until almost 1900

[paes]

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
(B) until almost 1900 scholars and critics had not
begun seriously studying
(C) 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 after some discussion

[frank1]

E
more clear...and correct use

[outreach]

narrowed down to D and E
the correct answer should be E
in D
- Split Infinite "to seriously study" is incorrect
in E
-already action taken place in past so began is correct
- that scholars sounds more appropriate

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
(B) until almost 1900 scholars and critics had not
begun seriously studying
(C) 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 after some discussion

[gmatmachoman]

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
(B) until almost 1900 scholars and critics had not
begun seriously studying
(C) 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 after some discussion

USe "underline tool"

Issue : Vern Tense Mismatch.

The sentence begins with a "past perfect " mood and then ends with a "present tense"(begin), which is a violation.

We need to fix that. Vertical scan of options leads us to D & E where we can see a "past tense" verb (began)

But in D, we have another issue called "split infinitive" which is again a grammar rule violation.

Please Pick E

[paes]

OA is E guys. You are correct.

Can somebody explain me the usage of 'it' in E. (it was not until almost 1900 that ... )

If it is a pronoun then what is the antecedent.

or it is a serving some other purpose, please expain.

[gmatmachoman]

Can somebody explain me the usage of 'it' in E. (it was not until almost 1900 that ... )

If it is a pronoun then what is the antecedent.

or it is a serving some other purpose, please expain.

"it" is a indefinite pronoun. GMAC allows the usage of "it" even if it doesn't have antecedent.

Try search using " it" in OG 10/11/12 in SC section U can see the difference!

[ansumania]

hi,

will someone pl. explain why option A is incorrect ?

[paes]

hi,

will someone pl. explain why option A is incorrect ?

A is wrong becuase it is not clear that :

'until almost 1900',

is connected to 1st clause (Although ....works,)
or
is connected to second clause (scholars and critics did ....)

[reply2spg]

I was struggling to eliminate A.....but you nailed it, thanks

hi,

will someone pl. explain why option A is incorrect ?

A is wrong becuase it is not clear that :

'until almost 1900',

is connected to 1st clause (Although ....works,)
or
is connected to second clause (scholars and critics did ....)

[madhukumar_v]

Great explanation gmatmachoman, this is a OG12 quesiton, but the explanation there was not so clear, it focuses more on the usage of not until almost vs not almost until.

paes, the usage of it also relates to the usage of sentence structure. Just some basics before I give you a complete reason

Dependent clause(DC) is a sentence that cannot stand independently (ex: when Martha went to shop)
Independent clause(IC) is a sentence which can stand alone (Martha went to shop)
Dependent Markers(DM): Makes Independent clauses to dependent clauses (Ex: "When"- When Martha went to shop), some other dependent markers include: Although, even though, when etc.,

A dependent Clause and an Independent Clause can be joined only in two ways

1) DC, IC
2) IC DC (note no comma)

In our sentence We have a Dependent Clause in the first part of the sentence starting with Although then we have a independent clause until "own works", then starts a comma which is not underlined, which means that we need an independent clause. Only D and E suffice such requirement, because both are independent clauses. Check them out.

[rajasekharp]

can you guys clarify this ?

"almost" is a adverb , "until" is a conjunction Right ??

whats the adverb "almost" modifying ?

i answered D assuming almost until is correct ..

can someone explain me , "But in D, we have another issue called "split infinitive" which is again a grammar rule violation" ?

[captcha]

IMO E

[tomada]

Why is "to seriously study" grammatically incorrect? Is it because the word "seriously" is between "to" and "study" ? I thought "seriously" was just an adverb, describing how they were going to study.