Until a few centuries ago, any large bones discovered in the fields

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of the crucial part of this sentence is that until a few centuries ago, any large bones discovered in the fields or caves of Europe were assumed to be the remains of giants, and these bones are now known to be the remains of large prehistoric animals.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Modifiers + Idioms

• “known to be” is an idiomatic construction used to refer to an intrinsic quality, and “known as” is used to refer to the title or name of a noun.
• In a “noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun; this is one of the most frequently tested concepts on GMAT sentence correction.
• "assumed + to" is the correct, idiomatic construction.

A: This answer choice incorrectly modifies "fields or caves of Europe" with "now known to be large prehistoric animals", illogically implying that the fields or caves of Europe are known to be large prehistoric animals; the intended meaning is that large bones discovered in the fields or caves of Europe are known to be the remains of large prehistoric animals; remember, in a “noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun.

B: This answer choice incorrectly uses the idiomatic construction "known as" to refer to an intrinsic quality of "large bones" - the fact they are the bones of large prehistoric animals; remember, “known to be” is an idiomatic construction used to refer to an intrinsic quality, and “known as” is used to refer to the title or name of a noun. Further, Option B incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "assumed + as"; remember, "assumed + to" is the correct, idiomatic construction.

C: Correct. This answer choice avoids the modifier error seen in Option A, as it uses the appositive modifier "bones now known to be those of large prehistoric animals" to modify "large bones discovered in the fields or caves of Europe", conveying the intended meaning - that large bones discovered in the fields or caves of Europe are known to be the remains of large prehistoric animals. Moreover, the sentence formed by Option C uses the phrase "assumed to be the remains", conveying the intended meaning - that large bones discovered in the fields or caves of Europe were assumed to be the remains of giants. Further, Option B correctly uses the idiomatic construction "known to be" to refer to an intrinsic quality of "large bones" - the fact they are the bones of large prehistoric animals. Additionally, Option C correctly uses the idiomatic construction "assumed + to".

D: The sentence formed by this answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "those of the remains of giants"; the construction of this phrase illogically implies that large bones discovered in the fields or caves of Europe were assumed to be the bones of the remains of giants; the intended meaning is that large bones discovered in the fields or caves of Europe were assumed to be the remains of giants. Further, Option D incorrectly uses the idiomatic construction "known as" to refer to an intrinsic quality of "large bones" - the fact they are the bones of large prehistoric animals; remember, “known to be” is an idiomatic construction used to refer to an intrinsic quality, and “known as” is used to refer to the title or name of a noun. Additionally, Option D incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "assumed + as"; remember, "assumed + to" is the correct, idiomatic construction.

E: The sentence formed by this answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "those of the remains of giants"; the construction of this phrase illogically implies that large bones discovered in the fields or caves of Europe were assumed to be the bones of the remains of giants; the intended meaning is that large bones discovered in the fields or caves of Europe were assumed to be the remains of giants. Further, Option E incorrectly uses the idiomatic construction "known as" to refer to an intrinsic quality of "large bones" - the fact they are the bones of large prehistoric animals; remember, “known to be” is an idiomatic construction used to refer to an intrinsic quality, and “known as” is used to refer to the title or name of a noun.

Hence, C is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Phrase Comma Subject" and "Subject Comma Phrase" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team

should be C

bones need to be "those" of animals, they are not animals

bones are assumed to be the remains, they are the remains, not those of the remains

Easy C. "those" is the subject of comparison.

now + currently redundant.

Unless the word ‘now’ is also underlined, choice C makes no sense. It will read as ‘now bone now known to be”, which is wrong.
After this error is amended, then C is the right answer since E can be easily ruled out because of the redundancy of ‘now currently’ and to be ‘those of the remains of’ (bones themselves are remains).

Of course ‘assumed to be’ is the right idiom’

A is wrong because, fields or caves of Europe are now known to be prehistoric animals

from 1st option we do know 'now' is underlined. WarrioAjay just missed it.

A. now known to be large prehistoric animals, were usually assumed to be - either large bones or, in worst case, Europe is referred as 'large prehistoric animals'
B. presently known as from large prehistoric animals, were usually assumed as - Also ambiguous modifier as in option A.
C. bones now known to be those of large prehistoric animals, were usually assumed to be
D. bones known at present as of large prehistoric animals, were usually assumed as those of
E. currently known as those of large prehistoric animals, were usually assumed to be those of - Also ambiguous modifier as in option A.

C is the correct answer.
Here is the explanation;

A. now known to be large prehistoric animals, were usually assumed to be-->now is wrongly used.known to be is wrong. It should be known as.
B. presently known as from large prehistoric animals, were usually assumed as--> presently known as is not clear. It is ambiguous as to what it is referring to, to the caves or to the bones or fields.
C. bones now known to be those of large prehistoric animals, were usually assumed to be--> this one is correct.
D. bones known at present as of large prehistoric animals, were usually assumed as those of--> as those of is not correct.
E. currently known as those of large prehistoric animals, were usually assumed to be those of-->currently known as those of and assumed to be those of is incorrect.It is not clear to what are they referring to.

Until a few centuries ago, any large bones discovered in the fields or caves of Europe, now known to be large prehistoric animals, were usually assumed to be the remains of giants and were often displayed as curiosities in castles, palaces, town halls, churches, and monasteries.
Error: Verb-ed modifier modifies closest Noun.
Here it is modifying caves of europe, which is wrong.
A. Wrong because of above reason
B.Same reason
C.Noun + Noun modifier can modify anything. Hence right.
D. Meaning change, to be is not same as those of.
Sentence structure is not same, as those of .. and to be
E. same error as A

egmat, sayantanc2k,

Can anyone explain the correct usages of words such as known, assume, and named.
Every time these words appear in the options with different usages, I took a lot of time to figure out which way is correct. Some of the variations appeared in GMAT-Prep are:

known as, known to be
named as, to be named
assumed as, assumed to be

Please explain.

Thank You.

Known as: named - My dog is known as Snoopy.
Known to be: acknowledged as - My dog is known to be unfriendly.

For the other 4 phrases, could you state the full sentence?

Until a few centuries ago, any large bones discovered in the fields or caves of Europe, now known to be large prehistoric animals, were usually assumed to be the remains of giants and were often displayed as curiosities in castles, palaces, town halls, churches, and monasteries.

(A) now known to be large prehistoric animals, were usually assumed to be The modifier "now known to be large prehistoric animals" incorrectly modifies "fields or caves of Europe". Eliminate.

(B) presently known as from large prehistoric animals, were usually assumed as "known as from" is incorrect - the correct usage is "known to be from". Eliminate.

(C) bones now known to be those of large prehistoric animals, were usually assumed to be Correct answer. The modifier "now known to be those of large prehistoric animals" correctly modifies "bones". No new errors are introduced.

(D) bones known at present as of large prehistoric animals, were usually assumed as those of "assumed as" is incorrect - the correct usage is "assumed to be". Also, "bones known ... as of" is incorrect - the correct usage is "bones known ... to be of". Eliminate.

(E) currently known as those of large prehistoric animals, were usually assumed to be those of "were usually assumed to be those of the remains of giants..." is redundant - bones themselves are remains. Eliminate.

Hope this helps.

Hi can you pls explain why the usage of 'to be' correct in c?
isn't it factual that they are of large prehistoric animals?
I'm a little confused

Hello ak2121,

We hope this finds you well.

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

Here, "to be" does not directly refer to an action (the bones being those of large prehistoric animals) that conveys factual information; rather, it serves as a modification to the verb "known", conveying what is "now known" about the bones. Another way to look at it is that "to be" refers to the intent of the action "known", so it takes the form of the infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb" - "to + be" in this sentence); please remember, the infinitive verb form is the preferred construction for referring to the purpose/intent of an action.

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

Hi, can someone please explain which entity is the pronoun "those" is referring? Is it referring to "the remains" which comes after the modifier?

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GMATNinja

Hello souvik19,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, "those" refers to the noun "bones".

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

in C] assumed to be v/s assumed as

any difference in meaning?

"Assumed as NOUN" is incorrect because it's unidiomatic. (This construction doesn't have a meaning, because—like other unidiomatic things—it cannot possibly be correct.)

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