Evidence suggesting or evidence to suggest
I am studying for the sentence correction part of the GMAT exam and one of the questions had me confused for a while because the answer explanation did not hit the nail on the head. I think I might post it here and really appreciate it if any native speakers could elaborate further. The question goes as follows and words in the buckets are for correction. The answer is C.

Australian embryologists have found evidence [that suggests that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal, and its trunk originally evolving as a kind of snorkel].

(A) that has suggested the elephant descended from an aquatic animal, its trunk originally evolving

(B) suggesting that the elephant had descended from an aquatic animal with its trunk originally evolved

(C) to suggest that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal and that its trunk originally evolved

My question: is [evidence to suggest that] a correct grammatical construction? Should it be suggesting rather than to suggesting?

Question

Evidence suggesting or evidence to suggest
I am studying for the sentence correction part of the GMAT exam and one of the questions had me confused for a while because the answer explanation did not hit the nail on the head. I think I might post it here and really appreciate it if any native speakers could elaborate further. The question goes as follows and words in the buckets are for correction. The answer is C.

Australian embryologists have found evidence [that suggests that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal, and its trunk originally evolving as a kind of snorkel].

(A) that has suggested the elephant descended from an aquatic animal, its trunk originally evolving

(B) suggesting that the elephant had descended from an aquatic animal with its trunk originally evolved

(C) to suggest that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal and that its trunk originally evolved

My question: is [evidence to suggest that] a correct grammatical construction? Should it be suggesting rather than to suggesting?

Answer

Yes, 'evidence to suggest' is a correct phrase.

Answer

You are right, I didn't notice the rest of the sentence, but one thing that I know, is that when the verb 'descend' is used to say 'to be a blood relative of (an ancestor)' it usually changes its form to a passive verb, and is particularly used with 'from' (i.e. be descended from) (you can check this in "Concise Oxford English Dictionary"). Still wondering why 'to suggest' is right here!

Answer

Yes, I'm sure. For A, the present perfect tense is inaccurate because the evidence still suggests these things
about the evolution of the elephant and its trunk. For B, had descended is the wrong verb tense; with cannot be followed by an independent clause.

Answer

Are you sure that the question is not asking about the 'wrong' answer? I think both A and B are correct!

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