thermometer by Anders

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jain2016: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 313; Joined: Tue Oct 13, 2015 7:01 am; Thanked: 2 times

by jain2016 » Mon May 02, 2016 9:19 am

Created in 1731, the original thermometer by Anders Celsius had a scale where the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after he died in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form.

A) in 1731, the original thermometer by Anders Celsius had a scale where the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after he died in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form

B) in 1731, the original thermometer by Anders Celsius had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after his death in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form

C) in 1731, the original thermometer by Anders Celsius had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after he died in 1744 the scale had reversed to its present form

D) by Anders Celsius in 1731, his original thermometer had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; reversing the scale to its present form after his death in 1744

E) by Anders Celsius in 1731, his original thermometer had a scale where the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after his death in 1744 the scale reversed to its present form

OAB

Hi Experts ,

Please tell me whats wrong with option C

In OA after the semicolon is a independent clause? Also please tell me the usage of possessive noun HIS in OA.

I eliminated OA, because I thought that after the semicolon the part is not a independent clause and the uses of HIS.

Please advise.

Many thanks in advance.

SJ

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Mon May 02, 2016 9:19 am

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ceilidh.erickson: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2095; Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pmFollowed by: 247 members; Thanked: 1443 times

by ceilidh.erickson » Mon May 02, 2016 10:06 am

Created in 1731, the original thermometer by Anders Celsius had a scale where the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after he died in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form.

A) in 1731, the original thermometer by Anders Celsius had a scale where the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after he died in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form

"where" should only refer to physical locations. For "a scale," the proper modifier is "in which."

B) in 1731, the original thermometer by Anders Celsius had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after his death in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form

Yes, "the scale was reversed" is an independent clause. There is nothing wrong with the use of "his" to refer to Anders Celsius. The antecedent of the pronoun does not have to be the subject.

C) in 1731, the original thermometer by Anders Celsius had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after he died in 1744 the scale had reversed to its present form

Here, the issue is "had reversed." For one, this is an active verb, which does make sense: a scale cannot reverse itself, it can only be reversed by a person. For another, it's the past perfect tense, which should only be used BEFORE another past tense action, not after.

D) by Anders Celsius in 1731, his original thermometer had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; reversing the scale to its present form after his death in 1744

The use of "his" is redundant after "created by Anders Celsius," and the part after the semicolon is not an independent clause.

E) by Anders Celsius in 1731, his original thermometer had a scale where the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after his death in 1744 the scale reversed to its present form

"his" - same issue as in D
"where" - same issue as in A
"reversed" - same active voice issue as in C

The correct answer is B.

Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education

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aflaam: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 132; Joined: Sat Jan 02, 2016 2:52 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 4 times

by aflaam » Wed May 04, 2016 6:31 pm

ceilidh.erickson wrote: C) in 1731, the original thermometer by Anders Celsius had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after he died in 1744 the scale had reversed to its present form

Here, the issue is "had reversed." For one, this is an active verb, which does make sense: a scale cannot reverse itself, it can only be reversed by a person. For another, it's the past perfect tense, which should only be used BEFORE another past tense action, not after.

Understanding the tense issue here:
a)after he had died in 1744, the scale was reversed
vs
b)after he died in 1744, the scale was reversed
Is B better because the usage of after makes the time sequence clear ?
thanks

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ceilidh.erickson: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2095; Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pmFollowed by: 247 members; Thanked: 1443 times

by ceilidh.erickson » Thu May 05, 2016 11:18 am

aflaam wrote: Understanding the tense issue here:
a)after he had died in 1744, the scale was reversed
vs
b)after he died in 1744, the scale was reversed
Is B better because the usage of after makes the time sequence clear ?
thanks

Yes, exactly. If we have a word or phrase such as "after," there is no need to use the past perfect tense to indicate that one event happened before the other.

Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education

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