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using previously with a past tense verb

Expert replies
by gmatrant » Tue Feb 14, 2012 12:03 am
In the 18th century, Antoine Lavoisier demonstrated that combustion consumes oxygen; previously, many scientists had believed that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substance that was believed to extinguish flames.

A)consumes oxygen; previously, many scientists had believed that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substance that was believed to extinguish flames

B)consumed oxygen, and many scientists had previously believed that phlogiston was an imaginary substance released by combustion, which extinguished flames

C)consumes oxygen; phlogiston was previously an imaginary substance that was believed to extinguish flames and that many scientists had believed was released by combustion

D)consumed oxygen; phlogiston, an imaginary substance that extinguished flames, was believed by scientists to be released by combustion

E)consumes oxygen; previously, many scientists had believed that phlogiston was released by combustion and was an imaginary substance that was believed to extinguish flames

OA is A, but using previously and a past tense "had believed" looks redundant.

Can you let me know if this is indeed redundant?
A kudos or thanks would do great if my answer has helped you :)
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Source: — Sentence Correction |

by Anshu Nadir » Tue Feb 14, 2012 4:17 am
previously and had believed can be called as a redundant pair..but in the answer choices there is no option available better than A.
Please feel free to add/correct any of the explanations provided above.

Regards,
Anshu Nadir
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by MBACenter » Tue Feb 14, 2012 4:41 am
gmatrant wrote:In the 18th century, Antoine Lavoisier demonstrated that combustion consumes oxygen; previously, many scientists had believed that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substance that was believed to extinguish flames.

A)consumes oxygen; previously, many scientists had believed that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substance that was believed to extinguish flames

B)consumed oxygen, and many scientists had previously believed that phlogiston was an imaginary substance released by combustion, which extinguished flames

C)consumes oxygen; phlogiston was previously an imaginary substance that was believed to extinguish flames and that many scientists had believed was released by combustion

D)consumed oxygen; phlogiston, an imaginary substance that extinguished flames, was believed by scientists to be released by combustion

E)consumes oxygen; previously, many scientists had believed that phlogiston was released by combustion and was an imaginary substance that was believed to extinguish flames

OA is A, but using previously and a past tense "had believed" looks redundant.

Can you let me know if this is indeed redundant?
No, "previously" and "had believed" are not a redundant pair. The perfect tense is needed whenever we need to anchor some event as having a consequence or significance to a posterior point. (The use of "When you go" for a future subordinate clause and not "When you will go" is a consequence of English "future tense" being composed with a modal verb, but that is not the case for the perfect tense, which is a composite tense with a helping verb and a participle.)
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by GmatKiss » Wed Feb 15, 2012 6:35 am
Could you please underline the part of the sentence under study ?
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by lunarpower » Mon Mar 05, 2012 3:37 am
this problem is one of ours (MGMAT's). it is admittedly problematic, and is on our list for revision -- actually for a couple of reasons.

the problem should be deactivated fairly soon, and later replaced with another problem that tests similar ideas (in a way more in line with GMAC's standards as well as with stringent standards of interpretation).

stay tuned.
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