William Shakespeare

This topic has expert replies
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 111
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2012 11:09 am
Thanked: 1 times
Followed by:7 members

William Shakespeare

by Soumita Ghosh » Mon Feb 18, 2013 11:44 pm
Though it is now universally accepted that William Shakespeare was a real, historical person - which was once considered questionable - some still suspect him not to have written all of the works attributed as his own.


A)Though it is now universally accepted that William Shakespeare was a real, historical person - which was once considered questionable - some still suspect him not to have written all of the works attributed as his own.

B)Though William Shakespeare is now universally accepted to be a real, historical person - once considered as questionable - some still suspect him not to have written all of the works attributed to be his own.

C)William Shakespeare - now universally accepted as a real, historical person, though even this fact was once considered questionable - who is still suspected, by some, not to have written all of the works attributed to him.

D)Though it is now universally accepted that William Shakespeare was a real, historical person - a fact that was once considered questionable - he is still suspected, by some, of not having written all of the works attributed to him.

E)Some still suspect that William Shakespeare did not write all of the works attributed as his own, although it is now universally accepted that he was a real, historical person - a fact that was once considered questionable.

OA D

But I found D incorrect for the following reasons:

Firstly, phrase is complicated by adding so many commas.suspected then comma by some then again comma.

Secondly, use of not having make this sentence more complicated.

Thirdly, use of by some make this sentence in passive voice.

Please correct me if I am wrong?
Source: — Sentence Correction |

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 646
Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 7:08 am
Thanked: 322 times
Followed by:143 members

by Kasia@EconomistGMAT » Tue Feb 19, 2013 3:50 am
Answer D is correct. "By some" needs to be separated with commas because otherwise the logic of the sentence could be distorted. "By some" modifies the participle "suspected." However, if there were no commas, then the sentence would have a different meaning:
"he is still suspected by some of not having..." - it seems that "of" is connected with "some" and not with "suspected." That is why commas are necessary. V-ing is generally disliked by the GMAT, the same as the passive voice. However, we should avoid using V-ing, if we can replace it with a relevant noun. Here, however, it is not possible - no noun can replace the participle "having written." As to your last objection - the use of the passive, again, we should avoid using it if it is not necessary and we can choose an answer that includes the verb in the active voice. Here the use of the passive is justified and there is no better option.
Kasia
Senior Instructor
Master GMAT - the #1 rated GMAT course

"¢ If you found my post helpful, please click the "thank" button and/or follow me.

"¢ Take a 7 day free trial and find out why Economist GMAT is the highest rated GMAT course - https://gmat.economist.com/

"¢ Read GMAT Economist reviews - https://reviews.beatthegmat.com/economis ... mat-course

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 2095
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pm
Thanked: 1443 times
Followed by:247 members

by ceilidh.erickson » Tue Feb 19, 2013 10:13 am
You shouldn't rule out answer choices because they are in the passive voice. Only very rarely does the GMAT directly test active v. passive. The passive voice is acceptable and even required in many situations:

- if the "do-er" is unknown: My car was stolen. In this sentence, I don't know who stole it.

- to emphasize the recipient: Marie Curie was given the Nobel Prize. We're emphasizing Curie, not the people who gave her the prize.

- if the subject can't perform the action: Soap operas were first aired in the 1920s. Soap operas can't air themselves, so we have to use passive.

Only if you are left with 2 answer choices that are both otherwise grammatically correct, but one is passive and one is active, should you use passive voice to eliminate answer choices.
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education

Legendary Member
Posts: 512
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 11:31 pm
Thanked: 42 times
Followed by:20 members

by sana.noor » Sat Feb 23, 2013 8:59 am
Can we reject B and E because the use of idiom is wrong
"attributed to be his own"----->B
"attributed as his own" ------->E

C because the use of "who" and "not to have written" is wrong, And
A because the use of wrong idiom "attributed as" and the use of "which"

am i right?
Work hard in Silence, Let Success make the noise.

If you found my Post really helpful, then don't forget to click the Thank/follow me button. :)

Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2013 5:12 am
Thanked: 4 times

by gmat4fun » Sat Feb 23, 2013 9:34 am
sana.noor wrote:Can we reject B and E because the use of idiom is wrong
"attributed to be his own"----->B
"attributed as his own" ------->E

C because the use of "who" and "not to have written" is wrong, And
A because the use of wrong idiom "attributed as" and the use of "which"

am i right?
Hey Sana,

If you happen to be pressed for time during the test, please use the POE the way you did. If I may, I would advise you to learn the concept of active and passive voices too as illustrated above by two experts.

Cheers!

gmat4fun

Legendary Member
Posts: 512
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 11:31 pm
Thanked: 42 times
Followed by:20 members

by sana.noor » Sat Feb 23, 2013 9:50 am
Yeah i agree POE is good way to reach at the right choice but it sometimes take time. in the follwoing example i found that the idiom used in 3 out of 5 choices is wrong. so i guess reading the entire three choices will take time and its better to reject them just because of the wrong use of idiom.
"attributed as"
"attributed to be his"
About passive and active usuage, i have learned these concepts but my issue is reaching at the right answer within few seconds so that i can take maximum time for my RC questions.
Work hard in Silence, Let Success make the noise.

If you found my Post really helpful, then don't forget to click the Thank/follow me button. :)

• Page 1 of 1