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Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
chunjuwu wrote:
Galileo did not invent the telescope, but on hearing, in 1609, that such an optical instrument had been made, he quickly built his own device from an organ pipe and spectacle lenses.
(A) Galileo did not invent the telescope, but on hearing, in 1609, that such an optical instrument had been made, he
(B) Galileo had not invented the telescope, but when he heard, in 1609, of such an optical instrument having been made,
(C) Galileo, even though he had not invented the telescope, on hearing, in 1609, that such an optical instrument had been made, he
(D) Even though Galileo did not invent the telescope, on hearing, in 1609, that such an optical instrument had been made,
(E) Even though Galileo did not invent the telescope, but when he heard, in 1609, of such an optical instrument being made, he
Concepts tested here: Tenses + Grammatical Construction + Awkwardness/Redundancy• The simple past tense is used to refer to events that concluded in the past.
• The past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past".
• Information vital to the core meaning of the sentence must not be placed between comas.
• “being” is only to be used when it is part of a noun phrase or represents the passive continuous verb tense; the use of passive continuous must be justified in the context.
A: Correct. This answer choice acts upon the independent subject “Galileo” with the active verbs “invent” and “built” to form a complete thought, leading to a complete sentence. Further, Option A correctly uses the simple past tense to refer to an action that concluded in the past. Additionally, Option A avoids the grammatical construction error seen in Option C, as it only places extra information between commas. Besides, Option A is free of any awkwardness/redundancy.
B: This answer choice incorrectly uses the past perfect tense verb “had not invented” to refer to an action that concluded in the past; please remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to events that concluded in the past, and the past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past". Further, Option B needlessly uses the passive verb construction “having been made”, leading to awkwardness and redundancy.
C: This answer choice incorrectly uses the past perfect tense verb “had not invented” to refer to an action that concluded in the past; please remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to events that concluded in the past, and the past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past". Further, Option C incorrectly places information vital to the core meaning of the sentence – the fact that Galileo did not invent the telescope – between two commas; please remember information vital to the core meaning of the sentence must not be placed between comas.
D: This answer choice fails to form a complete sentence; “invent”, “hearing”, and “had been made” are all parts of modifying phrases, meaning there is no active verb to act upon “Galileo”.
E: This answer choice redundantly uses “Even though” alongside “but”, rendering it awkward and needlessly wordy. Further, Option E incorrectly uses the word “being”, leading to further awkwardness and redundancy; remember, “being” is only to be used when it is part of a noun phrase or represents the passive continuous verb tense; the use of passive continuous must be justified in the context; “being” is only to be used when it is part of a noun phrase or represents the passive continuous verb tense; the use of passive continuous must be justified in the context.
Hence, A is the best answer choice.To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
To understand the concept of "Past Perfect Tense" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):
To understand the concept of "Extra Information Between Commas" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team