The domesticated camel, which some scholars date

[jeffq]

This was a question that was posted a little while ago. The answer was said to be D, but it seems that it should be E.

 

The domesticated camel, which some scholars date around the twelfth century B.C., was the key to the development of the spice trade in the ancient world.

 

a. The domesticated camel, which some scholars date

b. The domesticated camel, which some scholars have thought to occur

c. Domesticating the camel, dated by some scholars at

d. The domestication of the camel, thought by some scholars to have occurred

e. The camel's domestication, dated by some scholars to have been

 

In D, it seems that "thought by some scholars..." modifies camel, rather than domestication

 

Sorry for the repeat, but I just wanted to clarify this...thanks!

 

Sorry, I didn't mean to suggest that E was definitely the correct answer. I am just looking for a clarification of this question.

 

Thanks! I

[Erin]

I'm getting ready to answer this question, but I'm going to search first to see whether I should answer here or in another place...

 

Back in a few. :cool:

[Erin]

This was a question that was posted a little while ago. The answer was said to be D, but it seems that it should be E.

 

The domesticated camel, which some scholars date around the twelfth century B.C., was the key to the development of the spice trade in the ancient world.

 

a. The domesticated camel, which some scholars date

b. The domesticated camel, which some scholars have thought to occur

c. Domesticating the camel, dated by some scholars at

d. The domestication of the camel, thought by some scholars to have occurred

e. The camel's domestication, dated by some scholars to have been

 

In D, it seems that "thought by some scholars..." modifies camel, rather than domestication

 

Okay, I checked out the other topic, and there was no explanation of the answer.

 

Okay, to be honest, I didn't catch the mistake in E the very first time I read the question, either. I picked D, because somehow it sounded better, but I wasn't sure why.

 

Later, when a student asked me specifically what was wrong with E, I looked at the question a little more carefully. E has a classic mistake, albeit a well disguised one!

 

I teach this mistake frequently in my SAT II classes for high school students. Let me show you an example of what my high school students might write:

 

The greatest change in my life was when I immigrated to the US.

 

Can you see the mistake in this sentence?

 

Let me try again, with a little hint:

 

The greatest change in my life was when I immigrated to the US.

 

Can you see it now?

 

Okay, just in case, let me give you one more sentence (I'm pretty much doing now what I do in class to explain this grammar point.)

 

"Target Team Member" ;) to TestMagician:

 

This pen is a bargain because it's only ten cents.

 

Hint again:

 

This pen is a bargain because it is only ten cents.

 

 

 

Okay, got it yet?

 

Let's work backward. The last sentence is incorrect because it is incorrectly saying that the pen and the ten cents are the same thing; a pen cannot be ten cents; it can be a writing instrument, it can be a bargain, it can even be a weapon in some cases, but it cannot be ten cents. One-tenth of a dollar is ten cents, a dime is ten cents, but a pen is not.

 

Are you getting it? Probably, but since I've already started, please let me finish...

 

Okay, now let's look at the immigration sentence:

 

The greatest change in my life was when I immigrated to the US.

 

This sentence means that "change" and "when I immigrated..." are the same thing; they in fact are not.

 

Like I said, this is a classic mistake, and the classic correction is:

 

The greatest change in my life occurred/happened when I immigrated to the US.

 

(Do you see where I'm heading now???)

 

So, in our original question, E says:

 

 

The came's domestication was around the twelfth century B.C....

 

GMAT cleverly hides this mistake by using "to have been" instead of a simple be-verb, but "to have been" is one of the many variants of was, were, is, are, am, etc.

 

The funny thing is that GMAT uses the classic correction as well:

 

domestication... occurred... when...

 

Finally, I just have to comment: I imagine that if GMAT had to explain this grammar point, they would say in their typical, cryptic fashion something like this:

 

E incorrectly uses an adverb clause as the noun complement of the subject "domestication." :D

 

 

 

Okay, what have we learned???

 

This:

 

 

NOUN + BE-VERB + NOUN/ADJECTIVE

 

For example:

 

The change was good for me.

 

The change was a good one one for me.

 

The change was an important step for me in my life.

 

BUT NEVER

 

The change was when I came to the US.

 

In other words, noun complements (the words that come after a be-verb and modify nouns) should only be nouns or adjectives (although we often use adverbs when we want to describe location, but more on that later, if you like; this explanation is getting pretty long!!).

 

 

 

I think that's it. I hope what I've said makes sense and is clear, but please be sure to post back with questions or doubts. :)

[mayur]

Erin,

In option D the expression is "dated to have occured around the 12th century BC". As far as I know, one of the instances in which "have" is used is when a past action occurs and time is not stated. For example, he has come (time not stated). He came yesterday (Time stated). In option D, how can "have" be used when the states the time - 12th century? I think , in that case © would be appropriate. Of course, I know that the OA is (D). Please Correct me if I am wrong?

[kaus]

Here another view, it was another classic error of modifier problem

 

"The domestication of the camel" => 12th century BC people domesticated camel

"Camel's domestication " => ambiguous i.e. Camel was domesticating something....which is awkward

[MikeJung]

thansk for the insight!