Scholars n Critics

Expert replies

komal: Legendary Member; Posts: 777; Joined: Fri Jan 01, 2010 4:02 amFollowed by: 47 members; Location: Mumbai, India; Thanked: 117 times

by komal » Mon Feb 08, 2010 5:38 am

Although various eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American poets had professed an interest in Native American poetry and had pretended to imitate Native American forms in their own works, until almost 1900. scholars and critics did not begin seriously to study traditional Native American poetry in native languages.

(A) until almost 1900, scholars and critics did not begin seriously to study

(8) until almost 1900 scholars and critics had not begun seriously studying

(e) not until almost 1900 were scholars and critics to begin seriously to study

(D) it was not almost until 1900 when scholars and critics began to seriously study

(E) it was not until almost 1900 that scholars and critics seriously began studying

OA [spoiler](E)[/spoiler]

https://www.e-gmat.com/

Like this post

Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Mon Feb 08, 2010 5:38 am

Osirus@VeritasPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1578; Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 8:02 amFollowed by: 34 members; Thanked: 128 times; GMAT Score:760

by Osirus@VeritasPrep » Mon Feb 08, 2010 6:07 am

I would choose B

a- the infinitive "to study" is incorrect here

B- Correct

C- "to begin" and "to study" are both incorrect

D- "almost until" is incorrect. The adverb "almost" is in the wrong place

E- this changes the meaning of the original sentence

https://www.beatthegmat.com/the-retake-o ... 51414.html

Brandon Dorsey
GMAT Instructor
Veritas Prep

Buy any Veritas Prep book(s) and receive access to 5 Practice Cats for free! Learn More.

Like this post

kaulnikhil: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 338; Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2009 1:49 amFollowed by: 3 members; Thanked: 9 times

by kaulnikhil » Tue Feb 09, 2010 7:05 am

can someone shed more light on this question...know the underlined part has to be in past tense but what is the issue with D. ?

Like this post

Osirus@VeritasPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1578; Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 8:02 amFollowed by: 34 members; Thanked: 128 times; GMAT Score:760

by Osirus@VeritasPrep » Tue Feb 09, 2010 7:09 am

kaulnikhil wrote:can someone shed more light on this question...know the underlined part has to be in past tense but what is the issue with D. ?

An adverb should go next to the word it is modifying. "almost" is modifying 1900 not "until"

https://www.beatthegmat.com/the-retake-o ... 51414.html

Brandon Dorsey
GMAT Instructor
Veritas Prep

Buy any Veritas Prep book(s) and receive access to 5 Practice Cats for free! Learn More.

Like this post

bhumika.k.shah: Legendary Member; Posts: 941; Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2009 12:28 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 20 times

by bhumika.k.shah » Tue Feb 09, 2010 7:34 am

I would still go with D .

The sentence is trying to say that although they had interest in ... and pretended to imitate .... BUT from 1900 they began to seriously study... simple past tense is required here.

Its showing a series of tenses - from past perfect to simple past.

When should be used when we are taking about a time period.

I'd go with D

osirus0830 wrote:
kaulnikhil wrote:can someone shed more light on this question...know the underlined part has to be in past tense but
what is the issue with D. ?
An adverb should go next to the word it is modifying. "almost" is modifying 1900 not "until"

Like this post

mgmt_gmat: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 221; Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2008 6:24 pm; Thanked: 2 times

by mgmt_gmat » Thu Feb 11, 2010 6:19 am

it was not .... is the correct usage....

began to seriously study is wrong here..

no separation is acceptable between to and verb.

Like this post

GMAT/MBA Expert

Stacey Koprince: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2228; Joined: Wed Dec 27, 2006 3:28 pmFollowed by: 694 members; Location: Montreal, Canada; Thanked: 639 times; GMAT Score:780

by Stacey Koprince » Thu Feb 11, 2010 12:54 pm

Hi, guys, received a PM asking me to discuss this one. Can you please post the source of the problem? We're not supposed to discuss problems unless the source (author) has been cited properly. Thanks!

Please note: I do not use the Private Messaging system! I will not see any PMs that you send to me!!

Stacey Koprince
GMAT Instructor
Director of Online Community
Manhattan GMAT

Contributor to Beat The GMAT!

Learn more about me

Like this post

sallespadua: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 39; Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 12:29 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 1 times

by sallespadua » Thu Feb 11, 2010 3:45 pm

that one gave me crazy doubts between D and E. I would go with D, tough. Can someone please clarify?

Like this post

sallespadua: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 39; Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 12:29 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 1 times

by sallespadua » Thu Feb 11, 2010 3:47 pm

the place of "seriously" must calibrate the answer, IMO D.

Like this post

kaulnikhil: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 338; Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2009 1:49 amFollowed by: 3 members; Thanked: 9 times

by kaulnikhil » Thu Feb 11, 2010 10:39 pm

Stacey Koprince wrote:Hi, guys, received a PM asking me to discuss this one. Can you please post the source of the problem? We're not supposed to discuss problems unless the source (author) has been cited properly. Thanks!

Hi Stacey
The Source is OG 12

Like this post

GMAT/MBA Expert

Stacey Koprince: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2228; Joined: Wed Dec 27, 2006 3:28 pmFollowed by: 694 members; Location: Montreal, Canada; Thanked: 639 times; GMAT Score:780

by Stacey Koprince » Tue Feb 16, 2010 10:16 am

OG12. Interesting. Okay, so we're not supposed to discuss OG questions online. In general, which has nothing to do with this particular problem of course, I will mention that GMAC doesn't like "split infinitives" - which is what occurs when you take an infinitive verb and split it to put some other word in the middle.

"To run" is an infinitive. "To swiftly run" is a split infinitive.
"To sing" is an infinitive. "To loudly sing" is a split infinitive.

So, generally speaking, if you can avoid a split infinitive, do so.

Also the word "almost" (still not discussing this problem! la la la) is a modifier. It can modify both verbs and nouns, so we have to be really careful to place it as closely as possible to whatever it's modifying.

Like this post

tomada: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 406; Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2010 11:36 amFollowed by: 4 members; Location: Syracuse, NY; Thanked: 23 times; GMAT Score:740

by tomada » Tue Feb 16, 2010 1:04 pm

Stacey, thank you for the insight. I eliminated 'D' because of the placement of "almost" with respect to "until". I asked myself if the sentence would make sense if I removed the word "until", which would leave me with "almost 1900". I didn't think this made sense, so I flipped those two words, removed the word "almost", and saw that "until 1900" does make sense.

Like this post

sumanr84: Legendary Member; Posts: 758; Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2009 9:32 pmFollowed by: 2 members; Location: Bangalore,India; Thanked: 67 times

by sumanr84 » Wed Feb 17, 2010 1:45 am

tomada wrote:Stacey, thank you for the insight. I eliminated 'D' because of the placement of "almost" with respect to "until". I asked myself if the sentence would make sense if I removed the word "until", which would leave me with "almost 1900". I didn't think this made sense, so I flipped those two words, removed the word "almost", and saw that "until 1900" does make sense.

make sense to me..keeping apart all other rule..blah blah..

I am on a break !!

Like this post

A.Kiran: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 79; Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 12:03 am; Thanked: 1 times

by A.Kiran » Sun Feb 21, 2010 2:00 am

Where is the TO INFINITIVE in the given question ??

It was not...............

Subject = It
Verb = Was

Was is not a " To infinitive " here

.
Almost is a modifier ... Thats right.

I am not able to understand the difference between the D and E.

Like this post

GMAT/MBA Expert

Stacey Koprince: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2228; Joined: Wed Dec 27, 2006 3:28 pmFollowed by: 694 members; Location: Montreal, Canada; Thanked: 639 times; GMAT Score:780

by Stacey Koprince » Mon Feb 22, 2010 12:02 pm

answer choice D has a split infinitive in the underlined portion

Like this post

Post new topic Locked

GMAT Course Reviews

560 reviews

1168 reviews

431 reviews

359 reviews

147 reviews

5/5

5 Star (560 Reviews)

"Target Test Prep is the closest to the official version of the GMAT exam, about 99% accuracy in terms of the quality and quantity of information. The course has excellently created singular sets of focused lessons and tests for every possible topic that one could come across in the official GMAT exam."

"The TTP course maximizes the efficiency of the time you spend studying. It will take time and effort but I could almost guarantee that if you complete the course exactly as it is laid out you will get an amazing score. They also have a very responsive team willing to help with any questions you might have."

"TTP has two things that I think no other test prep company offers: A teaching approach that reinforces understanding and an attitude that will give you the mental preparedness needed to succeed on the test. TTP gives you a deep understanding of the concept you need to know while teaching you how to think."

Write a Review