Although the first atom of radium, the heaviest of the earth metals, to be identified was observed in the summer of 1898 by physicists Marie and Pierre Curie, it had not been published until December, 1898


Although the first atom of radium, the heaviest of the earth metals, to be identified was observed in the summer of 1898 by physicists Marie and Pierre Curie, it had not been published until December, 1898

Although not published until December, 1898, in the summer of 1898 physicists Marie and Pierre Curie observed the first atom of radium, the heaviest of the earth metals, to be identified

Although observed by physicists Marie and Pierre Curie in the summer of 1898, the discovery of the first identified atom of radium, the heaviest of the earth metals, had not been published before December, 1898

The first atom of radium, the heaviest of the earth metals, to be identified was observed in the summer of 1898 by physicists Marie and Pierre Curie, but the discovery was not published until December, 1898

The first identified atom of radium, the heaviest of the earth metals, was not published until December, 1898, while it was observed in the summer of 1898 by physicists Marie and Pierre Curie


What's wrong with C?

What's wrong about that? Is "the discovery" too far away from observed.
Also, why do they not use past perfect in D to indicate that one event was before the other?

OK thanks. The OA said something about "although" must be followed by a sentence with a subject in it. Is that right?

And what about the time? Why can't we use past perfect?

The first identified atom of radium, the heaviest of the earth metals, was not published until December, 1898, while it was observed in the summer of 1898 by physicists Marie and Pierre Curie.

I n E, it was not the atom of radium that was not published, it is the discovery. Modifier problem. The use "While" is illogical to show the contrast. While means two events are occuring simultaneously, which is not the case here.
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Right answer-d.
In c use of past perfect make no sense.
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+1 D. C is incorrect because it uses the wrong tense of "had" suggesting that another action took place prior to another action.
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I know we use Past Perfect when one action occurs before the other. But in this case there are 2 actions that are definitely not parallel (the discovery and the publication). So why not past perfect.

IMO D +1
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Here, a basic principle of grammar will see you through than confuse with various other factors like meaning. When you have events that are quite clear about their timelines and sequence, then avoid using past participle, even though one might have happened earlier than the other occurred. For both the events, it is grammatically acceptable to use simple past.

As per this tenet, you can see Choice D and E survive but E does not merit any look since it says that the atom was not published rather than the identification or the discovery. D is the pick.
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Hi All,

Although the first atom of radium, the heaviest of the earth metals, to be identified was observed in the summer of 1898 by physicists Marie and Pierre Curie, it had not been published until December, 1898.

As usual, let us begin by understanding the meaning of the sentence. The sentence says that physicists Marie and Pierre Curie observed the first atom of radium, the heaviest of the earth’s metal, in the summer of 1898. But their discovery was published only in December of the same year.

Error Analysis:
1. Pronoun “it” has no antecedent. Logically, the discovery was not published until December 1898. “it” cannot refer to the action of the observation of the atom.
2. The action of publishing took place later. The sentence incorrectly uses past perfect tense for the action that took place later.

POE:

A. Although the first atom of radium, the heaviest of the earth metals, to be identified was observed in the summer of 1898 by physicists Marie and Pierre Curie, it had not been published until December, 1898.: Incorrect for the reasons stated above.

B. Although not published until December, 1898, in the summer of 1898 physicists Marie and Pierre Curie observed the first atom of radium, the heaviest of the earth metals, to be identified.: Incorrect. The opening modifier “Although not published” refer to the subject of the following main clause “physicists Marie and Pierre Curie”. This is incorrect modification.

C. Although observed by physicists Marie and Pierre Curie in the summer of 1898, the discovery of the first identified atom of radium, the heaviest of the earth metals, had not been published before December, 1898. Incorrect.
a. The opening modifier “Although observed” modifies the subject of the following main clause “the discovery”. This is incorrect modification.
b. Past perfect tense has been incorrectly used for later event.

D. The first atom of radium, the heaviest of the earth metals, to be identified was observed in the summer of 1898 by physicists Marie and Pierre Curie, but the discovery was not published until December, 1898: Correct answer.

E. The first identified atom of radium, the heaviest of the earth metals, was not published until December, 1898, while it was observed in the summer of 1898 by physicists Marie and Pierre Curie. Incorrect. This choice distorts the meaning of the sentence in more than one way.
a. Notice that “to be identified” has been changed to “identified”. These two expressions do not have the same meaning. “to be identified” denotes an action that was to be done on the atom while “identified” is an adjective that modifies “atom”.
b. The sentence says that “the first identified atom” was published and not the discovery of the atom. This is incorrect.



1. Past perfect tense is used for earlier events that took in the past.
2. When there are clear markers that say clearly which event took place earlier and which event took place later, use of past perfect tense for the earlier event becomes optional.
3. The modifiers must modify correct entities to communicate the logical meaning.
4. Pronouns must have a clear noun antecedent.
5. Be wary of any change in the structure of a word or words. Such changes alter the meaning of the word.

Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha
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