Camus broke with Sartre in a bitter dispute over the nature of

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

• Choice A is best

• In B, over is misused: the idiomatic form of expression is
broke . . . in , not broke . . . over,
and over should appear immediately before the issue in dispute (i.e. the nature of Stalinism)

• Choice C, wordy ( ) and imprecise, does not specify who was involved in the dispute.

• In D and E, dispute(d) about is less direct and idiomatic than dispute(d) over
Also, D is needlessly wordy and over is misused in E.

*****
COMMENTS ON THE OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

• The author is correct that (C) and (D) are "needlessly wordy."
-- Assertion without explanation is not very helpful.
-- "Wordy" should be among the last reasons we eliminate an option.

-- C) Camus broke with Sartre after there was a bitter dispute over the nature of Stalinism.

-- C is "wordy" because it introduces "there was."
Who was involved in this bitter dispute?
"There was" a dispute between which people? Maybe two friends of Camus and Sartre were having a dispute, and Sartre took one friend's side, an action that led Camus to break with Sartre.

Camus and Sartre were part of an influential group of thinkers.
Maybe their pals Merleau-Ponty and (Sartre's companion) Simone de Beauvoir had the bitter dispute.

-- Example of "wordy," explained: "after there was a bitter dispute over" is not as concise as
"in a bitter dispute over."

• Idiom? DISPUTE OVER - MEANING - CAUSAL SEQUENCE
The idiomatic construction can be gleaned (figured out on your own) from the correct meaning, which in turn can be gleaned from logic.

The difference between (A) "IN" and (B/E) "OVER" is a difference in logical meaning.

Set options A and E next to each other
A) Camus broke with Sartre in a bitter dispute over the nature of Stalinism.
E) Camus broke with Sartre over a bitter dispute about the nature of Stalinism.

Camus and Sartre were IN = were having . . .
a bitter dispute over = a bitter argument about or fight over . . . the nature of Stalinism

Camus broke with Sartre = Camus left whatever partnership, friendship, intellectual "camp," that Camus and Sartre had forged
Why did Camus leave?
A) says that Camus left in the middle of the bitter fight OVER [because of, about] the nature of Stalinism

E) says that Camus left OVER [because of, about] a bitter dispute [about, regarding] the nature of Stalinism.
E) says that Camus left because of a bitter fight (that was about the nature of Stalinism).

Let's say that Catherine (C) and James (J) are engaged to be married.
They get into a bitter dispute over J's membership in a hate organization.
J will not leave the hate organization. Catherine wants James to leave.
When C has had enough, when she cannot tolerate J's being a hate-monger any longer, she leaves.
She "breaks" with him.

In English we say, "We broke up over (because of) Big Problem X."
We do not say "We broke up over (because of) the break up."

Does she leave because they are having a dispute [over his membership in a hate organization]?
Does she leave simply because they are having a fight?

Or does she leave in the midst of the dispute, when she will not stand it any longer, because he is a supporter of hate?
If J left the organization, would Catherine "break" with him? Probably not.
The subject of the dispute is the reason she leaves.

Catherine would say to James: I am leaving because you will not stop being a hate-monger.
I am breaking up with you over the issue of your continuing participation in hate-mongering.

The dispute is not the instigator (fundamental cause) of the break. They have had the dispute for a long time.
Catherine breaks with James in or during the course of a dispute over his belief in hate-mongering.

By contrast, if I say that C broke with J OVER a bitter dispute involving his hate-mongering,
"over" functions as "because of."
What is the object of "because of"? The dispute. Not the content of the dispute, which should be the object of "because of."

Then the sentence means something different from A.
Now it seems as if C did not break with J during the dispute because of J's hate-mongering.
Rather, it seems that the dispute itself caused or instigated the break.

But that logical sequence is off.
His membership in a hate organization and his refusal to leave the organization CAUSED or instigated a dispute
during which, at some point, C broke from J—C "broke up with" J.
The dispute itself is not the cause of the break.

SHORT POE
This question is hard.
The correct idiom is DISPUTE OVER,
not DISPUTE ABOUT.

Now we are down to A, B, and C.

(B) does not make much sense.
Camus broke with Sartre over bitterly disputing the nature of Stalinism.
-- ask which works better: disputing, or a dispute (GMAC often prefers noun forms to ING constructions)
-- in this case, "over" is in the wrong place. Dispute OVER, not "over a dispute."
-- is (B) as clear as (A) or (C)?
B vs. C may be hard to call, but B vs. A is not a hard call.
(A) is clearer.

Now, A or C?
As noted above, (C) does not tell us WHO was in a bitter dispute.

Answer A is best.

Having these replies is invaluable.
Many people will have used identical or similar thought processes
in both the correct eliminations and the incorrect ones.

I appreciate everyone who contributed!

dave13 has the best explanation (and the only correct answer)
kudos!
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Meaning is that two people broke while they were debating about stalinism. (broke in this context means something like "to disaagree with each to such a degree that they dont call each other next day )

A) in a bitter dispute over (this option is logical i think because it follows the intended meaning, so during dispute they kind of broke apart )
B) over bitterly disputing ( this opton means that they broke BECAUSE OF bitter dispute, which is wrong meaning)
C) after there was a bitter dispute over ( this option also changes the meaning, it sounds as if they broke AFTER THE DISPUTE, which is incorrect, because they broke DURING the dispute)

D) after having bitterly disputed about (same issue as in D)
E) over a bitter dispute about (this option changes the intended meaning, i would say it hase the same issue as in B, because both have preposition "over")

IMO A

Yikes! This sentence doesn't make sense to me and I don't know what/who Camus or Sartre are! I'm going to guess that they are people since they are capitalized. Even then, saying "Mike broke with John in a bitter dispute..." doesn't make sense to me, I don't know what "broke" means here.

All that being said, I'll give this a shot.

Meaning: Camus and Sartre got in a dispute. The subject that they disputed on was the nature of Stalinism. Two people do not "broke." Maybe it means they "broke up" like two people that are in a relationship do when they decide to no longer be in a relationship. Let's go with that. Either way, there was a dispute that did not end well.

A) Camus broke with Sartre in a bitter dispute over the nature of Stalinism.

Again, I don't know what that means "broke" with Sartre, but I'm eliminating this because I don't think the "over" and "it" are used idiomatically.

B) Camus broke with Sartre over bitterly disputing the nature of Stalinism.

Verb Tenses! We went from past tense "broke" to present tense "disputing." Eliminate.

C) Camus broke with Sartre after there was a bitter dispute over the nature of Stalinism.

This changes the meaning a little bit. More specifically our timeline. Camus broke with Sartre after there was the dispute. I think this timeline change might be enough to eliminate this one.

Also, "bitter dispute over the nature of Stalinism." I know what this is trying to say, but from a literal sense, I think what it is really saying is that there was a bitter dispute about the nature of Stalinism.

D) Camus broke with Sartre after having bitterly disputed about the nature of Stalinism.

I don't love the verb structure here: "after having disputed..." This would make more sense if it said "after disputing." The "having" is not needed here and I'm sure it breaks some rules.

E) Camus broke with Sartre over a bitter dispute about the nature of Stalinism.

I'm going with this one! Camus broke with Sartre over a dispute. So the "over" is acting as a synonym of "because of." I think that makes sense.

The dispute was about the nature of Stalinism. I like this word choice better than the options in (A) and (C) that say the dispute was over the nature of Stalinism.
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Hi,

Camus broke with Sarte in a bitter dispute over the nature of Stalinism


Meaning- So the sentence says that Camus broke with Sarte and then prepositional phrase explains how did he break? That is in a bitter dispute over the nature of Stalinism

I cannot distinguish between Option A and Option E as I have seen both cases. But I can surely comment on rest other options

Option B .. preposition is not followed by a noun
Option C ... change in meaning by adding a sequence not present in the original sentence
Option D ... change in meaning by adding a sequence not present in the original sentence

Dispute over is the correct idiom
Left with A and C
Though the sequencing is not mentioned in the original sentence but it make the sentence more clear
So C is the answer
Waiting for the OA
Please correct me if I am wrong generis

Answer:
A) Camus broke with Sartre in a bitter dispute---error with 'in'--we do not brake in dispute ,we brake up due to/because of dispute.
B) Again 'over' does not conjugate the sentence correctly... also 'bitterly' is awkward.
C) after there was a bitter dispute over--- dispute over something makes exact sense plus 'after there was' conjugates the sentence correctly---IMO RIGHT CHOICE.
D) 'DISPUTED ABOUT'- wrong because we dispute over something not dispute about something.
E) AGAIN DISPUTE ABOUT here is wrong.

IMO (C) is a better choice over other options.

MikeScarn and Wonderwoman31 I am not sure whether the spoiler in this question had been posted when you answered.

I did not put the spoiler on this post, but we have two likely candidates.
I would put long money on hazelnut , our most tenured SC moderator,
whose ability to find original is unbelievably good.

Read the spoiler.

Only one poster has the correct answer so far, though I like the way
people are "thinking out loud."

"Broke" in this instance is very idiomatic.

It means "break away from" over a schism, a split, in belief systems.

Prepositions are strange in this idiom.

You do not need a "because" substitute; broke with sort of implies a "because."

Let's say I have an intellectual companion, friend, fellow writer, and fellow philosopher.
We are probably the two most influential writers and thinkers in France.
He decides to defend totalitarian governments.

We get into a bitter dispute because he claims that the government he supports is not totalitarian.

In the midst of the bitter dispute that lasts a few years, finally I break with him because I cannot
bear to think of supporting totalitarianism.
(I have just fought in the French resistance in World War II.
We both have.
I am worried because he is so influential, and he is defending a monster.)

This idiom is very compact.

If you figure out which one of you is correct so far,
simply post again, or add to your post at the bottom.

It helps people learn to see other people
reasoning their way through a question.
It helps people (many people!) learn to see that one line of reasoning
wasn't quite correct.

Often we have to know what is not correct before we can know what is.
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generis I am confused between A and E. Could you please explain the difference.

Posted from my mobile device

Wonderwoman31 , the OA posted, but I am giving people the chance to post an explanation until 12 (noon) Pacific Standard time.

Think about logical sequence, and the way in which "broke" is used.

Ghandi broke with British colonial rule in India in a way that revolutionized the anti-colonial movement.

During WWII, General de Gaulle broke with General Petain over Petain's accommodation of Nazism.

(Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French, was exiled in England.
General Petain became titular head of government in occupied France.)


A) Camus broke with Sartre in a bitter dispute over the nature of Stalinism.

E) Camus broke with Sartre over a bitter dispute about the nature of Stalinism.

In our question, two people are locked in a dispute over an ideology.
On principle, one of them cannot accept the stance of the other.

When does he break with his friend's position?
During or after the dispute?

The prepositions suggest time and timing.

At the moment, that material is the best I can offer.

I cannot explain the difference between options A and E until 12 (noon) Pacific Std time.
I will give people a little while longer.

Try to think of the prepositions in a way that is "outside the box."

In this case the correct answer is about timing, and the incorrect answer suggests the wrong timing—the wrong sequence of events.

Hope that helps.
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GMATNinja GMATNinja2 daagh

Could you please share your views on this?

The intended meaning of the sentence is that Camus had a dispute with Sartre about the nature of Stalinism and because of the dispute, Camus broke something (either friendship, partnership or whatever it was) with Sartre.

Keeping this in mind, shouldn't (E) be correct?

And is 'over a dispute' correct or is 'dispute over' correct?

The term "broke with" has two common uses:

"took a different position than"
She broke with her Republican colleagues on the health care bill.

"ended a friendship/partnership/collaboration with" (basically, this is the same as "broke up with," except without the romance)

This second usage is what we're dealing with here, although the other meaning is still there. (They certainly are taking different positions.)

As for the prepositions (in, over, about), we need to consider the meaning. In this case, "over" and "about" can be used more or less interchangeably, although it's true that "over" is a bit better to convey the subject of the dispute ("a dispute over Stalinism"). Imagine, then, saying "They broke with each other ABOUT the dispute." This doesn't make sense. It's kind of like saying "They disagreed about the disagreement." They broke with each other "as part of" or "as a result of" the dispute. The dispute was "about/over" Stalinism. Only A correctly conveys this. B and E incorrectly begin with "over," and C and D eliminate the causal relationship.
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I did not understand that they broke during debates not after. How it can be inferred from the context? Please someone explain. thank you

olgaromazan , I am not clear about what part of any of the explanations above you do not understand, and why. It would help to know.

I'll try one more avenue.

We can infer from context that they broke during or in the midst of their dispute by reasoning backwards.

Start with Stalinism. Stalinism is an ideology, a belief system. Its consequences are grave.

What do we know about a dispute? It's an argument, usually heated, and usually protracted (drawn out, long, long-standing).

Think about a dispute from today -- between countries, for example, over borders.

Two people are quarreling about the nature of a subject that has serious consequences for human beings. They're not arguing about whether an Apple or Samsung cell phone is better.

If they are arguing about the nature of an ideology, and they break over that nature, then the subject and its nature must be really controversial.

The nature of Stalinism is grave enough to cause one person to say to another: "Because you adhere or do not adhere to this belief system, I cannot deal with you [at all]."

The substance and subject of the argument is the cause of the break.

One person, named, breaks with another person, named.

I emphasized "named." Plenty of sentence correction questions mention famous people who may or may not be familiar.
Those people are named -- and by last name only -- because they are important historical figures.

These two influential figures, Camus and Sartre, are in/having a dispute over the nature of an important belief system.

Camus breaks with Sartre. "To break with" is a phrasal verb. It can mean both (1) to break with tradition or with what is expected; or (2) to end a relationship.

Two major people? In a dispute over the nature of an "ism" with a capital "S"?

Reason backwards again. Given the facts above, this dispute is not trivial.

We are given the subject of the dispute. The phrase "nature of" emphasizes that this quarrel is deep. If Camus broke with Sartre because they had a dispute, why mention the subject of the dispute?

Which is more likely:
(1) that these important figures had a short spat over a small issue and one of them pitched a fit, breaking with the other right then and there because they had a fight, a dispute "over the dispute" or because they had a dispute "over bitterly disputing ...
Or
(2) that these important figures were at odds over an important issue ... An issue that caused one of them to leave the relationship rather than accept the position the other had taken with respect to the nature of a belief system of profound implications.

If (1), then Camus broke with Sartre over the argument.
The mere fact that they disagreed led Camus to cut ties with Sartre.

If (2), then Camus was in the midst of a quarrel with Sartre over the serious nature of an important subject, a situation in which the mere fact of a disagreement was not likely to be the cause of the decision by Camus to break with Sartre.

At some point in the midst of that dispute, Camus had had enough. The nature of Stalinism was too important; he could not be in a relationship with someone whose views on Stalinism were different from his.

These men are not major historical figures (a fact that we have inferred) because they were capricious people who pitched fits simply because they disagreed.

Finally, what is wrong with (A)? How and why is another answer better than (A)?

We do not want to question the official answer. But if we choose incorrectly, we need to understand how we went wrong in preferring one option to another.

Why does the idea of being in the middle of a long disagreement and finally reaching a breaking point, during and in the midst of the dispute, seem odd?

This question is hard. The discussion has been fairly extensive. I am not sure which part of any of the analyses does not make sense, and why it does not make sense, and why a different answer does make sense.

I hope that this approach helps.
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AjiteshArun generis
So, in option E, C broke with S OVER a bitter dispute about ..... This implies C broke with S due to the bitterness of the dispute and not due to their disagreements regarding the concept of Stalinism. OVER = = Because of

In option A, C broke with S in a bitter dispute over .... Here, we know C and S have disagreed on a topic for a long time and finally, during a heated discussion, they fell apart with each other. So, this option emphasizes the 'C breaking with S due to disagreements regarding a certain issue' over 'C breaking with S due to simply the bitterness of the dispute'

Am I correct in my understanding?

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