The part the wildlife of America had played in the settlement and deve

Question

The part the wildlife of America had played in the settlement and development of the American continent was so far-reaching in extent and enormous in potential value that it defeats the imagination

A. the wildlife of America had played in the settlement and development of the American continent was so far-reaching in extent and enormous in potential value that it defeats

B. the wildlife of America played in the settlement and development of the American continent was so far-reaching in extent and enormous in potential value that they defeat

C. played by the wildlife of America in the settlement and development of the American continent was far-reaching in extent and enormous in potential value, it has defeated

D. that the wildlife of America played in the settlement and development of the American continent was so far-reaching in extent and so enormous in potential value that it defeats

E. the wildlife of America had played in the settlement and development of the American continent was so far-reaching in extent and so enormous in potential value that it defeats

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Official Answer

D

sleepynut · Answer

Hi all,
in my 2 cents,

No need for past perfect tense;hence option A and E are gone.
It is "the part" that defeats the imagination.Option B is eliminated for noun-pronoun mismatch.
Option C is wrong as there is no proper connector for two clauses.

I could boil down to option D but not sure with the usage of "present tense" : "defeats".
Is it because it is generally accepted that such effect goes beyond imagination regardless of time?

Please share your thoughts
Thanks :-)

nitiny · Answer

IMO B
"HAD" in A & D not required
C passive voice
B uses correct usage of so....that...

OA Please

AR15J · Answer

D does not use past perfect. correct answer is D.

adityapareshshah · Answer

What is the OA and OE?

I think use of that that in D is redundant. Also in E use of past perfect is correct as we are using present tense in the end ("it defeats").

Experts please correct me if I am wrong.

nitiny · Answer

Yes you are correct, My Bad

A) the wildlife of America  had  played in the settlement and development of the American continent was so far-reaching in extent and enormous in potential value that it defeats
B) the wildlife of America played in the settlement and development of the American continent was so far-reaching in extent and enormous in potential value that  they  defeat
C) played by the wildlife of America in the settlement and development of the American continent was far-reaching in extent and enormous in potential value, it has defeated--  passive voice  
D)  that the wildlife of America played in the settlement and development of the American continent was so far-reaching in extent and so enormous in potential value that it defeats 
E) the wildlife of America  had  played in the settlement and development of the American continent was so far-reaching in extent and so enormous in potential value that it defeats

this is my Explanation , please correct if i am wrong 
Thanks

smita123 · Answer

Can anyone explain why can't we use Past Perfect tense for this?

gmat1393 · Answer

Hi  smita123

Past perfect is used only when it is required to clarify the sequence. Following is an excerpt from Manhattan SC guide:

Do not use the perfect tenses when the simple tenses will do. The GMAT prefers simplicity.
Wrong: Joe LEARNED about an epoch in which dinosaurs HAD WALKED the earth.
Right: Joe LEARNED about an epoch in which dinosaurs WALKED the earth.
In the first example, the Past Perfect had walked is unnecessary. Although the action had walked does take place earlier than the action learned, the earlier action does not have a direct bearing on the context of the later action. The sequence of time does not need to be clarified or emphasized. Thus, the Past Perfect is considered wrong in this context.

VerbalBot · Answer

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The part the wildlife of America had played in the settlement and deve

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The part the wildlife of America had played in the settlement and deve

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