The fifties refer to a period. There was a considerable achievement in the arts then. A seems fine in this.

A period is a collective entity hence singular but appear is plural.

What does "for all" means

vikram4689 wrote:A period is a collective entity hence singular but appear is plural.

What does "for all" means

'for all their advertised conformity' - in this phrase it refers to the years so 'their' is used
whereas the main clause uses it as a collective noun hence singular.

'For all' is an idiom, meaning - in spite of. Eg: For all his studying, Ram failed.

Check the bottom most text in the following link for better understanding
https://dictionary.reference.com/browse/for+all

vikram4689 wrote:The fifties, for all their advertised conformity, now appear to have been a time of considerable achievement in the arts.

(A) for all their advertised conformity, now appear to have been
(B) despite all their advertised conformity, now appears to be
(C) for all their advertised conformity, now appear that they were
(D) despite all their advertised conformity, now appears as
(E) with all their advertised conformity, now appears

what is the meaning of the sentence

In B, D and E, appears (singular) does not agree with the fifties (plural). Generally, nouns that refer to the YEARS of a decade (the fifties, the sixties, the seventies, etc.) are considered PLURAL. Eliminate B, D and E.

In C, the fifties appear...that they were makes no sense. The idiom needed here is X appears to be Y. Eliminate C.

The correct answer is A.

In the OA:
For all is an idiom that means DESPITE.
The perfect infinitive is used to convey a PRIOR event: The fifties appear TO HAVE BEEN a time of considerable achievement.
The sequence conveyed is that the fifties APPEAR (right now) TO HAVE BEEN (in the past) a time of considerable achievement.

is "appear that" INCORRECT. I could only find "appear as something" and "appear to someone" https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/appear

GMATGuruNY wrote:

vikram4689 wrote:The fifties, for all their advertised conformity, now appear to have been a time of considerable achievement in the arts.

(A) for all their advertised conformity, now appear to have been
(B) despite all their advertised conformity, now appears to be
(C) for all their advertised conformity, now appear that they were
(D) despite all their advertised conformity, now appears as
(E) with all their advertised conformity, now appears

what is the meaning of the sentence

In B, D and E, appears (singular) does not agree with the fifties (plural). Generally, nouns that refer to the YEARS of a decade (the fifties, the sixties, the seventies, etc.) are considered PLURAL. Eliminate B, D and E.

In C, the fifties appear...that they were makes no sense. The idiom needed here is X appears to be Y. Eliminate C.

The correct answer is A.

In the OA:
For all is an idiom that means DESPITE.
The perfect infinitive is used to convey a PRIOR event: The fifties appear TO HAVE BEEN a time of considerable achievement.
The sequence conveyed is that the fifties APPEAR (right now) TO HAVE BEEN (in the past) a time of considerable achievement.

Thank you Hunt

did you mean:

" appear to have done " is correct idiom
"appear that +clause" dose not exist.

is that right? we never have "appear that+clause" . is that right? pls, explain more of this point.
Thank you.

"Appear that" is CORRECT (google it), I guess reason for C to be wrong lies in the understanding difference of Simple Past and Present Perfect.

It seems, to form a continuity from appear(present) to 50's(past) we used present perfect. Experts may clarify this point

Simple Past is used to refer a event in past (started and finished in past)

Present Perfect refers to 3 kinds of event:
a) Event started and finished in past BUT have effect continued till now e.g. We are married for 3 years
b) Event started in past and continued till present e.g. I have lived in US for 3 years
c) Event started in past and finished in past e.g. I have lived in Africa (implies i do not live there anymore).. this is similar to saying "I lived in Africa"