The intricate structure of the compound insect

The intricate structure of the compound insect eye, having hundreds of miniature eyes called ommatidia, help eplain why scientists have assumed that it evolved independently of the vertebrate eye.

3 Explanations

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Mohammad Ali Khan

Dear mike, please explain why "having" cant be used here.

Oct 7, 2017 • Comment

Adam

Hi Mohammad,

As Ron notes in this Manhattan thread:

https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/forums/because-there-are-provisions-t7381-75.html

If you have noun + , + __ing, then the __ing describes that initial noun. I.e., if there are other nouns in modifier(s) attached to that noun, then comma + __ing DOES NOT describe those closer nouns.

Thus, "having hundreds of miniature eyes" refers to "The intricate structure." That's not correct. It should refer to "the compound insect eye." It's not the structure that has eyes; it's the compound eye itself.

Oct 7, 2017 • Reply

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Leonid Varaksin

We can make a split:
A, B, C - contain "having" participle at the beginning of the underlined sentence. The subject "structure" needs a verb, therefore choices A,B,C -can be eliminated.
Between D & E we should choose singular verb "helps". So the answer is E

Aug 10, 2017 • Comment

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Mike McGarry, Magoosh Tutor