Guy de Maupassant's Short Stories

This topic has expert replies
User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 777
Joined: Fri Jan 01, 2010 4:02 am
Location: Mumbai, India
Thanked: 117 times
Followed by:47 members

Guy de Maupassant's Short Stories

by komal » Mon Jan 25, 2010 3:29 am
Famed for his masterful use of irony, many of Guy de Maupassant's short stories have become classics due to the author slowly revealing at the end of each piece a tragic twist of fate.


A. Famed for his masterful use of irony, many of Guy de Maupassant's short stories have become classics due to the author slowly revealing at the end of each piece a tragic twist of fate.

B. Many of Guy de Maupassant's short stories have become classics because of how he famously and masterfully uses irony, evident in the slow revelation of a tragic twist of fate at the end of each piece.

C. Famed for using irony in a masterful way, many of Guy de Maupassant's short stories have become classics because of the author slowly revealing a tragic twist of fate at the end of each piece.

D. Many of Guy de Maupassant's short stories have become classics because of the author's famed and masterful use of irony, evidenced in the slow revelation of a tragic twist of fate at the end of each piece.

E. Many of Guy de Maupassant's short stories have become classics because he slowly revealed a tragic twist of fate at the end of each piece, demonstrating his famed and masterful use of irony.
Source: — Sentence Correction |

User avatar
MBA Student
Posts: 403
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2009 7:32 pm
Thanked: 98 times
Followed by:22 members

by fibbonnaci » Mon Jan 25, 2010 3:48 am
A. Famed for his masterful use of irony, many of Guy de Maupassant's short stories have become classics due to the author slowly revealing at the end of each piece a tragic twist of fate. [ his refers to whom?? also there is a modifier error. famed for.. modifies the stories which is wrong]

B. Many of Guy de Maupassant's short stories have become classics because of how he famously and masterfully uses irony, evident in the slow revelation of a tragic twist of fate at the end of each piece. [ pronoun ambiguity. what does 'he' refer to? subject is maupassant's stories]

C. Famed for using irony in a masterful way, many of Guy de Maupassant's short stories have become classics because of the author slowly revealing a tragic twist of fate at the end of each piece. [ wrong modifier. suggests as if the stories were using irony in a masterful way]

D. Many of Guy de Maupassant's short stories have become classics because of the author's famed and masterful use of irony, evidenced in the slow revelation of a tragic twist of fate at the end of each piece. [ correct!]

E. Many of Guy de Maupassant's short stories have become classics because he slowly revealed a tragic twist of fate at the end of each piece, demonstrating his famed and masterful use of irony.[ what does ' he' refer to? subject is M's short stories]

Hope this helps!

User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 758
Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2009 9:32 pm
Location: Bangalore,India
Thanked: 67 times
Followed by:2 members

by sumanr84 » Mon May 31, 2010 10:12 am
I guess D is the right answer for the reasons stated by fibbonnaci.

whats the OA ? anyone know ?
I am on a break !!

User avatar
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2012 9:42 am

by SOM4GMAT » Tue Apr 17, 2012 9:43 am
The original sentence begins with the modifier "Famed for his masterful use of irony,"
which requires a person as its subject. However, in the original sentence, "many of
Guy de Maupassant's short stories" is the subject. Moreover, the phrase "due to the
author slowly revealing" is awkward.

Has To Be "D"

Legendary Member
Posts: 2789
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:19 am
Location: Chennai, India
Thanked: 206 times
Followed by:43 members
GMAT Score:640

by GmatKiss » Tue Apr 17, 2012 12:05 pm
OA should be D

• Page 1 of 1