Test Question?

Hi,

Which do you think is correct, a or b?

An acorn, left to itself becomes an oak, and a geneticist ___ its DNA to make it grow into an elm may justly be said ___ with its natural course.

A) altering / to have interfered
B) having altered / to interfere
A.

Best wishes, Clive

I think B makes the second clause more parallel to the first.

Ikia

Hi,

To do that with B, you'd have to change it to having altered / to have interfered in my opinion

Best wishes, Clive

So with the answer our sentence becomes like this:

An acorn, left to itself becomes an oak, and a geneticist altering its DNA to make it grow into an elm may justly be said to have interfered with its natural course.

The thing I wonder, which one would you choose to say something similar?

It may justly be said that a geneticist who alters the DNA of an acorn (which becomes an oak when it is left to itself) to make it grow into an elm has interfered with its natural course.

It may justly be said that a geneticist who has altered the DNA of an acorn (which becomes an oak when it is left to itself) to make it grow into an elm interferes with its natural course.

It may justly be said that a geneticist who has altered the DNA of an acorn (which becomes an oak when it is left to itself) to make it grow into an elm has interfered with its natural course.

It may justly be said that a geneticist who alteres the DNA of an acorn (which becomes an oak when it is left to itself) to make it grow into an elm interferes with its natural course.

Dear Mamger,

It is a most interesting question. It is my opinion that A is the answer. It is further my opinion that the best paraphrase is as follows:-

It may justly be said that a geneticist who alters the DNA of an acorn (which becomes an oak when it is left to itself) to make it grow into an elm has interfered with its natural course.

Kind regards,

Goldmund

GoldmundDear Mamger,

It is a most interesting question. It is my opinion that A is the answer. It is further my opinion that the best paraphrase is as follows:-

It may justly be said that a geneticist who alters the DNA of an acorn (which becomes an oak when it is left to itself) to make it grow into an elm has interfered with its natural course.

Kind regards,

Goldmund

I agree 100% !

And which becomes first here - altering or interfering?

I take "a geneticist altering its DNA to make it grow into an elm" as a gerundive noun phrase which can be paraphrased as "that a geneticist altered the DNA of an acorn to make it grow into an elm".

paco