siddhans wrote:
She was less successful after she had emigrated to New York compared to her native Germany, photographer Lotte Jacobi nevertheless earned a small group of discerning admirers, and her photographs were eventually exhibited in prestigious galleries across the United States.
A) She was less successful after she had emigrated to New York compared to
B) Being less successful after she had emigrated to New York as compared to
C) Less successful after she emigrated to New York than she had been in
D) Although she was less successful after emigrating to New York when compared to
E) She had been less successful after emigrating to New York than in
Can someone explain this in detail?
It is better to use "than" if there is a comparative word in the sentence. Here, "less" is comparative, so we need to use "than".
Rules out A, B and D.
E: messes up the verb sequence. "Had been" (past perfect) is used for describing the older event from the two events in the past.
Understand the meaning of the sentence:
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Lotte Jacobi was quite famous in Germany.
Then she moved to New York.
And in New York, she became less famous.
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Older event: Her being more famous when she was in Germany.
Later event: Her being less famous when she moved to New York.
Had been- should be associated with the older event; i.e. her fame when she was in Germany.
E: uses had been with New York; it says after moving to New York, she had been less successful. Wrong.
C: corrects all these errors.
C) Less successful after she emigrated to New York than she had been in
It uses "than" and eliminates all confusing comparator phrases such "as compared to" etc.
Less successful after she moved to New York -- had been is NOT used here, which is good.
she had been in Germany- had been is used for the time when she was in Germany; also good.
Ans: "C"