Contrary to popular belief, extinction is a common

Question

Contrary to popular belief, extinction is a common phenomenon in nature; in fact, the majority of the species that  have existed on our planet are already extinct, with most  disappearing long before Homo sapiens evolved.

A-have existed on our planet are already extinct, with most
 B-have existed on our planet have already become extinct and most are
 C-existed on our planet have already become extinct, most of which have
 D-exist on our planet have already become extinct, most
 E- exist on our planet are now extinct, with most

OA is A

I was wondering...how can "have existed" be ok in this sense. Doesn't that have in the sentence make have existed a present perfect tense? And with that, implies that the species do exist? I thought that present perfect meant an ongoing event.

I guess what I am trying to say is: The species that are extinct can no longer exist, so why the have?

daagh · Accepted Answer

Present perfect can also be used in situations when an event or action has just ended before the present; it does not matter whether it will recur or not. 
E.G: I have just finished reading Hemingway’s novel. 
He has been a crooked criminal until yesterday; now he preaches spirituality 
Therefore, I think we can accept A in this case

Present perfect can also be used when we do not affix a specific and pointed time for the occurrence . say for e.g; Lately, there have been a number of under- sea earth quakes in the Pacific Ocean

crick20002002 · Answer

I agree with you, I would prefer "existed" to "have existed". But the only choice with existed has a major problem in the end (".....most of which have disappearing" - totally incorrect). A may sound awkward but is the one left after elimination

Crick

Crick

milanproda · Answer

Thanks crick but i still dont understand how present perfect works in this situation

Posted from my mobile device

UtterNonsense · Answer

A for me

"have existed" sound good over here. It includes all the species which were there from the very beginning to the ones that are now - present perfect makes sense.

bharatemail · Answer

Present perfect also makes sense when you don't know the timing of the event.
For example "Sam has seen Europe". Here the time when Sam saw Europe is not clear.

I think in the same context we can use present perfect in the above quesion. Hence the answer is "A"

milanproda · Answer

This feels like a tricky one, hopefully someone has a more concrete answer

LifeChanger · Answer

i chose A after eliminating other choices,but even i would have preferred 'existed' rather than 'have existed'

rphardu · Answer

Contrary to popular belief, extinction is a common phenomenon in nature; in fact, the majority of the species  ]that have existed on our planet are already extinct,   with most disappearing long before Homo sapiens evolved.

Selected B, I thought "that have existed on our planet are already extinct" as a essential modifier and there is no working verb in sentence, but looks like I missed something. Can someone please put light why this is not acting as a modifier (because of comma ?)?

Thanks in advance.

Sudhanshuacharya · Answer

You are missing "are" in the last part of the sentence in B " and most  are  disappearing" which is incorrect.

prab · Answer

Among all the choices A is the best.

alchemist009 · Answer

i chosen B. i dont know whats wrong with B. could you please explain it bit further. lets quantify the scenario. God sent 100 species at first to earth. out of 100, 80 have become extinct before before introducing homo sapiens. umm....now it is seems a bit clear to me. the intended meaning is distorted. it means 80 species have already extinct and the process is continuing BUT the intended meaning is that Homo sapiens is 101th species. so when homo sapiens is introduced 80 species dont existed on earth......please clarify me. am i right or wrong.

regards.

geometric · Answer

Quickly eliminate C/D/E from the beginning of each. A/B remain. Eliminate B because "most are disappearing".

narangvaibhav · Answer

IMO A... was easy to trace because of "disappearing" after the underlined portion.

dexerash · Answer

IMO A it is...though existed would have made this a better choice. Other options don't fit correctly.

librrra · Answer

A: It is stated that extinction is a common phenomenon hence it's a continuing process We are talking about extinct species: some of them could have ceased to exist yesterday --> present perfect.

B: the species are disappearing long before Homo Sapiens evolved (wrong use of tenses)
C: have disappearing - wrong
D and E: wrong use of "exist" in present simple: those species no longer exist

Aki · Answer

Ok..I get everyone's explanation now. But, can someone explain to me when it is "proper" to use with after comma. A few examples would be greatly appreciated

Bluelagoon · Answer

Contrary to popular belief, extinction is a common phenomenon in nature; in fact, the majority of the species that have existed on our planet are already extinct, with most disappearing long before Homo sapiens evolved.

A-have existed on our planet are already extinct, with most //answer 
B-have existed on our planet have already become extinct and most are // are is incorrect and we dont need a second have
C-existed on our planet have already become extinct, most of which have // have disappearing is incorrect
D-exist on our planet have already become extinct, most // exist is incorrect
E- exist on our planet are now extinct, with most // same as D

bgpower · Answer

I've also chosen A, tough at first I was also looking for an answer without Present Perfect tense. Actually, I remember to have read that Present Perfect can sometimes be used for situations, in which the activity is over, but you stil have the effects of what has happened. In this case all animals are still extinct, which is probably the best explanation why Present Perfect is acceptable here.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Best,

Let me know if you have any questions.

Best,

am85 · Answer

Why the with, on answer A, is correct? It is modifying extinct. Shouldnt' be incorrect?

Contrary to popular belief, extinction is a common

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Contrary to popular belief, extinction is a common

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