* 73.Evolutionary psychology holds that the human mind...

[gmatkiller_24]

Hi, Ron:

is "tense" here an issue?

because in choice B, we had "were developed" → which means that we are talking about an isolated historical event

but in C / D, we had " have been developed"

Please clarify, thanks!

[VipulG312]

Hi Ron,Sorry for opening old thread, I thought the author’s intended meaning is most probably with the first one option, now what if , the author wants to convey , the way , i mean, how these mechanisms are developed rather than for what these mechanisms are developed which is" the intended meaning of B"
If A is grammatical correct, as you said , then i guess A should be the most favorable ans

[RonPurewal]

i'm sorry, but i can't tell what you are trying to ask. please try to phrase your question in a way that's easier to understand (and, hopefully, that ends with "?").

[RonPurewal]

in any case, remember—there is no 'preference' for the meaning of choice A (nor is there any 'preference' for choice A, in any way whatsoever).
• if a choice has a reasonable meaning, then that meaning is acceptable.
• if a choice has an unreasonable meaning, then that meaning is not acceptable.
end of story.

(also, A is not the correct answer)

[VipulG312]

in any case, remember—there is no 'preference' for the meaning of choice A (nor is there any 'preference' for choice A, in any way whatsoever).
• if a choice has a reasonable meaning, then that meaning is acceptable.
• if a choice has an unreasonable meaning, then that meaning is not acceptable.
end of story.

(also, A is not the correct answer)

Thanks Ron,

That was my only query, ,which is resolved,if two options are grammatically correct,out of which one is A, both have shift in meaning, , will A be preferred, thanks again

[RonPurewal]

if there are N options with correct grammar, then only one option will have a reasonable meaning, and the other (N – 1) options will have meanings that are nonsense and/or clearly unintended.

it will NEVER make any difference which choice happens to be choice A. remember, there is absolutely nothing 'special' or 'preferred' about the original sentence.

basically, just think of the problem as though the underline were a giant blank, with the five choices presented as usual. (since the underline is now blank, there's no 'original'.) that is how SC works.

[RonPurewal]

at this point you may be wondering why choice A appears in the underlined part. in other words, you may be thinking, "okay, then, why don't they just put a blank there?"

there is one, and only one, reason why they do this: to make it easier for you to figure out the intended meaning.
(try typing out a couple of problems and replacing the underlined part with a giant blank. it will suddenly be MUCH harder to gather the intended meaning, because the whole idea will no longer appear in one place.)

[whereisraihan]

Hi Ron,

Would you please explain " that were developed" in option B? I thought " have been developed" is correct. and chose wrong option. I am confused about the meaning in the correct option.

[RonPurewal]

the context makes it clear that the 'development' was finished millions of years ago. so, past tense.

I thought " have been developed" is correct.

^^ this isn't a great way to start a discussion... the only real response i can give is "well... sorry, no."

WHY did you think this is correct?

...and, more importantly, WHY did you think that the simple past ('were developed') is NOT correct?

[gmatkiller_24]

the context makes it clear that the 'development' was finished millions of years ago. so, past tense.

I thought " have been developed" is correct.

^^ this isn't a great way to start a discussion... the only real response i can give is "well... sorry, no."

WHY did you think this is correct?

...and, more importantly, WHY did you think that the simple past ('were developed') is NOT correct?

because in choice B, we had "were developed" → which means that we are talking about an isolated historical event

but in C / D, we had " have been developed"

it seems to me the tense is a split here

[RonPurewal]

the essential feature of 'has/have ___ed' is that it takes a present point of view.

in other words, if i mention things that 'have been developed', i need to write something that shows why that development matters NOW, in the present timeframe.
e.g.,
The Rubik's cube bores me, because I don't enjoy solving puzzles for which algorithms have already been developed.

in the sentence at hand, the relevance is not in the present timeframe, but, rather, in the timeframe of our distant ancestors.

[CrystalSpringston]

Hi Expert,
Would you pls share your insights on my questions about the idiom" not...but" ?

Per my understanding, in not A but B, A should be paralleled with B.
Is it a hard rule?

Eg: A tomato is NOT a vegetable BUT a fruit.
I know it is perfect in parallelism.But could we also say:
A tomato is NOT a vegetable BUT is a fruit.
Is it correct in grammar?

What I want to know is whether there is any circumstance that we need to supplement the Verb to avoid ambiguity, even though it breaks the parallelism in this way?

Thank you

[RonPurewal]

call the two parallel things 'A' and 'B'... it's possible to have
A, but B
in which 'not' is just part of 'A'.

consider:
Rachel is inexperienced, BUT is eager to learn.
Rachel is not an expert, BUT is eager to learn.
these two sentences work in exactly the same way.

[CrystalSpringston]

call the two parallel things 'A' and 'B'... it's possible to have
A, but B
in which 'not' is just part of 'A'.

consider:
Rachel is inexperienced, BUT is eager to learn.
Rachel is not an expert, BUT is eager to learn.
these two sentences work in exactly the same way.

Oh, if we take "not" as part of A, it is easier to understand. Because I encounter some questions where A and B seem not paralleled in correct answers.
I feel better now. So impressive your explanation is.
Thank you.

[RonPurewal]

sure.