Sc : The Anglo-Zanzibar War, lasting only 45 minutes,

[kartik1979]

The Anglo-Zanzibar War, lasting only 45 minutes, was fought between United Kingdom and Zanzibar on 27 August 1896; they hold the record of being the shortest war in recorded history.

A. lasting only 45 minutes, was fought between United Kingdom and Zanzibar on 27 August 1896; they hold
B. which lasted only 45 minutes, was fought between United Kingdom and Zanzibar on 27 August 1896; they
hold
C. which lasted only 45 minutes, had been fought between United Kingdom and Zanzibar on 27 August 1896; it holds
D. which lasted only 45 minutes, was fought between United Kingdom and Zanzibar on 27 August 1896; it holds
E. lasting only 45 minutes, was fought between United Kingdom and Zanzibar on 27 August 1896; it holds

was stuck between choice C and D
I Choose ans C ,on hindsight i realized it was wrong as past tense would suffice as it holds is in present tense but i had a doubt : is this sentence correctely written , Does was fought modify 45 minutes ot the its subject "The Anglo-Zanzibar War"

Thanks in advance ( Souce 800 test)

[RonPurewal]

The Anglo-Zanzibar War, lasting only 45 minutes, was fought between United Kingdom and Zanzibar on 27 August 1896; they hold the record of being the shortest war in recorded history.

A. lasting only 45 minutes, was fought between United Kingdom and Zanzibar on 27 August 1896; they hold
B. which lasted only 45 minutes, was fought between United Kingdom and Zanzibar on 27 August 1896; they
hold
C. which lasted only 45 minutes, had been fought between United Kingdom and Zanzibar on 27 August 1896; it holds
D. which lasted only 45 minutes, was fought between United Kingdom and Zanzibar on 27 August 1896; it holds
E. lasting only 45 minutes, was fought between United Kingdom and Zanzibar on 27 August 1896; it holds

was stuck between choice C and D
I Choose ans C ,on hindsight i realized it was wrong as past tense would suffice as it holds is in present tense but i had a doubt : is this sentence correctely written , Does was fought modify 45 minutes ot the its subject "The Anglo-Zanzibar War"

Thanks in advance ( Souce 800 test)

that's not a modifier. that's the main verb!

if you eliminate the "which" modifier, this is easier to see. notice, though, that this construction starts with "was" (a verb). modifiers can't start with verbs.

incidentally, "United Kingdom" should be preceded by "the".

[pawan_chitturu]

I am stuck between option "D" and "E"; request somebody to explain

[k.jhunjhunwala92]

Hi,

Can someone please explain why "lasting" - modifier here cannot be used for describing the Anglo-Zanibar War.. Will appreciate any help.

[tim]

No one here has commented on "lasting"; the only reason to wonder whether it is acceptable is because it is the definitive split between D and E in the question as written. That is precisely the reason why this question is flawed in a way that you won't see on the GMAT. Please understand that using practice questions from dubious sources can actually hurt your performance, and be careful which problem sources you use.