Sentence Correction

A recording system was so secretly installed and operated in the Kennedy Oval Office that even Theodore C. Sorensen, the White House counsel, did not know it existed.
(A) A recording system was so secretly installed and operated in the Kennedy Oval Office that
(B) So secret was a recording system installation and operation in the Kennedy Oval Office
(C) It was so secret that a recording system was installed and operated in the Kennedy Oval Office
(D) A recording system that was so secretly installed and operated in the Kennedy Oval Office
(E) Installed and operated so secretly in the Kennedy Oval Office was a recording system that


I am confused between (A) and (E)

Please help the OA is not provided.

This is an OG question and the correct answer is A.

E - "that even Theodore C. Sorensen, the White House counsel, did not know it existed " : is only modifying the "recording system". This is not what the original sentence would mean.

Hope this helps !!

All, except A, are indirect speeches (not preferred on GMAT)

You posted a thread about this question the other day: https://www.beatthegmat.com/pronoun-t112779.html

Bill@VeritasPrep wrote:A is fine as is.

B changes to "...was a recording system installation and operation", which is awkward.

C "It was so secret..." is awkward, and we need a conjunction (like "that") at the end to connect to the rest of the sentence.

D is messy all around. The easiest way to eliminate it is the lack of a conjunction at the end (as in C)

E moves the placement of "so secretly" to after "installed and operated", which I think distorts the meaning.

In A, it's clear that "so secretly" modifies both "installed and operated", whereas E could be read to indicate that it was only the operation that was so secret.

ronnie1985 wrote:A recording system was so secretly installed and operated in the Kennedy Oval Office that even Theodore C. Sorensen, the White House counsel, did not know it existed.
(A) A recording system was so secretly installed and operated in the Kennedy Oval Office that
(E) Installed and operated so secretly in the Kennedy Oval Office was a recording system that

I am confused between (A) and (E). Please help the OA is not provided.

My take on A and E:

A: A recording system was so secretly installed and operated in the Kennedy Oval Office {that even Theodore C. Sorensen, the White House counsel, did not know it existed}.

Main clause: A recording system was so secretly installed and operated in the Kennedy Oval Office

Main subject: A recording system; VERB: Was;

MODIFIER: secretly installed and operated in the Kennedy Oval Office

SECRETLY = ADVERB (that modifies non-conjugated verb: INSTALLED AND OPERATED)

Main clause: A recording system (SUBJECT) Was(VERB)so secretly (ADVERB) installed and operated (VERBED)

Lets turn to E:Installed and operated so secretly in the Kennedy Oval Office was a recording system {that...}

Main clause: Installed and operated so secretly in the Kennedy Oval Office was a recording system. Its inverted sentence, SUBJECT (a recording system); VERB (Was);

A recording system Was Installed and operated so secretly in the Kennedy Oval Office

here SECRETLY = ADEVRB BUT modifies a prep phrase (IMO that is not correct);

Structurally there is no difference between A and E but the placement of SECRETLY is NOT CORRECT in E.

patanjali.purpose wrote:

ronnie1985 wrote:A recording system was so secretly installed and operated in the Kennedy Oval Office that even Theodore C. Sorensen, the White House counsel, did not know it existed.
(A) A recording system was so secretly installed and operated in the Kennedy Oval Office that
(E) Installed and operated so secretly in the Kennedy Oval Office was a recording system that

I am confused between (A) and (E). Please help the OA is not provided.

My take on A and E:

A: A recording system was so secretly installed and operated in the Kennedy Oval Office {that even Theodore C. Sorensen, the White House counsel, did not know it existed}.

Main clause: A recording system was so secretly installed and operated in the Kennedy Oval Office

Main subject: A recording system; VERB: Was;

MODIFIER: secretly installed and operated in the Kennedy Oval Office

SECRETLY = ADVERB (that modifies non-conjugated verb: INSTALLED AND OPERATED)

Main clause: A recording system (SUBJECT) Was(VERB)so secretly (ADVERB) installed and operated (VERBED)

Lets turn to E:Installed and operated so secretly in the Kennedy Oval Office was a recording system {that...}

Main clause: Installed and operated so secretly in the Kennedy Oval Office was a recording system. Its inverted sentence, SUBJECT (a recording system); VERB (Was);

A recording system Was Installed and operated so secretly in the Kennedy Oval Office

here SECRETLY = ADEVRB BUT modifies a prep phrase (IMO that is not correct);

Structurally there is no difference between A and E but the placement of SECRETLY is NOT CORRECT in E.

on what basis do u say the placement of SECRETLY is NOT CORRECT in E.

It's subtle, but here's the biggest problem with (E):

Take this sentence "I have a record player that I did not know it existed."

See how the "it" doesn't belong there? The reason is that the word "that" there just goes to modify "record player" - there's no need for a pronoun and it actually detracts from the sentence.

That's what's going on in E - because the word "that" sets up that second portion of the sentence, the "surprise" that Sorensen didn't even know about the recording system, the inclusion of the pronoun "it" is disjointed.

That sentence also loses the cause-and-effect relationship that's central to its meaning. By saying in A "the recording system was so X that Sorensen didn't know about it", the original sentence uses the "so X that Y" structure to demonstrate cause and effect. E loses that - the word "that" after "recording system" in E is disconnected from the "so X that Y" structure, and so the sentence loses that meaning. In E, "that" just goes to further modify "system" (I have a system that works...) and not to finish that construction.

Hope that helps...

Brian@VeritasPrep wrote:It's subtle, but here's the biggest problem with (E):

Take this sentence "I have a record player that I did not know it existed."

See how the "it" doesn't belong there? The reason is that the word "that" there just goes to modify "record player" - there's no need for a pronoun and it actually detracts from the sentence.

That's what's going on in E - because the word "that" sets up that second portion of the sentence, the "surprise" that Sorensen didn't even know about the recording system, the inclusion of the pronoun "it" is disjointed.

That sentence also loses the cause-and-effect relationship that's central to its meaning. By saying in A "the recording system was so X that Sorensen didn't know about it", the original sentence uses the "so X that Y" structure to demonstrate cause and effect. E loses that - the word "that" after "recording system" in E is disconnected from the "so X that Y" structure, and so the sentence loses that meaning. In E, "that" just goes to further modify "system" (I have a system that works...) and not to finish that construction.

Hope that helps...

Thanks Brian! your explanations are amazing!