A professor at the university has taken a sabbatical to research on

When "research" alone is used as a verb, no preposition should be used.

Correct: He researched the subject.

When a verb such as as "do" or "conduct" is placed before the word "research" (which is then used as a noun), a preposition should be used. "On," "into," and "about" are all acceptable.

Correct: He did research on the subject.
Correct: He did research into the subject
Correct: He conducted research about the subject.

Yes, the usage is correct. According to the Free Dictionary, 'there' is a noun, an adverb, a pronoun, or an adjective. Therefore, please be confirmed that 'there' can well refer back to the place and noun 'France'.


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2. Yes. A is certainly wrong for using the possessive noun Baldwin's for the non-possessive pronoun 'he'.




'Research' can be used both as a noun and as a verb. However when the term is used as a verb, say like in this case, it doesn't normally take a preposition such as on, into, or about etc. Even this is a gray area since dictionaries like the Free Dictionary have not raised any objection to sentence such as --
I decided that I would research into Queen Elizabeth.
We researched into the period in which she lived.
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/research

On the contrary, research freely takes a preposition when acting as a noun. Example --I did research on Dinosaurs in my Masters
Project SETI was asked to conduct research into UFOs.
Therefore A, B, C and can all be eliminated in a knock


In my firm opinion- no-. D is, of course, is dispensable on the verb research + preposition score like in A, B, and C. but not on pronoun ambiguity. The pronoun ambiguity referred here is whether the word 'he' stands for the professor or Baldwin. IMO, there is no ambiguity about 'he' referring to Baldwin. I do not also take the argument that he is ok with Baldwin because of proximity. Nay. Look at the verb tenses.
The professor has taken a sabbatical (a present perfect tense, while he lived in the past tense. While denotes simultaneity and hence the professor living in a present perfect could not have taken a leave in the past. It should be either he took a sabbatical when he lived or has taken a sabbatical when has lived or has been living. Tense grammar is clear about this aspect. He cannot logically refer to the professor and only can antecede Baldwin.

The takeaway; boldly click E
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A B C D wrong idiomatic usage of research

to research on= WRONG
to research about = WRONG
to research into = WRONG

E is the only remaining option.
The entire exercise has become a POE trick rather than actually honing into the right answer using elegant grammar rules.
"He" is ambiguous in E but by the "pronoun touch rule for unclear antecedents" :- Such pronouns are considered to refer the to the closest noun or other pronoun.
"He" refers to the closest noun which is Baldwin and thus this options delivers the correct intended meaning of the sentence.

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that the professor has taken a sabbatical to research the books James Baldwin wrote during the period of time in which he lived in France.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Idioms + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• When “research” is used as a verb, it requires no helping word and is followed directly by a noun.

A: This answer choice incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction “research (verb) + on”; please remember, when “research” is used as a verb, it requires no helping word and is followed directly by a noun. Further, Option A uses the needlessly wordy phrase “James Baldwin's books...was living there”, leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

B: Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “books James Baldwin wrote in France”; the omission of the word “lived” incorrectly implies that the professor has taken a sabbatical to research the books James Baldwin wrote while located in France; the intended meaning is that the professor has taken a sabbatical to research the books James Baldwin wrote during the period of time in which he lived in France. Further, Option B incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction “research (verb) + about”; please remember, when “research” is used as a verb, it requires no helping word and is followed directly by a noun.

C: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “James Baldwin's books written while in France”; the construction of this phrase and the omission of the word “lived” incorrectly imply that the professor has taken a sabbatical to research James Baldwin's books that were written while the books were in France; the intended meaning is that the professor has taken a sabbatical to research the books James Baldwin wrote during the period of time in which he lived in France. Further, Option C incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction “research (verb) + into”; please remember, when “research” is used as a verb, it requires no helping word and is followed directly by a noun.

D: This answer choice incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction “research (verb) + on”; please remember, when “research” is used as a verb, it requires no helping word and is followed directly by a noun. Further, Option D uses the passive voice construction “books of James Baldwin”, rendering it awkward and needlessly indirect.

E: Correct. This answer choice uses the phrase “books James Baldwin wrote while he lived in France”, conveying the intended meaning – that the professor has taken a sabbatical to research the books James Baldwin wrote during the period of time in which he lived in France. Further, Option E correctly uses the idiomatic construction “research (verb) + noun”. Besides, Option E is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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The first thing you can learn from this question is not to be quick to eliminate choices that are not ideal but also not clearly incorrect.

If a choice has a clear subject-verb agreement issue, if a version is not even a complete sentence, or if there is some other clear deal-breaker, then you can eliminate a choice without question.

However, in this case, it's debatable that, in the (E) version, "he" fairly clearly refers to "James Baldwin," because the only other possible referent, "a professor" is way at the beginning of the sentence, not near to "he," and because it doesn't really make sense that a professor would have some reason to research books written while that professor lived in France. So, the (E) version is far from clearly incorrect, and therefore, you need to keep such a choice unless you find a better one.

Regarding the other choices,

(A) is ridiculously worded. "James Baldwin's books that Baldwin wrote" is redundant as is "wrote in France while he was living there."

(B) is mostly just wrong because of "research about," though "in France" is rather minimal and, thus, not ideal. Does it really make sense to say "wrote in France." Do you write "in" a place. Sort of, but not quite the way you "swim in a lake" or "read in bed." "Write in France" is not terrible, but it's not very descriptive.

(C) seem to convey that the books were in France while being written, an illogical meaning.

(D) separates the writing of the books from James Baldwin, as if the books were written while he was in France, but not necessarily by him.

So, we can see that the minor possible pronoun ambiguity in the (E) version is rather insignificant in comparison with the major flaws in the other versions, and we can see why it makes sense to keep a choice like (E), because it could easily be the best one.
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A professor at the university has taken a sabbatical to research on James Baldwin's books that Baldwin wrote in France while he was living there.

When "research" is used as a verb, idiomatically, no preposition should be used.
Correct: He researched the Byzantine era. (No prepositions after “researched”)

When a verb such as "conduct" or "did" or is placed before "research", idiomatically, a preposition like "on," "into," and "about" can be used.
Correct: He did research on the Byzantine era.
Correct: He did research into the Byzantine era.
Correct: He conducted research about the Byzantine era.

(A) on James Baldwin's books that Baldwin wrote in France while he was living there “to research on” is idiomatically incorrect

(B) about the books James Baldwin wrote in France “to research about” is idiomatically incorrect

(C) into James Baldwin's books written while in France “to research into” is idiomatically incorrect

(D) on the books of James Baldwin, written while he lived in France “to research on” is idiomatically incorrect

(E) the books James Baldwin wrote while he lived in France Correct idiomatic usage of “research”

- Nitha
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For (B), the good reason to eliminate is the use of "to research about".

"the books James Baldwin wrote in France" is not ideal but acceptable. Perhaps James Baldwin used to move from one country to another and write different books in each country. I cannot say that this sentence is wrong other than the use of "about".

Though it is a bit odd and "the books James Baldwin wrote while he lived in France" is preferable because it means the books he wrote while he lived in France. This is what we normally expect an author to do. He writes irrespective of where he is. Some books he would have written during the time he was in France. We wouldn't expect him to jump from country to country writing 2 books in every country or some such thing.

The other options are all unclear compared to option (E)

(A) on James Baldwin's books that Baldwin wrote in France while he was living there

Too clumsy. Baldwin's books that Baldwin wrote ... in France while he was living there... ('there' referring again to France)

(C) into James Baldwin's books written while in France

Who was in France? Who wrote? (We understand that since they are Baldwin's books, Baldwin wrote them but why to make it indirect)

(D) on the books of James Baldwin, written while he lived in France

Again, why to make who wrote indirect. 'written' seems to be modifying Baldwin though again we know that it can jump to modify books.

(E) the books James Baldwin wrote while he lived in France

Quite clear that Baldwin wrote and while he lived in France.

Answer (E)

Helllo MadaraU,

I will be glad to help you resolve the doubt.

Following is the correct version of the sentence (with Choice E):

A professor at the university has taken a sabbatical to research the books (that) James Baldwin wrote while he lived in France.

(Blue = subjects, Green = verbs)

In the correct answer choice, that, the relative pronoun modifier that refers to the preceding noun entity the books is understood. It is so because that, the modifier, does not act as the subject of the dependent clause it starts. Let's take a few simple examples here to understand the usage:

I like the pizza that contains only vegetables.

In the above-mentioned sentence, that refers to the preceding noun the pizza and acts as the subject of the dependent clause that it starts. Hence, it must be explicitly mentioned in the sentence.




Now look at the following sentence:

I like the pizza that my mother makes at home.

In the above-mentioned sentence, that refers to the preceding noun the pizza but does not act as the subject of the dependent clause that it starts. The subject of the dependent clause started by that is my mother. Hence, it it not necessary to mention that in the sentence. The sentence can be written as follows:

I like the pizza my mother makes at home.

Same is the case with the correct answer choice of this official sentence. Since that does not act as the subject of the dependent clause it starts, it has been kept understood in the sentence.

Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha
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Comparing the differences in the answer choices, I'm going to focus on the part that comes right before the underlined part. To research on? To research into? To research about? The only one that makes sense is to research the books.

If you're not familiar with that idiom, or rather, that there is no prepositional phrase comes after to research, separate the answer choices based on wrote or written.

The choices that say written make it ambiguous as to who was doing the writing. I would focus on ABE first.

At that point hopefully you will notice that to research on and to research about are both incorrect. E is the answer.

Farrell Dyan Hehn, MBA
Admissions Consultant & Verbal Strategist MBAPrepCoach.com
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Hey aalekhoza

I will try to explain in simple terms as to why "to research on, to research about, to research into" is incorrect.

But first for the main doubts- "To research" is not a verb. Yes agreed. "To + action word" is not a verb.

Now only focus on the word "research".
Ask yourself this whenever u see it in a sentence.
Does it have a VERB before it? NO. We CANNOT use a preposition after it.
Does it have a VERB before it? YES. We use a preposition after it.

Simple Example:
1. The professor at the university has taken a leave to do a research on James Baldwin's books. -------- CORRECT.
Why is the above example correct? Because we have a verb before research.

2. The professor at the university has taken a leave to research on James Baldwin's books. --------- INCORRECT
Why is it incorrect? Because we DO NOT have a verb before research.
So how do i correct it? Just remove the preposition "on".

Hope it helps.
Please correct me if I am wrong. GMATNinja VeritasKarishma

Sentence Analysis
The sentence says that a professor has taken a sabbatical to do something i.e. to research books written by James Baldwin. He wrote these books while he lived in France.

The sentence has the following errors:

The sentence is redundant to the point of hilarity! Do we need to say that James Baldwin’s books were written by Baldwin?! Or do we need to say that he wrote the books in France while he lived in France? If he didn’t live there, how would he write the books there?
When ‘research’ is used as a verb, the object of the research should immediately follow the verb without any preposition. Therefore, “to research on the books” is incorrect. We need to have “to research the books”. (If ‘research’ is used as a noun, then ‘research on’ is fine e.g. He conducted research on fatty acids.)

Dear daagh, as you and thecriticalreader1 wrote that research cannot take a preposition when it acts as a verb, but what I need to understand is how come research acts as a verb in the above sentence? IMO, it is in the form of an infinitive and is a verb looking word (to + research), but not verb.

Subject - A professor , Main verb - has taken.
Can any expert resolve my doubt? It would be much appreciated. TIA.

Hello Everyone!

Let's tackle this question, one issue at a time, to figure out which option is the correct choice! Here is the original question, with the major differences between each option highlighted in orange:

A professor at the university has taken a sabbatical to research on James Baldwin's books that Baldwin wrote in France while he was living there.

(A) on James Baldwin's books that Baldwin wrote in France while he was living there
(B) about the books James Baldwin wrote in France
(C) into James Baldwin's books written while in France
(D) on the books of James Baldwin, written while he lived in France
(E) the books James Baldwin wrote while he lived in France

After a quick glance over the options, two major differences become clear:

1. How they begin
2. How they end

If we start with how each option begins, we need to focus on the idiomatic structure with the phrase "to research."

Whenever we research something, we have to ask the question: WHAT are we going to research? In English, we follow the structure "to research X," with X being the topic at hand. Let's see which options use the idiomatic structure correctly, and rule out those that don't:

(A) to research on James Baldwin's books that Baldwin wrote in France while he was living there --> "to research on X" is INCORRECT
(B) to research about the books James Baldwin wrote in France --> "to research about X" is INCORRECT
(C) to research into James Baldwin's books written while in France --> "to research into X" is INCORRECT
(D) to research on the books of James Baldwin, written while he lived in France --> "to research on X" is INCORRECT
(E) to research the books James Baldwin wrote while he lived in France --> "to research X" is CORRECT

There you go - option E is the only one that uses the proper idiom structure "to research X."


Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
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Hey StrugglingGmat2910 ,

Problem with A is that we have two nouns to which "he" can refer to.

It could be either the professor or Baldwin. Therefore, the meaning is ambiguous here. Who was living in france?

Does that make sense?
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Hi Prateek176,

Happy to help



The POE is actually quite simple -- we can eliminate all the incorrect answers with a single split. As others have pointed out, when "research" is used as a verb, it must be followed directly by a noun. So "to research on", "to research about", and "to research into" are all incorrect, leaving only choice E. It's as easy as that

Hope that helps!
-Carolyn
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Hello, dave13. How about we look at the sentence in question?



The real issue is that, as has been mentioned above, the verb research is not followed by a preposition. (Contrast this with the noun research, which can, in fact, use a preposition—The professor left on sabbatical to conduct research on/into [something].) I do not see an ambiguous he because the present perfect has taken precludes it. If you view the sentence as though he may refer to the professor, you get a garbled mess:

A professor... has taken a sabbatical to research... while he was living there.

If the simple past took were used instead, I could see the problem, but with has taken, I expect a present-tense is living (or lives) to agree with it. Jumping back into the past simply makes no sense.

If we compare (A) and (E) side by side, we can expose other flaws:


The repetition in (A) of both Baldwin and, in a manner of speaking, France (the referent of there) is unnecessary and hampers the expression of vital meaning. For all these reasons, (A) can safely be eliminated.

I hope that helps. Thank you for thinking to ask me about this one.

- Andrew
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kadamhari825

1) You seem to have answered your own question. "To research" is an infinitive, not a verb. It serves as an adverbial modifier explaining why the professor has taken a sabbatical.
2) There's not really another candidate for "he." First, James Baldwin is who were are talking about in that part of the sentence. Second, the part about the professor is in the present perfect, while this part is in the past. The only way we could read "he" as the professor is to imagine that the research will be on the books Baldwin happened to be writing at some previous time when the professor was living in France. That's pretty strange, and there's no reason to go to all those contortions when there's a more reasonable interpretation. Even if we somehow like that interpretation, it doesn't fit the meaning of most of the other choices. Remember, pronoun ambiguity is only a problem if the intended meaning has not been made sufficiently clear.

As for the part about D, I don't follow your reasoning, so feel free to follow up if needed. Yes, "written" modifies the books. The problem with D is that it implies that ALL of Baldwin's books were written in France, when we should be looking at just the subset of Baldwin's books that were written in France. However, none of that affects the pronoun "he," which still refers to Baldwin. (D also has the incorrect idiom "to research on." In fact, the simplest way to solve this question is just to scan the initial idioms and cut everything but E.)
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Hi adkikani, actually when that is used as a relative pronoun (as is the case in the sentence under consideration), that can refer to either singular or plural nouns. In fact, this is true for all relative pronouns.

On the other hand, when that is used as a demonstrative pronoun, that can only refer to singular nouns.

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses the various "avatars" of that, its application and examples in significant detail. If someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.
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