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Construction of the Roman Colesseum

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Construction of the Roman Colesseum

by cephaslr » Tue Apr 07, 2009 4:33 pm

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OG v 12

Construction of the Roman Colosseum, which was officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater, began in A.D. 69, during the reign of Vespasian, was completed a decade later, during the reign of Titus, who opened the Colosseum with a one-hundred-day cycle of religious pageants, gladiatorial games, and spectacles.

A. which was officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater, began in A.D. 69, during the reign of Vespasian,
B. officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater, begun in A.D. 69, during the reign of Vespasian, and
C. which was officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater, began in A.D. 69, during the reign of Vespasian, and
D. officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater and begun in A.D. 69, during the reign of Vespasian it
E. officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater, which was begun in A.D. 69, during the reign of Vespasian, and


[spoiler]OA. C
[/spoiler]
why?!?
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by gmat740 » Tue Apr 07, 2009 7:26 pm

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Good Question

Initially I thought of B as answer

But after seeing OA I revised by notes and I found that Begun is used as past participle ie: when PAST PERFECT TENSE is required

However in this question simple past is sufficient,no need to go for BEGUN

So that leaves us with two options

A and C

Consider the original sentence
Construction of the Roman Colosseum, which was officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater, began in A.D. 69, during the reign of Vespasian, was completed a decade later,

see the bold face

This is clearly a run-on sentence and we need a conjugation like AND

So C is correct
C. which was officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater, began in A.D. 69, during the reign of Vespasian, and
Hope this helps
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by cephaslr » Wed Apr 08, 2009 5:32 am

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Good explanation! I am finally starting to understand run on sentences. Its funny because I probably would have caught this with my ear before I started studying SC, but now my instincts are completely confused with actual grammatical rules.
And to be clear, Past perfect is out because there is nothing the event needs to be before, correct?
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by gmat740 » Wed Apr 08, 2009 5:50 am

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Past Perfect is used when two events happened in the past

Eg: event(I) happened first and then Event(II) so we will use
Had + past participle for (I) and Simple past for (II)

Eg: several teachers thought(Event II) that JIm had cheated(event I) in the exam

Now you tell me do we need Past perfect tense here :D

Hope this Helps

Karan
Last edited by gmat740 on Wed Apr 08, 2009 7:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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by piyush_nitt » Wed Apr 08, 2009 6:32 pm

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gmat740 wrote:Past Perfect is used when two events happened in the past

Eg: event(I) happened first and then Event(II) so we will use
Had + past participle for (I) and Simple past for (II)

Eg: Jim's teacher thought(Event II) that he had cheated(event I) in the exam

Now you tell me do we need Past perfect tense here :D

Hope this Helps

Karan

gmat740,

In Example that you have given , can we use he to refer Jim ? IMO Jim's Teacher is a Possessive noun should be referenced by Possessive pronoun.

Am i missing something here?
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by gmat740 » Wed Apr 08, 2009 7:29 pm

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I edited my previous post if there was any ambiguity.
I mentioned that sentence for explaining when do we need Past perfect tense.

Yes,my previous post used possessive pronoun but I am not sure whether "he" is correct in that or we should use some other possessive pronoun

Karan
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by Kunal_gmat » Fri Apr 17, 2009 12:01 pm

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Here is how I picked my answer:
The word "which" is essential here. Without which, the sentence could mean that the construction was call the Flavian amphitheater. "Which" modifies the word it touches. Hence left with (A), (C). (A) has no "and" causing a run on sentence. Hence answer is (C).
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by hberens » Tue May 26, 2009 7:34 pm

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Since "of Roman Colosseum" is a modifier, I read the sentence assuming that 'Construction' is the subject of the sentence. Since the subject is 'construction', shouldn't 'which' incorrectly refer to 'construction' and not 'colosseum'?

For example, if I wrote, "The cars of Los Angeles, which comprise of BMWs..." Here 'which' correctly points to cars, not Los Angeles since cars is the subject of the sentence. Which does not always point to the closest noun.
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by axat » Tue May 26, 2009 11:23 pm

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I often have trouble with the usage of Begun and Began. Could someone explain the difference using this sentence and/or other sentences as examples. Please don't use the technical terms from grammar (such as past perfect etc), for they confuse me greatly.
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by tyronetan82 » Sun Aug 08, 2010 3:10 am

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what's the definition of run-on sentences again?
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by SmarpanGamt » Sun Aug 08, 2010 3:34 am

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cephaslr wrote:OG v 12

Construction of the Roman Colosseum, which was officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater, began in A.D. 69, during the reign of Vespasian, was completed a decade later, during the reign of Titus, who opened the Colosseum with a one-hundred-day cycle of religious pageants, gladiatorial games, and spectacles.

A. which was officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater, began in A.D. 69, during the reign of Vespasian,
B. officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater, begun in A.D. 69, during the reign of Vespasian, and
C. which was officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater, began in A.D. 69, during the reign of Vespasian, and
D. officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater and begun in A.D. 69, during the reign of Vespasian it
E. officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater, which was begun in A.D. 69, during the reign of Vespasian, and


[spoiler]OA. C
[/spoiler]


why?!?

The Bet is betw'n A n C . A has a dangling modifier " who opened the Colosseum with a one-hundred-day cycle of religious pageants " confuse "who" ancedant.

Therefore use if and makes it parallel and precise.

Hope this explanation suffies.
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by GMATGuruNY » Sun Aug 08, 2010 4:28 am

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cephaslr wrote:OG v 12

Construction of the Roman Colosseum, which was officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater, began in A.D. 69, during the reign of Vespasian, was completed a decade later, during the reign of Titus, who opened the Colosseum with a one-hundred-day cycle of religious pageants, gladiatorial games, and spectacles.

A. which was officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater, began in A.D. 69, during the reign of Vespasian,
B. officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater, begun in A.D. 69, during the reign of Vespasian, and
C. which was officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater, began in A.D. 69, during the reign of Vespasian, and
D. officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater and begun in A.D. 69, during the reign of Vespasian it
E. officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater, which was begun in A.D. 69, during the reign of Vespasian, and


[spoiler]OA. C
[/spoiler]
why?!?
Quickest approach:

Scanning the 5 answer choices, we see that B, C and E include the conjunction and, which is needed to prevent a run-on sentence. Eliminate A and D.

In E, the pronoun which implies that the Flavian Amphitheater was begun in AD 69. The intended meaning of the sentence is that construction began in AD 69. Eliminate E.

In B, begun either is the wrong tense or is a modifier incorrectly suggesting that the Amphitheater was begun in AD 69. The intended meaning of the sentence is that construction began in AD 69. Eliminate B.

The correct answer is C.
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by kvcpk » Sun Aug 08, 2010 5:20 am

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GMATGuruNY wrote:
Quickest approach:

Scanning the 5 answer choices, we see that B, C and E include the conjunction and, which is needed to prevent a run-on sentence. Eliminate A and D.

In E, the pronoun which implies that the Flavian Amphitheater was begun in AD 69. The intended meaning of the sentence is that construction began in AD 69. Eliminate E.

In B, begun either is the wrong tense or is a modifier incorrectly suggesting that the Amphitheater was begun in AD 69. The intended meaning of the sentence is that construction began in AD 69. Eliminate B.

The correct answer is C.
Hi Mitch,
I have a query here.
In C, "Began in A.D 69" is set off by commas. That seemed to me as unessesntial. Because, additional information set off by commas is normally non-essential.

But that information is essential in the context of the sentence.
What am i Missing?
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by GMATGuruNY » Sun Aug 08, 2010 6:07 am

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kvcpk wrote:
GMATGuruNY wrote:
Quickest approach:

Scanning the 5 answer choices, we see that B, C and E include the conjunction and, which is needed to prevent a run-on sentence. Eliminate A and D.

In E, the pronoun which implies that the Flavian Amphitheater was begun in AD 69. The intended meaning of the sentence is that construction began in AD 69. Eliminate E.

In B, begun either is the wrong tense or is a modifier incorrectly suggesting that the Amphitheater was begun in AD 69. The intended meaning of the sentence is that construction began in AD 69. Eliminate B.

The correct answer is C.
Hi Mitch,
I have a query here.
In C, "Began in A.D 69" is set off by commas. That seemed to me as unessesntial. Because, additional information set off by commas is normally non-essential.

But that information is essential in the context of the sentence.
What am i Missing?
Below is C with the essential elements in bold red typeface:

Construction of the Roman Colosseum, which was officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater, began in A.D. 69, during the reign of Vespasian, and was completed a decade later, during the reign of Titus, who opened the Colosseum with a one-hundred-day cycle of religious pageants, gladiatorial games, and spectacles.

The clause which...Amphitheater and the phrase during...Vespasian are set off by commas because they are non-essential. They could be removed and the meaning of the sentence would be clear:

Construction of the Roman Colosseum began in AD 69 and was completed a decade later.

Does this help?
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My students have been admitted to HBS, CBS, Tuck, Yale, Stern, Fuqua -- a long list of top programs.

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by kvcpk » Sun Aug 08, 2010 6:11 am

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GMATGuruNY wrote:
kvcpk wrote:
GMATGuruNY wrote:
Quickest approach:

Scanning the 5 answer choices, we see that B, C and E include the conjunction and, which is needed to prevent a run-on sentence. Eliminate A and D.

In E, the pronoun which implies that the Flavian Amphitheater was begun in AD 69. The intended meaning of the sentence is that construction began in AD 69. Eliminate E.

In B, begun either is the wrong tense or is a modifier incorrectly suggesting that the Amphitheater was begun in AD 69. The intended meaning of the sentence is that construction began in AD 69. Eliminate B.

The correct answer is C.
Hi Mitch,
I have a query here.
In C, "Began in A.D 69" is set off by commas. That seemed to me as unessesntial. Because, additional information set off by commas is normally non-essential.

But that information is essential in the context of the sentence.
What am i Missing?
Below is C with the essential elements in bold red typeface:

Construction of the Roman Colosseum, which was officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater, began in A.D. 69, during the reign of Vespasian, and was completed a decade later, during the reign of Titus, who opened the Colosseum with a one-hundred-day cycle of religious pageants, gladiatorial games, and spectacles.

The clause which...Amphitheater and the phrase during...Vespasian are set off by commas because they are non-essential. They could be removed and the meaning of the sentence would be clear:

Construction of the Roman Colosseum began in AD 69 and was completed a decade later.

Does this help?
Yeah.. It does Help Mitch.
Lot of confusion when too many phrases are set off by commas.
Will need to read closely.

Thanks again for your help Mitch!!
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