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JDF
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Although the researchers agreed unanimously on their 06 Jun 2019, 23:17
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Everyone realizes B improperly changes the meaning of this sentence, right?

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Although the researchers agreed unanimously on their 08 Jun 2019, 14:21
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ugimba
25.Although the researchers agreed unanimously on their expectations for the outcome of the experiment, their surprise was evident when the actual data started coming in.

A) their surprise was evident when
B) they were evidently surprised when
C) their surprise was in evidence when
D) they were evidently surprised as
E) they were surprised as

please explain
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Hi GMATNinja, Can you please provide valuable inputs for the answer to the above question? Thanks.
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Although the researchers agreed unanimously on their 20 Jun 2019, 13:16
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ugimba
25.Although the researchers agreed unanimously on their expectations for the outcome of the experiment, their surprise was evident when the actual data started coming in.

A) their surprise was evident when
B) they were evidently surprised when
C) their surprise was in evidence when
D) they were evidently surprised as
E) they were surprised as

please explain
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Dear GMATNinja,

From above explanation I am confused which one is the correct answer. eagerly waiting for correct answer with explanation. kindly help on the regard.
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Although the researchers agreed unanimously on their 20 Jun 2019, 13:42
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generis

Can you please break this down? I was stuck between B and D and went with D because I presumed 'as' points to a continuous time period and 'started coming in' is not a specific point in time.

I see that our experts here also had views contradicting with the OA.

Please explain! :)

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Although the researchers agreed unanimously on their 21 Jun 2019, 21:51
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ugimba
25.Although the researchers agreed unanimously on their expectations for the outcome of the experiment, their surprise was evident when the actual data started coming in.

A) their surprise was evident when
B) they were evidently surprised when
C) their surprise was in evidence when
D) they were evidently surprised as
E) they were surprised as
Show more

firas92
generis

Can you please break this down? I was stuck between B and D and went with D because I presumed 'as' points to a continuous time period and 'started coming in' is not a specific point in time.

I see that our experts here also had views contradicting with the OA.

Please explain! :)

Posted from my mobile device
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Hi firas92 - as is the case with many non-official questions, this one has some issues.

I think that we are supposed to envision a fairly stark contrast.
Although is a contrast word that suggests the result is surprising. See HERE
(Compare with whereas, which presents contrast as mere difference rather than as a surprise. HERE)

A bunch of researchers unanimously expect a particular outcome from an experiment.
Data comes in.
They are surprised.

Evidently means clearly visible, obviously, or in a way that can be seen clearly and easily.

I thought about "surprise."
I don't know about most people, but I am not slowly surprised by something.
I go from not surprised to "Huh?!" in moments.

Their "evident" surprise confirms what is linguistically typical: surprised when.
You can see it—they are visibly surprised. This visibility does not suggest a long incubation period.

I was surprised when X happened.
I was surprised as X happened.
-- I cannot say that "surprised as" is wrong. I have no idea whether surprised when is an idiom (35,000 of these idioms? Enough already.)
-- I can say that "surprised when" seems a lot more natural, probably because surprise by nature happens in a moment.
I cannot recall ever having written surprised as.

AS?
(1) as means during. It can even mean when.
(2) as also means because. AS is ambiguous.
(3) does this sentence mean that they were surprised AT THE TIME the data came in, or BECAUSE the data came in?
(4) when suggests at that time more strongly than as does.

• Split #1: Style
Eliminate A and C because they shift from people as the subject to their expressions as the subject,
and other options mimic A and C without the shift.

Quote:
A) their surprise was evident when
C) their surprise was in evidence when
Show more

-- A is grammatical, but GMAC does not like a shift from active to this passive.
We've shifted from people as the subject to their reaction as the subject.
Plus, B gets all of A's ideas without the shift.

-- C is also grammatical. "in evidence" is old-fashioned, but it means that something is clear.
C has the same people vs. their reaction problem as A does

• Split #2: WHEN vs. AS

Quote:
B) they were evidently surprised when

D) they were evidently surprised as
E) they were surprised as
Show more
WHEN vs. AS

I want to take "evidently" out of B.
Or I want E to end with when

And if wishes were horses then beggars would ride. :grin:

MEANING: When is better.

1) does AS mean at the time the data came in or because the data came in?

2) AS is slightly different from WHEN. Both can mean "at the moment that," but AS also connotes during a period of time.

3) surprise is not slow. We want contrast. They are unanimous. Data comes in. When they see the data, they are surprised.
They all believed that one thing would happen, but another thing happened.

AS is ambiguous. WHEN is not.

When is more in line with dramatic contrast (suggested by "although"); with the nature of surprise; and, because I cannot jettison "evidently," with the notion that their surprise is clearly visible.

The answer is B.

I hope that analysis helped.

I've researched only a little to back up my memory, so I could be wrong, but — "surprised as" has shown up in an official question exactly zero times.
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Although the researchers agreed unanimously on their 21 Jun 2019, 22:09
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JDF
Everyone realizes B improperly changes the meaning of this sentence, right?

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Hi JDF ,
I don't understand what you mean.

Please explain?
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Although the researchers agreed unanimously on their 06 Oct 2020, 12:12
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I can't find any mistake with A. What am I missing here.
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Although the researchers agreed unanimously on their 06 Oct 2020, 18:43
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Took me a bit of thinking to see why the use of “their surprise was evident” is incorrect.


Using the passive voice to eliminate answers could become problematic. We might end up eliminating Answer choices that use the passive voice correctly. There is no hard rule saying do not use the passive voice.

The issue I see now is in the meaning. A is wrong because saying “their surprise was evident” is implying the THING of “surprise” was “plain to see” or “evident”.

I do not think it makes sense to say that an intangible thing such as an emotion (“surprise”) can be “evident” ALL BY ITSELF.

Rather, it is the person who is “clearly surprised”. Using “evidently” before surprised, as was done in Answer Choice B, puts the emphasis on the researchers/people.

These people were “plainly/clearly surprised”.

The intangible thing = “surprise” is NOT evident by itself.

Does that seem to make sense? Anyone agree or disagree?

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Although the researchers agreed unanimously on their 13 Oct 2020, 00:04
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JDF
Everyone realizes B improperly changes the meaning of this sentence, right?
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Yes, that's a key point that most folks are missing here.

If something is evident, then it's plain or obvious.

On other hand, evidently has two possible meanings: 1) obviously; 2) apparently. The second meaning is much weaker. When you say, "Evidently, he had breakfast this morning," what you mean is: "It appears that he had breakfast this morning." It's not a very strong statement.

So, in choice B), "they were evidently surprised" is ambiguous. The more typical meaning would be: "they seemed to be surprised." The meaning could also be: "they were plainly surprised," but in the U.S. at least, most people would not express this meaning like that.

Anyway, there's nothing wrong with "their surprise was evident when . . ." In fact, I think that wording makes the intended meaning much clearer. Also, was is a linking verb here, so this not a passive construction.
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Although the researchers agreed unanimously on their 09 Aug 2021, 12:59
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Still confused!!! Anyone who can better explain the logic behind choosing B over D.
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Although the researchers agreed unanimously on their 21 Oct 2022, 19:44
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