it was not until...

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it was not until...

by ozlemmetje » Thu Jan 22, 2015 6:50 am
Hello all!

Can someone explain to me why answer a is wrong?Or why should I prefer answer B?
Thanks!

While the author began planning the book in 1938, until 1950 he did not begin to actually write it.


a)until 1950 he did not begin to actually write it

b)it was not until 1950 that he actually began to write it

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by [email protected] » Sun Jan 25, 2015 10:39 pm
Hi ozlemmetje,

There are a number of factors that make Answer B the correct answer, but the 'biggest' is Parallelism.

The first part of the sentence uses the phrase "began planning", which establishes the past tense verb and gives us something to "match" the second phrase to. Answer B uses "began to write..." which is parallel.

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by GMATGuruNY » Wed Jan 28, 2015 11:17 am
ozlemmetje wrote:Hello all!

Can someone explain to me why answer a is wrong?Or why should I prefer answer B?
Thanks!

While the author began planning the book in 1938, until 1950 he did not begin to actually write it.


a)until 1950 he did not begin to actually write it

b)it was not until 1950 that he actually began to write it
One purpose of while is to express a contrast between two CONCURRENT events.
An OA from GMAC:
While Hans Holbein the Younger is most often identified with his English portraits, scholars have long recognized him as a superb draftsman.
Here, two contrasting events -- that Hans Hobein is most often identified with his English portraits and that scholars have long recognized him as a superb draftsman -- happen concurrently.

While the author began planning the book in 1938, it was not until 1950 that he actually began to write it.
Here, the two events are NOT concurrent.
The first took place IN 1938; the second, NOT UNTIL 1950.
It is inappropriate to use while to express a contrast between two events that are not concurrent.

The sentence posted above is not viable.
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