Before the seventeenth century, melancholy was regarded to be a diseas

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Concepts tested here: Idioms + Grammatical Construction + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• "considered" does not require a conjunction or a helping word/phrase; “consider/considered” is always followed directly by the noun, and the similar word "regarded" must be followed by the conjunction "as"; correct usages: Jack is “considered a math genius” or Jack is “regarded as a math genius”.
• Semicolons and the “comma + conjunction” construction are used to link two independent clauses; commas are used to link an independent clause with a dependent one; comma cannot be used to join two independent clauses.
• “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: This answer choice incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction “regarded to be”; please remember, "regarded" must be followed by the conjunction "as". Further, the sentence formed by Option A uses the needlessly wordy phrase “and one characterized by delusions, hysteria, distemper, and paralysis”, leading to awkwardness and redundancy; this phrase is redundant, as “one” can be deleted without a loss of clarity.

B: Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction “regarded to be”; please remember, "regarded" must be followed by the conjunction "as".

C: This answer choice incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction “regarded + noun”; please remember, "regarded" must be followed by the conjunction "as". Further, Option C incorrectly uses a comma to join the independent clauses “melancholy was regarded a disease” and “an excess of black bile in the body caused it”; please remember, semicolons and the “comma + conjunction” construction are used to link two independent clauses; commas are used to link an independent clause with a dependent one; comma cannot be used to join two independent clauses.

D: This answer choice incorrectly uses the word “being”, leading to awkwardness and redundancy; please 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.

E: Correct. This answer choice correctly uses the idiomatic construction “regarded as”. Further, Option E avoids the grammatical construction error seen in Option C, as it features only one independent clause. Besides, Option E is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Considered" vs "Regarded As" on the GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team