Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
ssandeepan wrote:
Bluegrass musician Bill Monroe, whose repertory, views on musical collaboration, and vocal style were influential on generations of bluegrass artists, was also an inspiration to many musicians, that included Elvis Presley and Jerry Garcia, whose music differed significantly from his own.
(A) were influential on generations of bluegrass artists, was also an inspiration to many musicians, that included Elvis Presley and Jerry Garcia, whose music differed significantly from
(B) influenced generations of bluegrass artists, also inspired many musicians, including Elvis Presley and Jerry Garcia, whose music differed significantly from
(C) was influential to generations of bluegrass artists, was also inspirational to many musicians, that included Elvis Presley and Jerry Garcia, whose music was different significantly in comparison to
(D) was influential to generations of bluegrass artists, also inspired many musicians, who included Elvis Presley and Jerry Garcia, the music of whom differed significantly when compared to
(E) were an influence on generations of bluegrass artists, was also an inspiration to many musicians, including Elvis Presley and Jerry Garcia, whose music was significantly different from that of
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 Bill Monroe's repertory, views on musical collaboration, and vocal style influenced generations of bluegrass artists, and he also inspired many artists, many musicians, including Elvis Presley and Jerry Garcia, whose music differed significantly from his.
Concepts tested here: Grammatical Construction + Subject-Verb Agreement + Parallelism + Awkwardness/Redundancy• When “that” is preceded by a comma, it refers to the noun before the earlier comma.
A: This answer choice incorrectly refers to “bluegrass artists” with “that included Elvis Presley and Jerry Garcia”, incorrectly implying that Elvis Presley and Jerry Garcia are among the musicians influenced by Bill Monroe's repertory, views on musical collaboration, and vocal style; the intended meaning is that Elvis Presley and Jerry Garcia are among the musicians inspired by Bill Monroe, himself; please remember, when “that” is preceded by a comma, it refers to the noun before the earlier comma; hence, in this sentence, “that” incorrectly refers to “musicians”. Further, Option A uses the passive voice constructions “were influential on” and “was also an inspiration to”, rendering it unnecessarily indirect and awkward.
B: Correct. This answer choice correctly refers to the plural compound noun “repertory, views on musical collaboration, and vocal style” with the plural verb “were”. Further, Option B correctly modifies “musicians” with “including Elvis Presley and Jerry Garcia”, conveying the intended meaning – that Elvis Presley and Jerry Garcia are among the musicians inspired by Bill Monroe. Moreover, Option B uses the phrase “differed…from his own”, conveying the intended meaning – that the music of artists such as Elvis Presley and Jerry Garcia differed significantly from Bill Monroe's music. Additionally, Option B is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.
C: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the plural compound noun “repertory, views on musical collaboration, and vocal style” with the singular verb “was”. Further, Option C incorrectly refers to “bluegrass artists” with “that included Elvis Presley and Jerry Garcia”, incorrectly implying that Elvis Presley and Jerry Garcia are among the musicians influenced by Bill Monroe's repertory, views on musical collaboration, and vocal style; the intended meaning is that Elvis Presley and Jerry Garcia are among the musicians inspired by Bill Monroe, himself; please remember, when “that” is preceded by a comma, it refers to the noun before the earlier comma; hence, in this sentence, “that” incorrectly refers to “musicians”. Additionally, Option C uses the passive voice constructions “was influential to”, “was also inspirational”, and “was different significantly in comparison to”, rendering it unnecessarily indirect and awkward.
D: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the plural compound noun “repertory, views on musical collaboration, and vocal style” with the singular verb “was”. Further, Option D uses the passive voice constructions “was influential to” and “the music of whom…compared to”, rendering it unnecessarily indirect and awkward.
E: Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “from that of his own”; here, the pronoun “that” refers to “music”; thus, the use of “that” illogically implies that the music of musicians such as Elvis Presley and Jerry Garcia differed significantly from “that”, referring to “music” of Bill Monroe's own (music); the intended meaning is that the music of musicians such as Elvis Presley and Jerry Garcia differed significantly from Bill Monroe's music. Further, Option E uses the passive voice constructions “were an influence on” and “was also an inspiration to”, rendering it unnecessarily indirect and awkward.
Hence, B is the best answer choice.To understand the concept of the rare case when "That" is preceded by a comma, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
_________________