Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
laxieqv wrote:
Pablo Picasso, the late Spanish painter, credited African art with having had a strong influence on his work.
(A) with having had
(B) for its having
(C) to have had
(D) for having
(E) in that it had
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:.Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that Pablo Picasso credited African art with having had a strong influence on his work, over a period of time in the past.
Concepts tested here: Idioms + Tenses + Meaning + Verb Forms + Awkwardness/Redundancy• “credited with” is a correct, idiomatic usage.
• The perfect infinitive verb form (“to + have + past participle” – “to have been” in this sentence) is used to refer to the earlier of two actions in the past, refer to hypothetical actions, and actions that will be completed in the future.
• “in that” is used to refer to intrinsic properties.
A: Correct. This answer choice correctly uses the idiomatic construction “credited with”. Further, Option A uses the phrase "having had", conveying the intended meaning - that Pablo Picasso credited African art with having had a strong influence on his work, over a period of time in the past. Additionally, Option A is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.
B: This answer choice incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction “credited for” rather than the idiomatic construction “credited with”; please remember, “credited with” is correct, idiomatic usage. Further, Option B uses the needlessly wordy and indirect phrase "its having", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.
C: Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction “credited to” rather than the idiomatic construction “credited with”; please remember, “credited with” is correct, idiomatic usage. Further, Option C incorrectly uses the perfect infinitive verb form construction "to have had" to refer to an action that took place over a period of time in the past; please remember, the perfect infinitive verb form (“to + have + past participle” – “to have had” in this sentence) is used to refer to the earlier of two actions in the past, refer to hypothetical actions, and actions that will be completed in the future.
D: Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction “credited for” rather than the idiomatic construction “credited with”; please remember, “credited with” is correct, idiomatic usage. Further, Option D alters the meaning of the sentence through the use of the present participle (“verb+ing” - “having” in this sentence); the use of the present participle incorrectly implies that at the time when Picasso credited African art for its influence on his work, it was continuing to have an influence on the same; the intended meaning is that when Picasso credited African art for its influence on his work, African art had already influenced his work.
E: E. This answer choice incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction “credited in that” rather than the idiomatic construction “credited with”; please remember, “credited with having” is correct, idiomatic usage. Further, Option E incorrectly uses “in that” construction to refer to an action taken by “African art”; please remember, “in that” is used to refer to intrinsic properties.
Hence, A is the best answer choice.Please Note: Many students may reject Option A, as the phrase “having had” seems awkward at first glance; however, “having had” is a modifier phrase, wherein “had” refers to the action taken by "African art" on having an impact on Picasso's art in the past, and “having” denotes that this action took place over a period of time. Thus, Option A correctly uses the phrase “having had” to convey that over a period of time in the past, African art had an impact on Pablo Picasso's work.
To understand the concept of "Between" versus "In That" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minutes):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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