The complex structure of the adhesive footpad of the gecko, having

Question

The complex structure of the adhesive foot-pad of the gecko,  having hairlike structures called fibrillar adhesives, help clarify why researchers have posited that it  could be instructive for the development of climbing robots.

A. having hairlike structures called fibrillar adhesives, help clarify why researchers have posited that it 
B. having hairlike structures that are called fibrillar adhesives, helps clarify why researchers have posited that it 
C. with its hairlike structures that are called fibrillar adhesives, helps clarify why researchers have posited that they 
D. with its hairlike structures called fibrillar adhesives, help clarify why researchers positing that it 
E. with its hairlike structures called fibrillar adhesives, helps clarify why researchers have posited that it

deepverma · Answer

The Complex Structure : Subject So verb: Help*
So eliminate A,D;
with its hairlike structure: Wrong modifier
Having hairlike strutures : Rightly modifying gecko; So answer is B;
A. having hairlike structures called fibrillar adhesives, help clarify why researchers have posited that it
B. having hairlike structures that are called fibrillar adhesives, helps clarify why researchers have posited that it : Correct
C. with its hairlike structures that are called fibrillar adhesives, helps clarify why researchers have posited that they
D. with its hairlike structures called fibrillar adhesives, help clarify why researchers positing that it
E. with its hairlike structures called fibrillar adhesives, helps clarify why researchers have posited that it

PTD1995 · Answer

Option E

Incorrect! . The -ing modifier, wrongly modifies the subject of the initial clause (The complex structure). We want to adress that the adhesive foot-pad of the gecko has this structures. Hence, the verb-ing modifier is wrong.

Incorrect .Same as A)

Incorrect . Subject-Verb error. The pronoun (they) has an antecedent,  the researchers , which is not the intended meaning.

Incorrect . Subject-Verb error. The subject (complex structure) requires a single verb. "Help" is a plural verb

Correct

deepverma · Answer

Few Queries:
1)Could anyone please clarify verb-ing Modifier or phrase "with its...",modifying which noun?
Having hairlike structures : Modifying Geko? or Complex Structure?
2)In option E : I doubted about "its" doesn't hv clear antecedent.
Also option E if plugged into original sentence , "the complex structure....with its hairlike structures called fibrillar adhesives, helps....": Doesnt sound convincing.

Pls help me to figure out the gap. Thanks in advance.

Abhi077 · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Choice (A) Like any Sentence Correction question, we should begin this one by looking for any obvious errors in the original. The verb "help" is referencing "structure," a singular noun near the beginning of the sentence. That means "help" should be "helps" and that the original, ,Hence is incorrect. 
Going through the rest of our 
Choices, (B) looks like it may be correct, grammatically, but it's a little wordy, so let's keep looking. 
Choice (C) uses the pronoun "they," which is incorrect because "structure" is a singular noun. 
Choice (D) the - ing verb "positing" needs an "are" (as in, "are positing") for it to make sense, so (D) is incorrect. Choice (E), like (C), looks pretty good. 
Choosing between (E) and (C) is a little difficult. The difference is that (C) uses "that are called" where (E) uses "called," which is much more direct.
 We should choose brevity here and mark (E) as correct.

The correct answer is Choice (E)  .

Abhi077 · Answer

1) "with it" is a modifier modifying the noun 'Geko' 
This isn't a complex structure . Complex sentences are made
up of one independent clause (or main clause) and one or more dependent
clauses (or subordinate clauses). The dependent clause is introduced and linked
to the independent clause by a subordinating conjunction
2) 'It' refer backs to complex structure .A pronoun can refer back to an antecedent in the former clause. long distance relationships do work.
On GMAT , most of the answer choices don't sound convincing but we have to pick the best among them, A choice which communicates the proper intended meaning and which is grammatically correct.

shivbits42 · Answer

Please correct me if my analysis is wrong.

A. having hairlike structures called fibrillar adhesives, help clarify why researchers have posited that it

Incorrect 
if having is modifying the noun then it should not be preceded by comma. Since it is preceded by comma, having must modify the preceding action but it seems that having is giving information about the “adhesive foot pad”.

SV not in agreement: the complex structure (singular) help( plural).

B. having hairlike structures that are called fibrillar adhesives, helps clarify why researchers have posited that it

Same modifier error as in option A. SV error is rectified in this option.

C. with its hairlike structures that are called fibrillar adhesives, helps clarify why researchers have posited that they

“Its” correctly refers to the “adhesive foot pad”. Pronoun they( plural) refers to the “ complex structure” ( singular). Hence agreement error.

D. with its hairlike structures called fibrillar adhesives, help clarify why researchers positing that it 
SV verb error. It should be helps instead of help
E. with its hairlike structures called fibrillar adhesives, helps clarify why researchers have posited that it
Correct choice.

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daagh · Answer

The logical question here is to ask what has the hair like structures. We can eliminate the gecko because it is not the animal that has hair like parts. It is only the adhesive footpad. Whether it is a complex structure or a simple structure does not matter much to us as long as it is a sticky footpad. Therefore, in all sense, the pronoun 'it' should refer to the footpad rather than anything else.

We cannot surmise that researches posited researches as in C, if we were to take 'they' for researchers. However, they can be either the structures or the adhesives. However, unfortunately the plural is in an inessential modifier and if the modifier is ignored, then the pronoun 'they' has no sensible referent. Hence, we have to drop choice C.

Between B and D, both the words 'having' and 'with' can only modify the eligible singular noun footpad. However, B is avoidably wordy by adding the phrase 'that are called".

D is the choice.

Harsh2111s · Answer

although I got this correct but can someone explain use of "having" vs "with" along with some examples ?

In which case use of "having" could be right ?

The complex structure of the adhesive footpad of the gecko, having

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

The complex structure of the adhesive footpad of the gecko, having

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