dinesh19aug wrote:GMATGuruNY wrote:ankurmit wrote:Until Antoine Lavoisier proved otherwise in the eighteenth century, many scientists had believed that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood. 1.many scientists had believed that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood.
2.many scientists believed that phlogiston was an imaginary substance released by combustion and its properties were not fully understood
3.phlogiston was an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood and which many scientists had believed was released by combustion
4.phlogiston, an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood, was believed by scientists to be released by combustion
5.many scientists had believed that phlogiston was released by combustion and was an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood
Quickest approach:
Since the action of believing was completed before another past action (
proved), we need the past perfect tense
had believed. Eliminate B and D.
In C, the pronoun
which is incorrect and should be replaced with the pronoun
that. Eliminate C. (One easy way to spot the error: in most cases the pronoun
which should be preceded by a comma.)
Between A and E, E is passive (
phlogiston was released by combustion) and lacks parallelism (the sentence should say
that phlogiston was released by combustion and that it was an imaginary substance). Also, if you're left with A and another answer choice, and you can't spot a clear error in A, eliminate the other answer choice and pick A. It's much safer to stick with the original sentence.
The correct answer is A.
Ummmm.... I am not too sure of that. E should be the correct answer. The questions clearly says that -"Antoine Lavoisier proved ....." ... He proved 2 things - 1) Phlo.. was realeased by combustion
2) It was imaginary.
Just because the first part is passive, we cannot rule it out. Passive voices ARE correct at times, when they reflect the meaning clearly.
Secondly, we can drop the subject after and when the same idea is being carried forward. For ex -
Sam is the biggest contributor to the society and is also, the biggest donor.
Yes, passive voice can be in the correct answer. But if given a choice, we should avoid passive voice. If A is in active voice and E is in passive voice, we shouldn't pick E unless A has a clear error.
The example that you cited about Sam is ok because it's parallel: Sam is
the biggest contributor...and
the biggest donor. Sam is [noun] and [noun]. E does not give us such a parallel structure:
...many scientists had believed that phlogiston was released...and was an imaginary substance.
In, E the structure is phlogiston was [verb] and was [noun], a structure that lacks parallelism.
Another reason that answer choice E cannot be correct: it changes the intended meaning of the sentence. E says that
many scientists had believed that phlogiston...was an imaginary substance. This is not what the scientists had believed; it was what Antoine
proved.
And what I mentioned above still holds true: if you're left with A and another answer choice, and you can't spot a clear error in A, you should pick A.
Private tutor exclusively for the GMAT and GRE, with over 20 years of experience.
Followed here and elsewhere by over 1900 test-takers.
I have worked with students based in the US, Australia, Taiwan, China, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia -- a long list of countries.
My students have been admitted to HBS, CBS, Tuck, Yale, Stern, Fuqua -- a long list of top programs.
As a tutor, I don't simply teach you how I would approach problems.
I unlock the best way for YOU to solve problems.
For more information, please email me (Mitch Hunt) at
[email protected].
Student Review #1
Student Review #2
Student Review #3
