While many of the dinosaur fossils found recently in northeast China s

Question

While many of the dinosaur fossils found recently in northeast China seem to provide evidence of the kinship between dinosaurs and birds, the wealth of enigmatic fossils  seem more likely at this stage that they will inflame debates over the origin of birds rather than  settle them.

(A) seem more likely at this stage that they will inflame debates over the origin of birds rather than

(B) seem more likely that it will inflame debates over the origin of birds at this stage than

(C) seems more likely to inflame debates on the origin of birds at this stage rather than

(D) seems more likely at this stage to inflame debates over the origin of birds than to

(E) seems more likely that it will inflame debates on the origin of birds at this stage than to

https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/25/us/in-china-a-spectacular-trove-of-dinosaur-fossils-is-found.html

Many of the excavated specimens seem to bear on the question of kinship between dinosaurs and birds, although the wealth of enigmatic fossils  seems more likely at this stage to inflame debates over the origin of birds than to  settle them.

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Accepted Answer

Hello Everyone!

This is a great example of a GMAT question that focuses on  verb tenses  and  idioms ! Let's start by taking a quick look at the question and highlight any major differences between the options in  orange :

While many of the dinosaur fossils found recently in northeast China seem to provide evidence of the kinship between dinosaurs and birds, the wealth of enigmatic fossils  seem more likely at this stage that they will inflame debates over the origin of birds rather than  settle them.

(A)  seem  more likely at this stage that  they will inflame  debates over the origin of birds  rather than 
(B)  seem  more likely that  it will inflame  debates over the origin of birds  at this stage than 
(C)  seems  more likely  to inflame  debates on the origin of birds  at this stage rather than 
(D)  seems  more likely  at this stage to inflame  debates over the origin of birds  than to 
(E)  seems  more likely  that it will inflame  debates on the origin of birds  at this stage than to

After a quick glance over the options, we have a few things we can focus on:

1. seem vs. seems ( Subject-Verb Agreement )
2. they will inflame / it will inflame / to inflame ( Subject-Verb Agreement & Idioms )
3. than vs. than to ( Idioms )

Let's start with #1 on our list, which focuses on subject-verb agreement.  The verb we're dealing with here is seem/seems, so we need to look to the original sentence to find our subject:

While many of the dinosaur fossils found recently in northeast China seem to provide evidence of the kinship between dinosaurs and birds, the   wealth   of enigmatic fossils seem more likely at this stage that they will inflame debates over the origin of birds rather than settle them.

Since "wealth" is singular, we need to find the options that use the singular "seems," and then rule out the ones that use the plural "seem."

(A)  seem  more likely at this stage that they will inflame debates over the origin of birds rather than
(B)  seem  more likely that it will inflame debates over the origin of birds at this stage than
(C)  seems  more likely to inflame debates on the origin of birds at this stage rather than
(D)  seems  more likely at this stage to inflame debates over the origin of birds than to
(E)  seems  more likely that it will inflame debates on the origin of birds at this stage than to

We can eliminate options A & B because the subject and verb don't agree.  Now that we have this narrowed down to only 2 options, let's move on to the idiom issue. Again, if we look at the entire sentence, we can figure out which idiom we're working with:

While many of the dinosaur fossils found recently in northeast China seem to provide evidence of the kinship between dinosaurs and birds, the wealth of enigmatic fossils seem   more likely at this stage that they will   inflame debates over the origin of birds rather   than   settle them.

The idiom we're dealing with is:

more likely to X than to Y

Let's see which options use the correct idiom, and rule out those that don't:

(C) seems  more likely to  inflame debates on the origin of birds at this stage rather  than  --> more likely to X than Y =  WRONG 
(D) seems  more likely  at this stage  to  inflame debates over the origin of birds  than   to  --> more likely to X than to Y =  CORRECT! 
(E) seems  more likely that it will  inflame debates on the origin of birds at this stage  than to  --> more likely that it will X than to Y =  WRONG

There you go - option D is the only one that uses the idiom correctly and has proper subject-verb agreement!

Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.

dentobizz · Answer

The subject of the main clause is Wealth (of... fossils).So we need a singular verb 'seems' for subject -Wealth. A and B options are out.

In C and E there is a misplaced modifier 'at the stage ' which should modify the timing/stage of discovery of the fossils not the origin of birds. Only D has this right. Also, to maintain parallelism 'than to' should be used not 'rather than'. Answer is D

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation of this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem: 
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of the crucial part of this sentence is that at this stage the wealth of enigmatic fossils seems more likely to inflame debates over the origin of birds than to settle them.

Concepts tested here: Subject-Verb Agreement + Pronouns + Parallelism + Redundancy/Awkwardness

• Any elements linked by a conjunction (“than” in this case) must be parallel.

A:  This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun “wealth” with the plural verb “seem”. Further, Option A incorrectly refers to the singular noun “wealth” with the plural pronoun “they”. Additionally, Option A alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “seem more likely at this stage that they will”; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that at this stage, the wealth of enigmatic fossils seems more likely to inflame debates over the origin of birds than to settle them. Besides, Option A uses the needlessly wordy phrase “rather than”, leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

B:  This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun “wealth” with the plural verb “seem”. Further, Option B alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “seem more likely that it will”; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that at this stage, the wealth of enigmatic fossils seems more likely to inflame debates over the origin of birds than to settle them.

C:  This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism between “to inflame…at this stage” and “settle them”; please remember, any elements linked by a conjunction (“rather than” in this case) must be parallel. Further, Option C uses the needlessly wordy phrase “rather than”, leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

D:   Correct.  This answer choice correctly refers to the singular noun “wealth” with the singular verb "seems". Moreover, Option D avoids the pronoun error seen in Option A, as it employs no pronouns. Further, Option D uses the phrase “more likely…to inflame debates”, conveying the intended meaning – that at this stage, the wealth of enigmatic fossils seems more likely to inflame debates over the origin of birds than to settle them. Additionally, Option D maintains parallelism between “to inflame debates...birds” and “to settle them”. Besides, Option D is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

E:  This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “seems more likely that it will”; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that at this stage, the wealth of enigmatic fossils seems more likely to inflame debates over the origin of birds than to settle them. Further, Option E fails to maintain parallelism between “that it will inflame debates on the origin of birds at this stage” and “to settle them”; please remember, any elements linked by a conjunction (“than” in this case) must be parallel.

Hence, D is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

HardWorkBeatsAll · Answer

Shouldn't the underline start from the second "seem"?

The wealth (singular) needs "seems" to properly modify it. Use of "seem" is incorrect. So (A) and (B) are wrong.

In (C), "more likely to X rather than Y" is incorrect usage. Also, "birds at this stage" is incorrect. The stage is not about birds.

(D) correctly uses "seems". It also has the right usage of "more likely to X than to Y". Additionally, "at this stage" is correctly placed.

(E) seems more likely that is incorrect here. "more likely that.... than to" is ALSO incorrect.
 
Hence, (D).

BrainLab · Answer

This question is not correctly underlined. Could you please change the underlined portion as stated in the original version:
While many of the dinosaur fossils found recently in northeast China seem to provide evidence of the kinship between dinosaurs and birds, the wealth of enigmatic fossils  seem more likely at this stage that they will inflame debates over the origin of birds rather than  settle them.

vijayshree · Answer

While many of the dinosaur fossils found recently in northeast China seem to provide evidence of the kinship between dinosaurs and birds, the wealth of enigmatic fossils  seem more likely at this stage that they will inflame debates over the origin of birds rather than  settle them.

(A)  seem  more likely at this stage that they will inflame debates over the origin of birds rather than

Subject .........wealth (singular ) ............verb .....seem ( plural )  ........should be seems ( singular )

(B) seem more likely that it will inflame debates over the origin of birds at this stage than

Subject .........wealth (singular ) ............verb .....seem ( plural )  ........should be seems ( singular )

(C) seems more likely to inflame debates on the origin of birds at this stage rather than

correct idiom .......MORE ......X...... THAN .....Y ................... ... NOT .......... MORE .........RATHER THAN 
 
(D) seems more likely at this stage to inflame debates over the origin of birds than to

CORRECT .............SUBJECT VERB

MORE .......TO INFLAME ( INFINITY VERB ) || THAN TO SETTLE ( INFINITY VERB )

(E) seems more likely that it will inflame debates on the origin of birds at this stage than to

MORE X THAN Y MUST BE PARALLEL 
 
MORE LIKELY ( VERB ) .................THAN TO SETTLE ( INFINITY VERB ) ...........NOT ||

CORRECT ANSWER D

ping1 · Answer

(Edited the question stem.)

" The wealth  of something" is singular and therefore needs a singular verb form. This eliminates A and B.

In both C and E the modifier "at this stage" is misplaced as it incorrectly modifies the birds.

Moreover, there are additional errors in C and E:

In C, "more likely  to do  X RATHER than  do  Y" is both unidiomatic and not parallel (Infinitive + Working Verb).

In E, "X seems more likely THAT it  will do  X than  to do  Y" is both unidiomatic and not parallel (Simple Future + Infinitive)

This leaves D: The verb seems has the correct form, the modifier "at this stage" is placed correctly, "X is more likely  to do  Y than  to do  Z" is idiomatic and parallel (Infinitive + Infinitive).

Divyadisha · Answer

'the wealth' is singular subject and hence requires 'seems'. Option A and B are out.

The idiom must be 'X rather than Y'

More likely TO inflame debates than TO settle them. C is out.

E is wordy.

Hence D is the answer

Nightfury14 · Answer

While many of the dinosaur fossils found recently in northeast China seem to provide evidence of the kinship between dinosaurs and birds, the wealth of enigmatic fossils  seem more likely at this stage that they will inflame debates over the origin of birds rather than  settle them.

(A)  seem  more likely at this stage that  they  will inflame debates over the origin of birds rather than
(B)  seem  more likely that  it  will inflame debates over the oirigin of birds at this stage than
(C) seems more likely to inflame debates on the origin of birds at this stage rather than -  Idiom error: miss a "to" in the later half of the sentence for a proper sentence. 
(D)  seems more likely at this stage to inflame debates over the origin of birds than to 
(E) seems more likely that  it  will inflame debates on the origin of birds at this stage than to

Bowtye · Answer

+1 D

A and B are for plural nouns but the wealth of xyz is singular. These two options can be removed

C is not || and birds at this stage changes meaning

D looks good. It is parallel and corrects the error with the placement of at this stage

E is similar to C. not parallel and at this stage modifies birds. Not the intention of the original sentence.

aceGMAT21 · Answer

mikemcgarry   GMATNinja   egmat 
Is there a difference between Debate Over and Debate On ? Can someone elaborate on this?

egmat · Answer

Hello aceGMAT21 , I am not sure if you still have this doubt. Here is the explanation nonetheless.

The word debate is not necessarily followed by a particular preposition. The context of the sentence decides which preposition will appears after debate . IMHO, in the context of this sentence, both the phrases debates over and debates on work equally fine. Hope this helps.

Thanks. Shraddha

aceGMAT21 · Answer

Hi egmat , Thanks for the reply!

Can you please elaborate more on the context part, on the basis of which we can decide whether to use DEBATE OVER or DEBATE ON? As I am still not clear about that. You can take examples to explain the same. Thanks, -Varun

egmat · Answer

Hello Varun aceGMAT21 , Well, as I have already mentioned, the word debate need not be followed by any particular preposition. So we can say: The debate on the Education Bill is attracting a lot of attention. OR The debate over the Education Bill is attracting a lot of attention. But I certainly do not mean to say that debate over and debate on can be used interchangeably. The debate on Tuesday will have a lot of participants. We can never replace on with over in the above-mentioned sentence. Moreover, I do not think on GMAT SC, such expressions are tested any which way. Hope this helps.

Thanks. Shraddha

Skywalker18 · Answer

While many of the dinosaur fossils found recently in northeast China seem to provide evidence of the kinship between dinosaurs and birds, the wealth of enigmatic fossils  seem more likely at this stage that they will inflame debates over the origin of birds rather than  settle them.

(A) seem more likely at this stage that they will inflame debates over the origin of birds rather than - subject verb agreement issue - "the wealth seems to," not "seems that." "They" is also ambiguous
(B) seem more likely that it will inflame debates over the origin of birds at this stage than - Same issues as with A, and "it" is also ambiguous here

(C) seems more likely to inflame debates on the origin of birds at this stage rather than - the modifier "at this stage" seems to indicate that the birds are at a particular stage - illogical. We want to say that it "seems likely at this stage." 
(D) seems more likely at this stage to inflame debates over the origin of birds than to - Correct

(E) seems more likely that it will inflame debates on the origin of birds at this stage than to - the construction "the wealth... seems... that it will" is both non-idiomatic and illogical.

Answer D

epiphany1 · Answer

The sentence presents a contrast using the word ‘while’. It says whereas many recently found dinosaur fossils seem to provide evidence of kinship between dinosaurs and birds, these fossils seem:

more likely to inflame debates over the origin of birds
than settle these debates
There are four errors in the given sentence:

In the main clause, “the wealth of enigmatic fossils” is the subject – ‘the wealth’ is singular – and the verb is “seem”, which is plural. Therefore, there is a subject verb agreement error.
The structure “X seems more likely that X will do something” is incorrect. Either of the below two structures is correct:
It seems more likely that X will do something…
X seems more likely to do something
Given the context of the sentence, “they” should refer to “the wealth of enigmatic fossils”. So, we have a plural pronoun “they” for the singular antecedent.
We are making a comparison using “more” in the sentence. “more” should be followed by “than” and never by “rather than”.

teaserbae · Answer

daagh   AjiteshArun   generis

Can you please brief in E what is the antecedent of "it" ?

AjiteshArun · Answer

Option E is

... the wealth of enigmatic fossils seems more likely that it will inflame debates on the origin of birds at this stage than to...

I suppose that the  it  refers to  the wealth of enigmatic fossils , but the structure ( the wealth of enigmatic fossils seems more likely that it ) itself is not correct.

ashmit99 · Answer

Hello experts,

Do you think even if we replace "rather than" with "than" in A, B & C, there would still be a parallelism issue.

A'. the wealth of enigmatic fossils seems more likely at this stage that they will inflame debates over the origin of birds than settle them.

I know there are other issues such as pronoun issue and Subject-verb issue.

VeritasKarishma   EducationAisle   GMATNinja   ChiranjeevSingh

While many of the dinosaur fossils found recently in northeast China s

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