Tricky SC Series- #9

Question

Hi All ! Sharing some SCs from a recent mock test (thought that u may or may not get the same q when you take the same mock and that it'd be a good practice for all... ). Please post some explanation with the answers. Others in this series: 1. tricky-sc-series-86098.html 2. tricky-sc-series-86099.html 3. tricky-sc-series-86100.html 4. tricky-sc-series-86101.html 5. tricky-sc-series-86102.html 6. tricky-sc-series-86104.html 7. tricky-sc-series-86105.html 8. tricky-sc-series-86106.html 10. tricky-sc-series-86108.html 11. tricky-sc-series-86110.html specially liked this one

GMAT TIGER · Answer

Go for A..

Known to have + past participles.

gmattokyo · Answer

thanks GMAT TIGER... if no other inputs, OA in a day or two

speeddeamon · Answer

+1 for A. 
to have driven it looks the appropriate usage to me.

gmattokyo · Answer

I'd chosen A as well.
Unfortunately it is not the OA:  C

Reason given is that A is unidiomatic. "to drive it" is generally preferred over "to have driven it"

noboru · Answer

I was also with A.
Could anybody elaborate on the explanation?

seekmba · Answer

my pick is A too.

can someone explain why C is correct and why A is incorrect?

SaraiYaseenGMAT · Answer

Americans' love affair with the Mustang is readily apparent: few Americans have been knon to have driven it for the first time without taking it out for a another spin.

A. few Americans have been known to have driven it
B. few having been known to drive it
C. few Americans have been known to drive it
D. it has been driven by few Americans
E. few Americans having driven it

Hi Guys,

This is a good opportunity to look at what the real difference between "to drive" and "to have driven" is.

to+base verb (V1) is not a verb, but (as many of you know) an infinitive. Because it is not a verb, it has no time.

to+have+V3 is the perfect infinitive. This is a structure that indicates the past in an infinitive.

So...

Joe is known to be a good student = We know (in the present) that Joe is a good student (in the present).

Joe is known to have been a good student = We know (in the present) that Joe was a good student (in the past).

So let's look at the answer choices one by one:

A. few Americans have been known to have driven it

"To have driven" indicates that Americans drove the Mustang in the past. But the sentences is talking about a present-day phenomenon.

B. few having been known to drive it

Error in Ellipses! "Few" indicates "few Americans," but the word "Americans" appears nowhere in the sentence! At the beginning of the sentence, we get Americans' -- the possessive, not the noun!

C. few Americans have been known to drive it

"To drive" correctly indicates "to drive (in the present)."

D. it has been driven by few Americans
"...driven by Americans" is passive voice-- as long as the doer is present, active voice should be used.

E. few Americans having driven it

We have lost the intended meaning. The sentences wanted to indicate what is "known".

(More on comparisons in SC Lesson 6 and on ellipses in Lesson 9 at gmaxonline!)

Best,
Sarai

tingle15 · Answer

The explanation is still not clear to me...

VerbalBot · Answer

Automated notice from GMAT Club VerbalBot: 

A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.

 This post was generated automatically.

Tricky SC Series- #9

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards