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rockeyb
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Topic: Trickey One
PostMon Nov 30, 2009 10:12 pm
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Art historians are using a process known as infrared scanning in analyzing the Mona Lisa to determine if it has been altered since completion and if Leonardo da Vinci first sketched the figure in black, as done by many artists of the time.

(A) if it has been altered since completion and if Leonardo da Vinci first sketched the figure in black, as done
(B) if it had been altered since completion and if Leonardo da Vinci first sketched the figure in black, a practice employed
(C) whether it has been altered since completion and whether Leonardo da Vinci first sketched the figure in black, a practice employed
(D) whether it was altered since completion and whether Leonardo da Vinci first sketched the figure in black, as was done
(E) whether it had been altered since completion and whether Leonardo da Vinci first sketched the figure in black, a practice done


Please provide explanation.

Ans : C
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PostMon Nov 30, 2009 11:16 pm
A and B can be eliminated for its use of "If.." rather than "Whether...". If is a conditional statement and no way it can be used in this context.

Coming to C, D and E. In D, "..., as was done" is used. There should be some word in place of "as" that can modify the whole sentence before comma. So, eliminate D.

In E, it uses "Whether it had been altered... " suddenly changing the tense form of the sentence to past perfect while the sentence is in present tense. Also, IMO "a practice employed" sounds better to me than "a practice done". However, this is secondary to eliminate E. Therefore, C is the best choice.
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PostTue Dec 01, 2009 12:28 am
"since" is a key word that indicates the tense needs to be in perfect tense because it indicates a period of time.
The meaning is "since completion... (up to and including now)", so perfect tense is needed. Choose C

had the sentence provided another past reference point, say something like "since completion until the 20th century...", it'd be clear the action took place and finished in the past and is no longer true at present, it would need past perfect, and E would've been the right choice.

D is simple past, meaning the action could've taken place any time in the past. but "since" indicates a perfect tense.

eliminate A and B based on papgust's explanation.
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rockeyb
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PostTue Dec 01, 2009 10:41 pm
papgust wrote:
A and B can be eliminated for its use of "If.." rather than "Whether...". If is a conditional statement and no way it can be used in this context.

Coming to C, D and E. In D, "..., as was done" is used. There should be some word in place of "as" that can modify the whole sentence before comma. So, eliminate D.

In E, it uses "Whether it had been altered... " suddenly changing the tense form of the sentence to past perfect while the sentence is in present tense. Also, IMO "a practice employed" sounds better to me than "a practice done". However, this is secondary to eliminate E. Therefore, C is the best choice.
.

Thanks guys for your explanation . Papgust in your explanation above you have mentioned "In D, "..., as was done" is used. There should be some word in place of "as" that can modify the whole sentence before comma. So, eliminate D".

Dose that mean AS can not be used as modifier Or is it in this context its not the correct modifier .

Can you clarify ?
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papgust
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PostTue Dec 01, 2009 11:15 pm
Because "as" does not modify the whole preceding sentence. In this context, it must modify the whole sentence. "As" modifies only the immediate antecedent.
But after the comma when "a practice.." is used, it modifies the whole preceding sentence. That's why we are eliminating A and D in this question.
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PostWed Dec 02, 2009 8:31 am
Hi, I'm new to beat the GMAT.com... Where is the correct (official) answer stated for the question please?
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PostWed Dec 02, 2009 11:43 pm
Hello LMR123 ,

Welcome to this forum , below every question there is a hidden part that is the correct answer . Do a mouse over and you will see the correct answer .
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rockeyb
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PostWed Dec 02, 2009 11:44 pm
papgust wrote:
Because "as" does not modify the whole preceding sentence. In this context, it must modify the whole sentence. "As" modifies only the immediate antecedent.
But after the comma when "a practice.." is used, it modifies the whole preceding sentence. That's why we are eliminating A and D in this question.
Thanks for explaining.
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