was

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

Although the first Homo erectus, or early human, to be identified was

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