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KarishmaB
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Classical guitar was neither prestigious nor was often played in conce 22 Apr 2019, 01:17
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sayan640
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Classical guitar was neither prestigious nor was often played in concert halls until it was revived by Andres Segovia in the mid-twentieth century, having been won over by the instrument's sound despite its relative obscurity.

(A) Classical guitar was neither prestigious nor was often played in concert halls until it was revived by Andres Segovia in the mid-twentieth century, having been won over by the instrument's sound despite its relative obscurity.

Option A is wrong because :- was neither X nor was Y " is not parallel. After "nor" helping verb "was" is there. But after "neither " no helping verb "was" is there. Parallelism is violated. So option A is incorrect.

(B) Classical guitar was neither prestigious nor played often in concert halls until it was revived by Andres Segovia in the mid-twentieth century, having been won over by the instrument's sound despite its relative obscurity.
Option B is wrong because "its" is ambiguous . "its" can refer to either sound or guitar.


(C) Classical guitar was not prestigious and was not often played in concert halls until Andres Segovia revived it in the mid-twentieth century, after he was won over by the sound despite the instrument's relative obscurity.
Option C is correct.

(D) Classical guitar did not have prestige nor was it performed often in concert halls until its revival by Andres Segovia, who in the mid-twentieth century was won over by the instrument's sound despite its relative obscurity.
Option D is wrong
because :- "its" is ambiguous . "its" can refer to either sound or guitar.
(E) Classical guitar was neither prestigious nor was often played in concert halls until Andres Segovia revived it in the mid-twentieth century, when he was won over by the sound of the relatively obscure instrument.

Same reason for A. After "neither" no verb is there but after "nor" , "was" is there. So parallelism is not maintained.

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Is my explanation correct ?
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The point in time that is given should be the "time of revival of the guitar".
Option (D) is incorrect because it seems to say that mid-twentieth century was the time when Andres was won over by the instrument's sound. This just doesn't make sense.

What we expect is:
The guitar was not A and not B until Andres revived it in mid twentieth century.

not

The guitar was not A and not B until its revival by Andres who was won over in mid twentieth century.
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Classical guitar was neither prestigious nor was often played in conce 10 Jul 2020, 21:43
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Great explanations by everyone.
The major confusion was between (B) and (C).

Here are my 2 cents on how I tried differentiating between the two. Please let me know if my thought process is correct. Thanks!

(B) Classical guitar was neither prestigious nor played often in concert halls until it was revived by Andres Segovia in the mid-twentieth century, having been won over by the instrument's sound despite its relative obscurity.

The intended meaning is correct in both (B) and (C) but (B) contains a verb-ing modifier. Now a , verbing-ing modifier is an action modifier where the Modified Action and Modifier Action should have the Same Doer. The Modifier Action has Andres as the Doer (he was won over) but the Modified Action has Classical Guitar as its central Subject and not the Doer as Andres.

Therefore, we have an error in (B)

Hence, Answer (C)
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Classical guitar was neither prestigious nor was often played in conce 11 Jul 2020, 02:00
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Classical guitar was neither prestigious nor was often played in concert halls until it was revived by Andres Segovia in the mid-twentieth century, having been won over by the instrument's sound despite its relative obscurity.


(A) Classical guitar was neither prestigious nor was often played in concert halls until it was revived by Andres Segovia in the mid-twentieth century, having been won over by the instrument's sound despite its relative obscurity. - modifier is incorrectly modifying the classical guitar because of the passive construction of the sentence[color=#c4df9b][/color]

(B) Classical guitar was neither prestigious nor played often in concert halls until it was revived by Andres Segovia in the mid-twentieth century, having been won over by the instrument's sound despite its relative obscurity. _ modifier error of A

(C) Classical guitar was not prestigious and was not often played in concert halls until Andres Segovia revived it in the mid-twentieth century, after he was won over by the sound despite the instrument's relative obscurity.

(D) Classical guitar did not have prestige nor was it performed often in concert halls until its revival by Andres Segovia, who in the mid-twentieth century was won over by the instrument's sound despite its relative obscurity.

(E) Classical guitar was neither prestigious nor was often played in concert halls until Andres Segovia revived it in the mid-twentieth century, when he was won over by the sound of the relatively obscure instrument.
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Classical guitar was neither prestigious nor was often played in conce 02 Oct 2022, 07:51
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Would this sentence be correct if the phrase in the middle is in active voice
"Classical guitar was neither prestigious nor was often played in concert halls until Andres revived it in the mid-twentieth century, having been won over by the instrument's sound despite the instrument's relative obscurity"

I want to understand how I can determine what the verb-ing modifier is modifying in the original sentence and does the modified entity change if we change voice.
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Classical guitar was neither prestigious nor was often played in conce 13 Jan 2023, 04:31
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Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
swatirpr
Classical guitar was neither prestigious nor was often played in concert halls until it was revived by Andres Segovia in the mid-twentieth century, having been won over by the instrument's sound despite its relative obscurity.


(A) Classical guitar was neither prestigious nor was often played in concert halls until it was revived by Andres Segovia in the mid-twentieth century, having been won over by the instrument's sound despite its relative obscurity.

(B) Classical guitar was neither prestigious nor played often in concert halls until it was revived by Andres Segovia in the mid-twentieth century, having been won over by the instrument's sound despite its relative obscurity.

(C) Classical guitar was not prestigious and was not often played in concert halls until Andres Segovia revived it in the mid-twentieth century, after he was won over by the sound despite the instrument's relative obscurity.

(D) Classical guitar did not have prestige nor was it performed often in concert halls until its revival by Andres Segovia, who in the mid-twentieth century was won over by the instrument's sound despite its relative obscurity.

(E) Classical guitar was neither prestigious nor was often played in concert halls until Andres Segovia revived it in the mid-twentieth century, when he was won over by the sound of the relatively obscure instrument.
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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 Andres Segovia revived the classical guitar in the mid-twentieth century after he was won over by its sound despite the instrument's relative obscurity, and until this revival, the classical guitar was not prestigious and was not often played in concert halls.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Modifiers + Parallelism

• In modifying a clause, the "comma + present participle ("verb+ing" - "having" in this sentence)" implies that the subject of the clause took the action referred to by the participle.
• “neither A nor B” and “either A or B” are idiomatic uses and are only used when referring to two elements; A and B must be parallel.
• All elements linked by conjunction must be parallel.

A:
1/ This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence by modifying the clause "it was revived by Andres Segovia in the mid-twentieth century" with the phrase "having been won over"; the use of the "comma + present participle ("verb+ing" - "having" in this sentence) illogically implies that the classical guitar was won over by its own sound; the intended meaning is that Andres Segovia was won over by the classical guitar's sound; remember, in modifying a clause, the "comma + present participle ("verb+ing" - "having" in this sentence)" implies that the subject of the clause took the action referred to by the participle.
2/ Option A fails to maintain parallelism between A ("prestigious") and B ("was often played in concert halls") in the idiomatic construction "neither A nor B"; remember, “neither A nor B” and “either A or B” are idiomatic uses and are only used when referring to two elements; A and B must be parallel.

B: Trap.
1/ This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence by modifying the clause "it was revived by Andres Segovia in the mid-twentieth century" with the phrase "having been won over"; the use of the "comma + present participle ("verb+ing" - "having" in this sentence) illogically implies that the classical guitar was won over by its own sound; the intended meaning is that Andres Segovia was won over by the classical guitar's sound; remember, in modifying a clause, the "comma + present participle ("verb+ing" - "having" in this sentence)" implies that the subject of the clause took the action referred to by the participle.

C: Correct.
1/ This answer choice modifies the clause "Andres Segovia revived it in the mid-twentieth century" with the phrase "after he was won over by the sound despite the instrument's relative obscurity", conveying the intended meaning - that Andres Segovia revived the classical guitar in the mid-twentieth century and was won over by its sound at some earlier point in time, even though the instrument was relatively obscure.
2/ Option C avoids the parallelism error seen in Options A and E, as it does not use the "neither A nor B" construction and maintains parallelism between "not prestigious" and "not often played in concert halls"; remember, all elements linked by conjunction must be parallel.

D:
1/ This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "who in the mid-twentieth century was won over"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that Andres Segovia was won over by the classical guitar's sound in the mid-twentieth century and revived the classical guitar at an indeterminate point in time; the intended meaning is that Andres Segovia revived the classical guitar in the mid-twentieth century and was won over by its sound at some earlier point in time.

E: Trap.
1/ This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "when he was won over by the sound of the relatively obscure instrument"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that Andres Segovia was won over by the classical guitar's sound in the mid-twentieth century and revived the classical guitar during the same time period; the intended meaning is that Andres Segovia revived the classical guitar in the mid-twentieth century and was won over by its sound at some earlier point in time, even though the instrument was relatively obscure.
2/ Option E fails to maintain parallelism between A ("prestigious") and B ("was often played in concert halls") in the idiomatic construction "neither A nor B"; remember, “neither A nor B” and “either A or B” are idiomatic uses and are only used when referring to two elements; A and B must be parallel.

Hence, C is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Either-Or" and "Neither-Nor" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):



All the best!
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Classical guitar was neither prestigious nor was often played in conce 11 Apr 2024, 09:22
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