Sentence Correction

In the English-Speaking world Anton Chekhov is by far better known for his plays than for his short stories, but it was during his lifetime that Chekhov's stories made him popular while his plays were given a more ambivalent reception, even by his fellow writers.

A)by far better known for his plays than for his short stories, but it was during his lifetime that
B)by far better known for his plays than he was for his short stories, but during his lifetime
C)Known far better for his plays than he was for his short stories, but during his lifetime
D)far better known for his plays than were his short stories, but it was during his lifetime that
E)far better known for his plays than for his short stories, but during his lifetime

my doubt:: i want to understand the usage of "by far". what makes option A so wrong? i got these following sentences regarding the usage of "by far" . kindly tell me if these constructions are rightly marked as "right" or "wrong"

Peter is by far more intelligent than his friends." ------>WRONG
"Peter is far more intelligent than his friends." ------> CORRECT
"Peter is more intelligent than his friends by far." ----->CORRECT

By far sounds wrong in choice A. Needs to just be far. One reason that by far is wrong, or at least sub optimal, in choice A is that the by is superfluous. Anton Chekhov is far better known does the trick, says it efficiently.

Also in choice A, but it was does not fit, throws off the logic of the sentence, making it seem as if there is some comparison between during his lifetime and some other time while actually the comparison in the second half of the sentence is between how the stories were received and how the plays were received, both during his lifetime.

I can also say that by far makes more sense in this sentence, Among them, John is the worst by far.

I think on the GMAT the second of your three examples would be the OA, and the other two would probably be considered sub optimal. Peter is far more intelligent than his friends. is a clear, concise description.

So maybe the answer is that far is the one to use directly with comparative adverbs and adjectives, in such cases as far better known, far more quickly or far bigger. That's nice and clear and concise, and in a GMAT SC answer that's what they are looking for. For example one would say This car is far more expensive than that one. Clearly no need for a by there.

Then, by far could be used with the word the and nouns in cases like by far the worst or the biggest by far. One would not say John is far the biggest. One would say John is by far the biggest. One would not say John is far the bigger. One would say John is the bigger by far. Worst and bigger in these cases are nouns. So I am going with the idea that by far is best used with the and nouns.

Maybe someone else will have more insight regarding far versus by far. That's where I am on this one. Hope that helps.

aditya8062 wrote:my doubt:: i want to understand the usage of "by far". what makes option A so wrong? i got these following sentences regarding the usage of "by far" . kindly tell me if these constructions are rightly marked as "right" or "wrong"

The COMPARATIVE form of an adjective serves to compare two things:
Adam is TALLER than Bob.
Chocolate is MORE POPULAR than vanilla.

The SUPERLATIVE form of an adjective serves to indicate the MOST EXTREME member of a group:
Adam is the TALLEST member of the team.
Chocolate is the MOST POPULAR flavor of ice cream.

Generally, by far serves to modify a SUPERLATIVE:
John is BY FAR the TALLEST member of the team.
Chocolate is the MOST POPULAR flavor of ice cream BY FAR.

To modify a COMPARATIVE, far is sufficient:
Chocolate is FAR MORE POPULAR than vanilla.

Answer choice A in the SC above:
Anton Chekhov is by far better known.
Here, by far incorrectly serves to modify a comparative (better known).
Eliminate A.

Peter is by far more intelligent than his friends." ------>WRONG
"Peter is far more intelligent than his friends." ------> CORRECT
"Peter is more intelligent than his friends by far." ----->CORRECT

Since by far cannot serve to modify a comparative (more intelligent), only the second sentence is correct.
The following would also be correct:
Peter is BY FAR the MOST INTELLIGENT student in our school.
Here, by far correctly serves to modify a superlative (most intelligent).

wow !! thanks Guru
after reading your reasoning, i realised as why option A is so wrong .it cleansed my mind just as drinking TWININGS does !!
Thanks again