The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (1868) had been originally adopted in order that blacks in the post-Civil War South be given the full benefit of citizenship, but over the past century and a half they are expanding it to include all categories of civil rights.
A) had been originally adopted in order that blacks in the post-Civil War South be given the full benefit of citizenship, but over the past century and a half they are expanding it to include
B) was originally adopted to give blacks in the post-Civil War South the full benefit of citizenship, but over the past century and a half it has been expanded to include
C) had been originally adopted to give blacks in the post-Civil War South the full benefit of citizenship, while over the past century and a half was expanding it to include
D) had been originally adopted to give blacks in the post-Civil War South the full benefit of citizenship, and over the past century and a half has expanded to include
E) had been originally adopted by giving blacks in the post-Civil War South the full benefit of citizenship, and over the past century and a half they have been expanding it to include
OA B
Source: Magoosh
5-Day Free Trial
5-day free, full-access trial TTP
Available with Beat the GMAT members only code
MORE DETAILS
The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (1868) had been originally adopted in order that blacks in the
This topic has expert replies
-
BTGmoderatorDC
- Moderator
- Posts: 7187
- Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2017 4:43 pm
- Followed by:23 members
Timer
00:00
Your Answer
A
B
C
D
E
Global Stats
Timer
00:00
Your Answer
A
B
C
D
E
Global Stats
Looking at choices, first we focus on past perfect tense "had been adopted". This tense means event happened before other past event. Here, it seems unnecessary. We know Amendment was adopted in past (1868), but we don't have second past event to compare. So, choice (B) using simple past "was adopted" may be better.
We see "they are expanding" or "it has been expanded". Who is "they"? Sentence does not say. Better to say "it" meaning the Amendment. And "are expanding" is present continuous tense, this is not right for event happening over past century and a half. We should use "has been expanded", this is present perfect tense for actions in past continuing to now. So again, (B) looks better.
Considering these things, answer is (B): "was originally adopted to give blacks in the post-Civil War South the full benefit of citizenship, but over the past century and a half it has been expanded to include".
We see "they are expanding" or "it has been expanded". Who is "they"? Sentence does not say. Better to say "it" meaning the Amendment. And "are expanding" is present continuous tense, this is not right for event happening over past century and a half. We should use "has been expanded", this is present perfect tense for actions in past continuing to now. So again, (B) looks better.
Considering these things, answer is (B): "was originally adopted to give blacks in the post-Civil War South the full benefit of citizenship, but over the past century and a half it has been expanded to include".
Timer
00:00
Your Answer
A
B
C
D
E
Global Stats
The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (1868) had been originally adopted in order that blacks in the post-Civil War South be given the full benefit of citizenship, but over the past century and a half they are expanding it to include all categories of civil rights.
A) had been originally adopted in order that blacks in the post-Civil War South be given the full benefit of citizenship, but over the past century and a half they are expanding it to include
B) was originally adopted to give blacks in the post-Civil War South the full benefit of citizenship, but over the past century and a half it has been expanded to include
C) had been originally adopted to give blacks in the post-Civil War South the full benefit of citizenship, while over the past century and a half was expanding it to include
D) had been originally adopted to give blacks in the post-Civil War South the full benefit of citizenship, and over the past century and a half has expanded to include
E) had been originally adopted by giving blacks in the post-Civil War South the full benefit of citizenship, and over the past century and a half they have been expanding it to include
Let's start by examining "had been adopted" in the past perfect. This tense indicates that an event happened before another past event. In this context it seems unnecessary. Although we know that the Amendment was passed in 1868, there is no other past event with which to compare. The simple past "was adopt" might be more appropriate.
We also hear "they are expanding it" and "it is being expanded". In the sentence, "they" are not identified. The Amendment would be better described by "it". The present continuous tense "are expanding" is not appropriate for events that have occurred over the last century and a quarter. The better choice is "has expanded" which represents the perfect present tense of actions that occurred in the past and continue into the present. Once again, it appears that (B) is the best option.
Answer (B) - This was originally passed to grant full citizenship to blacks living in the South after the Civil War, but it has since been extended to include other races.
Billy Foster,
-
mapadvantageprep
- Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
- Posts: 30
- Joined: Tue Feb 13, 2024 8:47 am
Timer
00:00
Your Answer
A
B
C
D
E
Global Stats
The sentence is discussing two time periods: the original purpose of the Equal Protection Clause when it was adopted, and how its application has changed over time.
Option A uses "had been originally adopted" which is unnecessarily complex and uses "they are expanding" which incorrectly implies ongoing action unrelated to the subject (the Equal Protection Clause).
Option C mixes past perfect with "was expanding," which does not match the past and ongoing changes described.
Option D uses "had been originally adopted" which is past perfect tense, suggesting an action completed before another past action, which is not needed here since there is not another action in the past that it needs to precede. "Has expanded" correctly indicates change over time, but the initial tense is incorrect.
Option E has the same issues with tense as D and adds awkward phrasing "by giving blacks..." and "they have been expanding," which incorrectly assigns action and changes the subject.
Option B uses "was originally adopted" which correctly sets the initial action in the past. It also uses "it has been expanded" to correctly describe the ongoing changes over time. This maintains proper subject-verb agreement and clear, concise meaning.
Therefore, the correct answer is B) "was originally adopted to give blacks in the post-Civil War South the full benefit of citizenship, but over the past century and a half it has been expanded to include".
Bernard Baah
MS '05, Stanford
GMAT and GRE Instructor
MapAdvantage Prep
https://mapadvantagegmat.com
Option A uses "had been originally adopted" which is unnecessarily complex and uses "they are expanding" which incorrectly implies ongoing action unrelated to the subject (the Equal Protection Clause).
Option C mixes past perfect with "was expanding," which does not match the past and ongoing changes described.
Option D uses "had been originally adopted" which is past perfect tense, suggesting an action completed before another past action, which is not needed here since there is not another action in the past that it needs to precede. "Has expanded" correctly indicates change over time, but the initial tense is incorrect.
Option E has the same issues with tense as D and adds awkward phrasing "by giving blacks..." and "they have been expanding," which incorrectly assigns action and changes the subject.
Option B uses "was originally adopted" which correctly sets the initial action in the past. It also uses "it has been expanded" to correctly describe the ongoing changes over time. This maintains proper subject-verb agreement and clear, concise meaning.
Therefore, the correct answer is B) "was originally adopted to give blacks in the post-Civil War South the full benefit of citizenship, but over the past century and a half it has been expanded to include".
Bernard Baah
MS '05, Stanford
GMAT and GRE Instructor
MapAdvantage Prep
https://mapadvantagegmat.com
