BobFrank
There seems to be conflict over whether the past or the present tense is to be used
Hello,
BobFrank. Not to add fuel to the fire, but I find myself more in agreement with
daagh above. Although it
could be true that the sentence is aiming to convey how celebrated a figure
the chemist Mendel was at the time he was awarded the Nobel Prize, we have to question the use of the present perfect
have been in the introductory phrase. If I were to see the sentence only up to the first comma, I would predict that the sentence would go on to discuss one scientist from among
all the recipients of the prize, right up to the present day. Otherwise, I would expect the past perfect
had been to introduce the main clause instead. Then, the sentence would clearly be discussing a point in time in the past, the moment or year in which Mendel was awarded the prize.
I think the reason the question is causing such a stir is that it is not constructed too well. I am not familiar with the source "Grockit," but I am next to positive the site or company does not screen its questions as rigorously as GMAC™ does its own. The idiomatic split
more... as versus
more... than is fair game—I have seen this very split appear in official questions. But an official question will present one clearcut winner, not two, from among the five iterations of the same sentence. We cannot simply choose how we want to interpret the sentence and let that preference dictate what is more or less correct. It is probably best to leave this question behind. My advice is to stick with official questions as much as possible, at least for Verbal preparation.
Good luck with your studies.
- Andrew