question from kaplan

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ritish: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 34; Joined: Fri May 23, 2008 6:04 pm

by ritish » Mon Apr 20, 2009 4:37 am

Before George Eliot became the popular and respected novelist known as George Eliot,she was an anonymous translator and essayist of formidably far-ranging scholarship

a.Before George Eliot became the popular and respected novelist known as George Eliot,she was

b.Before she had been the popular and respected novelist George Eliot,she was

c.George Eliot became has been the popular and respected novelist, George Eliot,after such time as she was

d.Before George Eliot became the popular and respected novelist, George Eliot,she was

e.George Eliot, before she was the popular and respected novelist, George Eliot, had been

can some one explain this plz[/b]

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Mon Apr 20, 2009 4:37 am

mikeCoolBoy: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 119; Joined: Tue Jan 20, 2009 10:16 pm; Thanked: 9 times; GMAT Score:730

by mikeCoolBoy » Mon Apr 20, 2009 6:53 am

IMO E

I think we need to correlate the events in the past so had been is necessary. Therefore I would eliminate A,C and D

Between B and E, I go for E that properly correlates the events. Also I think she is ambiguous in B

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mals24: Legendary Member; Posts: 683; Joined: Tue Jul 22, 2008 1:58 pmFollowed by: 2 members; Location: Dubai; Thanked: 73 times

by mals24 » Mon Apr 20, 2009 7:09 am

B uses 'had been' incorrectly. If there are 2 events that took place in the past, you'd use 'had been' for the 1st event. In this case before he became known as George Eliot is the later event. So you need simple past.

Also you use past perfect when 2 events take place in the past and the sequence of the events is unclear. So in my opinion you dont need the past perfect tense, because the use of the word 'before' clearly specifies which event takes place first and which occurs later.

C is a very awkward construction.

Now its difficult to choose between A and D. But I'd go for A.

The use of comma before the 2nd George Eliot in D doesn't seem right to me. Though I can't find a strong reason to eliminate this option.

A seems to be comparatively better. So I'll choose A.

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ritish: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 34; Joined: Fri May 23, 2008 6:04 pm

by ritish » Mon Apr 20, 2009 7:51 am

The correct ans is A.

any reasons for E being incorrect....?

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mals24: Legendary Member; Posts: 683; Joined: Tue Jul 22, 2008 1:58 pmFollowed by: 2 members; Location: Dubai; Thanked: 73 times

by mals24 » Mon Apr 20, 2009 8:00 am

mals24 wrote:
Also you use past perfect when 2 events take place in the past and the sequence of the events is unclear. So in my opinion you dont need the past perfect tense, because the use of the word 'before' clearly specifies which event takes place first and which occurs later.

This is the same reason to eliminate E. I believe you don't need past perfect here, when 'before' is already given. The sequence of past events is quite clear.

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ritish: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 34; Joined: Fri May 23, 2008 6:04 pm

by ritish » Mon Apr 20, 2009 8:03 am

THanks a lot mals24...

U are being of great help to the Gmat community over here...

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gmat740: MBA Student; Posts: 1194; Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2008 9:42 pmFollowed by: 17 members; Location: Paris, France; Thanked: 71 times; GMAT Score:710

by gmat740 » Mon Apr 20, 2009 5:36 pm

Hi Mals24

What's incorrect with D??
Only Comma?

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mals24: Legendary Member; Posts: 683; Joined: Tue Jul 22, 2008 1:58 pmFollowed by: 2 members; Location: Dubai; Thanked: 73 times

by mals24 » Tue Apr 21, 2009 3:07 am

Hi Karan

Well like I said the use of comma before the 2nd George Eliot dint seem right to me.
Also in D: before George Eliot....became George Eliot - seems a little awkward. The use of 'known as' in option A makes the meaning more clearer that before Eliot became a more known name bla bla bla.

So overall I found A more convincing than D.

@ Ritish

Firstly thank you so much for the kind words

Secondly if you dont mind can you post Kaplan's explanation for eliminating D.
Thanks

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iamcste: Legendary Member; Posts: 940; Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2008 3:22 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 55 times

by iamcste » Tue Apr 21, 2009 7:25 am

mals24 wrote:B uses 'had been' incorrectly. If there are 2 events that took place in the past, you'd use 'had been' for the 1st event. In this case before he became known as George Eliot is the later event. So you need simple past.

Also you use past perfect when 2 events take place in the past and the sequence of the events is unclear. So in my opinion you dont need the past perfect tense, because the use of the word 'before' clearly specifies which event takes place first and which occurs later.

C is a very awkward construction.

Now its difficult to choose between A and D. But I'd go for A.

The use of comma before the 2nd George Eliot in D doesn't seem right to me. Though I can't find a strong reason to eliminate this option.

A seems to be comparatively better. So I'll choose A.

Nice explanation mals24

In betweem, I think in D , George Eliot is set off in a pair of commas making it irrelvant. However, it is need of the sentence to differentiate her new popular identity from her former role of an anonymous translator

I vouch undoubtedly for A

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ritish: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 34; Joined: Fri May 23, 2008 6:04 pm

by ritish » Tue Apr 21, 2009 8:39 am

Dont hyper correct.about one fifth of the sentence corrections will be correct as is.many of these sound like something you'd never say or write unless you were sitting for a term paper.George Eliot didnt become George Eliot,as (B),(C),(D), AND (E) have it.she became known as George Eliot.The word "before" determines the sequence of events in the sentence.Hence,"Before George Eliot became.....she was..."

THIS IS THE COMPLETE EXPLANATION GIVEN IN THE BOOK..

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