Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
eyunni wrote:
Cajuns speak a dialect brought to southern Louisiana by the 4,000 Acadians who migrated there in 1755; their language is basically seventeenth-century French to which has been added English, Spanish, and Italian words.
(A) to which has been added English, Spanish, and Italian words
(B) added to which is English, Spanish, and Italian words
(C) to which English, Spanish, and Italian words have been added
(D) with English, Spanish, and Italian words having been added to it
(E) and, in addition, English, Spanish, and Italian words are added
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that Cajun is basically seventeenth-century French to which English, Spanish, and Italian words have been added.
Concepts tested here: Subject-Verb Agreement + Meaning + Tenses + Redundancy/Awkwardness• The present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present.
• The simple present tense is used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature.
A: This answer choice incorrectly uses the singular verb “has been added” to refer to the plural noun “words”.
B: This answer choice incorrectly uses the singular verb “is” to refer to the plural noun “words”. Further, Option B incorrectly uses the past participle ("added" in this case) verb phrase “added to which” to refer to an action that concluded in the past but continues to affect the present; please remember, the present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present. Additionally, Option B uses the passive voice construction “added to which is”, rendering it awkward and needlessly indirect.
C: Correct. This answer choice correctly uses the plural verb “have been added” to refer to the plural noun “words. Further, Option C correctly uses the adjective phrase “to which English, Spanish, and Italian words have been added” to modify the noun “seventeenth-century French”, conveying the intended meaning - that Cajun is basically seventeenth-century French to which English, Spanish, and Italian words have been added. Additionally, Option C correctly uses the present perfect tense verb “have been added” to refer to an event that concluded in the past but continues to affect the present. Besides, Option C is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.
D: This answer choice uses the needlessly wordy phrase “having been added to it”, leading to awkwardness and redundancy.
E: Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the independent clause “English, Spanish, and Italian words are added”; the construction of this clause leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that Cajun is basically seventeenth-century French to which English, Spanish, and Italian words have been added. Further, Option E incorrectly uses the simple present tense verb “are added” to refer to an action that concluded in the past but continues to affect the present; please remember, the present perfect tense (marked by "has/have") is the correct tense to refer to actions that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present, and simple present tense is used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature. Additionally, Option E redundantly uses “and” alongside “in addition”.
Hence, C is the best answer choice.Additional Note: Some students may think that the verb phrase "have been added" is a present perfect continuous phrase, but this is not the case. Rather, this usage is simply the passive voice version of the present perfect tense verb phrase "have added". The key in differentiating between the two here is the meaning of the sentence; according to the sentence, the Cajun language that exists today is seventeenth-century French to which English, Spanish, and Italian words were added at some point in the past. The addition of these words occurred and concluded in the past, but it continues to affect the present because this addition formed a language, Cajun, spoken today.
To understand the concept of "Present Perfect Continuous Tense" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team