bryan88 wrote:The nineteenth-century Russian composers known as The Five were united by their holding an ideal of a national music based on folk melodies and themes.

A) were united by their holding
B)had as their uniting ideal
C)united each other with
D)united behind
E)were united with

Is there am idiom here?

patanjali.purpose wrote:

bryan88 wrote:The nineteenth-century Russian composers known as The Five were united by their holding an ideal of a national music based on folk melodies and themes.

D)united behind
E)were united with

IMO D - note that ITS NOT A FRAGMENT "UNITED" IS A VERB.

yeah thanx for pointing that out but then also the option D states

The nineteenth-century Russian composers known as The Five united behind an ideal of a national music based on folk melodies and themes.

This changes the meaning of the original sentence
As per original sentence the composers were united for long and the ideal was X.

but this sentence changes the meaning to --> composers were initially not united and confronting something they just decided to unite behind the ideal X.


But E keeps the original meaning intact.Hence E is best.

killer1387 wrote:

patanjali.purpose wrote:

bryan88 wrote:The nineteenth-century Russian composers known as The Five were united by their holding an ideal of a national music based on folk melodies and themes.

D)united behind
E)were united with

IMO D - note that ITS NOT A FRAGMENT "UNITED" IS A VERB.

yeah thanx for pointing that out but then also the option D states

The nineteenth-century Russian composers known as The Five united behind an ideal of a national music based on folk melodies and themes.

This changes the meaning of the original sentence
As per original sentence the composers were united for long and the ideal was X.

but this sentence changes the meaning to --> composers were initially not united and confronting something they just decided to unite behind the ideal X.


But E keeps the original meaning intact.Hence E is best.

THE COMPOSERS WERE UNITED BY XX.

It appears XX UNITED the composers - this may or may not be the intended meaning. The meaning is that composers were united behind an ideal, not with an ideal. If say UNITED WITH AN IDEAL...it sounds as if composers and ideal were separate before!

D does not change the meaning - it gives a right meaning to original sentence but avoiding BY...and clearly showing that the composers were united for an ideal. Note, original sentence says, THE COMPOSERS WERE UNITED BY XX. It appears XX UNITED the composers - Can XX (IDEAL) UNITE COMPOSERS? choice D gives correct meaning to original sentence by avoiding any ambiguity.