The hypothesis has been advanced that the ancestors of such plants and

Question

The hypothesis has been advanced that the ancestors of such plants and animals as the giant sequoia, the alligator, and the horse appeared on the fringes of the Arctic Ocean millions of years  before lower latitudes .

(A) before lower latitudes
 
(B) before at lower latitudes

(C) before they did it at lower latitudes

(D) before they appeared at lower latitudes

(E) preceding their appearance at lower latitudes

Source  :  GMAT Paper Test (Test Code 42)

Kurtosis · Answer

(A) before lower latitudes - Incorrect. Comparison error.

(B) before at lower latitudes - Incorrect. Repeats the same error in A.

(C) before they did it at lower latitudes - Incorrect. 'it' does not have an antecedent.

(D) before they appeared at lower latitudes - Correct.

(E) preceding their appearance at lower latitudes - Incorrect. Meaning error.

Answer: D

alokgupta1009 · Answer

+1 for D.

What's OA ?

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vikas9945 · Answer

daagh  sir
 chetan2u

How to eliminate B in this question , as it looks concise and parallel to prepositional phrase “on the fringes.....”

daagh · Answer

vikas 
B vs D

'Before' acts both as subordinate conjunction and preposition. As a preposition, it is followed by a noun. As a conjunction, it is followed by a clause. 
In D, 'before' is correctly followed by a clause. However, in B, 'before' is followed by 'at lower latitudes', which is not a noun. The extra preposition 'at' renders the sentence ungrammatical

Kushchokhani · Answer

Bunuel

IMO we can add "Comparisons" tag for this ques because appearance on fringes is being compared to appearance at lower latitudes.

KittyDoodles · Answer

Hi Expert,

Is option D chosen over Option B for clarity of the sentence. In option B, why cant we assume (they appeared) to be elided.

Thanks
Kitty

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Hello  KittyDoodles ,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, the rule of ellipses applies only to verbs; it cannot include the subject pronoun "they".

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

sargam2198 · Answer

The hypothesis 
 has been advanced that 
 the ancestors of 
 such plants and animals as the giant sequoia, the alligator, and the horse 
  appeared on the fringes of the Arctic Ocean millions of years  
 before lower latitudes.

- before can either act as a preposition followed by a noun or a conjunction followed by a clause.

(A) before lower latitudes : grammar is correct, comparison is incorrect.

(B) before at lower latitudes

(C) before they did it at lower latitudes

(D) before they appeared at lower latitudes  :

(E) preceding their appearance at lower latitudes

GMATNinja · Answer

Yup, it's about clarity. A reader might think that (B) is trying to say that the ancestors appeared on the fringes before  some other group  appeared on the fringes.

Sure, you can figure out how to logically fill in the blanks if you read it a few times. But (D) isn't open to interpretation and makes the logical meaning 100% clear.

I hope that helps a bit!

shanks2020 · Answer

GMATNinja   MartyMurray   AndrewN   KarishmaB

Can you also confirm the above that ellipses apply only to verbs and not nouns/subjects. So we have to have a subject/noun even if ellipses applied?

KarishmaB · Answer

Ellipses are in play when it would be painful to repeat what we are assuming. Sometimes we use them for brevity, though informally.

I saw two jugglers during the journey and she saw three. {jugglers during the journey}

Although a bit bonkers, he is my best friend. 
(means although he is a bit bonkers, he is my best friend)

The meaning needs to be obvious to use ellipses.

shanks2020 · Answer

KarishmaB

Thanks Karishma for the above explanation, with examples.
So if i understand correctly, we can use subjects/nouns as part of ellipses,if the meaning is clear and brings no ambiguity depending on the context(unlike the hard rule statement made by ExpertsGlobal5 stating that only verbs and not subjects can be part of ellipses)?

KarishmaB · Answer

shanks2020 - I know no grammar 'rules' other than the basic ones pertaining to SV agreement, how to join clauses etc. Most 'rules' come with exceptions so how do we know whether this question involves an exception? So I prefer to not invest my energy in focusing on rules. I follow one rule - 'It's all relative.' I talk about it at length here: https://youtu.be/P9FMzbopfik There are constructs that GMAT prefers, and focus on clear, unambiguous meaning helps me decide the best option.

The hypothesis has been advanced that the ancestors of such plants and

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The hypothesis has been advanced that the ancestors of such plants and

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