Re: Despite making a real effort,the house always seemed
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21 May 2020, 20:53
Despite making a real effort, the house always seemed neater when Jill tidied up than James.
Okay. Here, we need to understand two key points:
Point #1: In this prompt, the first clause begins with a contradiction word 'Despite'. This means that whatever action that followed the first clause was not sufficient (or satisfactory). The correct answer will highlight this contradiction clearly.
Point #2: We need to know who or what failed to meet the satisfactory level.
Keeping these two points in mind, we can now proceed to analyze the available answer choices
A.the house always seemed neater when Jill tidied up than James. -Wait a minute. Is it the house that failed to meet the satisfactory level? Or was it jill? Or James? Since we are not sure who performed below par, this option is incorrect. Hence, eliminate (A)
B.the house seemed neater always if Jill tidied up then James. - Has the same mistake highlighted in (A). Hence, eliminate (B)
C.Jill always tidied the house more neatly than James. - This tells us that Jill is the person who failed to meet the standard (based on the connection with the first clause). But, if you read the second clause, it is Jill who actually performed the task better than James. So, (C) is contradictory. Hence, eliminate (C).
D.Jill always seemed neater tidying the house than James. - Eliminate (D) for the same reasons as in (C)
E.James never tidied the house as neatly as Jill. - This introduces the contrast perfectly; we now know that it is James who failed to meet a standard, and it is Jill who performed better (at the task) than James. There is no meaning error in (E). Hence, (E) is the right answer.