During the Italian Renaissance, poplar was the most commonly used for

Question

During the Italian Renaissance, poplar was the most commonly used for Italian panel paintings , including the Mona Lisa, due to this wood's whitish shade, though it sometimes cast a slightly yellowish tint.

A. During the Italian Renaissance, poplar was the most commonly used for Italian panel paintings

B. During the Italian Renaissance, poplar was most commonly used for Italian panel paintings,

C. During the Italian Renaissance, poplar was the most commonly used wood for the painting of Italian panel paintings

D. Poplar was the most commonly used for Italian panel paintings of the Italian Renaissance,

E. During the Italian Renaissance, poplar was the most commonly used wood for Italian panel paintings

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RICHA1189 · Answer

E. During the Italian Renaissance, poplar was the most commonly used wood for Italian panel paintings

brightgmat · Answer

A. During the Italian Renaissance, poplar was the most commonly used for Italian panel paintings -  incorrect  - was the most popular what? ambiguous.

B. During the Italian Renaissance, poplar was most commonly used for Italian panel paintings,
-  incorrect . comma + ing participle modifies entire clause and we need including the Mona Lisa to modify paintings.

C. During the Italian Renaissance, poplar was the most commonly used wood for the painting of Italian panel paintings -  incorrect . "for the painting of ... " is awkward and unnecessarily passive.

D. Poplar was the most commonly used for Italian panel paintings of the Italian Renaissance, -  incorrect . Same as B.

E. During the Italian Renaissance, poplar was the most commonly used wood for Italian panel paintings -  correct .

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TheBipedalHorse · Answer

I think both B and E are correct but E has a clearer meaning than B

I replacing poplar with some other noun (say pencil), and that gave sentence E a clearer meaning while B still remained ambiguous.

B. During the Italian Renaissance, pencil was most commonly used for Italian panel paintings ( what? this does not makes sense, pencil was most commonly used for <drawing> Italian panel paintings - this still makes sense ), including the Mona Lisa, due to this wood's whitish shade, though it sometimes cast a slightly yellowish tint

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

During the Italian Renaissance, poplar was the most commonly used for Italian panel paintings , including the Mona Lisa, due to this wood's whitish shade, though it sometimes cast a slightly yellowish tint.

A. During the Italian Renaissance, poplar was the most commonly used for Italian panel paintings

Incorrect.

This answer choice is grammatically incorrect. The Superlative form, indicated here by the use of the words  the most , requires that the group under comparison be defined. However, the sentence does not provide information about the group out of which  poplar was the most commonly used for Italian panel paintings .

In order for this Superlative to be complete, this group must be defined.

B. During the Italian Renaissance, poplar was most commonly used for Italian panel paintings,

Incorrect.

Although this answer choice corrects the original mistake, in doing so it changes the meaning of the original sentence. The original sentence uses the Superlative form to explain that poplar is the most commonly used (material) for Italian panel paintings, i.e., what the most common material for making panel paintings was.

In this answer choice, however, the omission of the word  the  breaks the Superlative form. The sentence now describes what poplar was commonly used for in the Italian Renaissance, i.e., what the most common use of poplar was then.

C. During the Italian Renaissance, poplar was the most commonly used wood for the painting of Italian panel paintings

Incorrect.

While it corrects the original mistake, this answer choice is stylistically flawed. Adding the words  the painting of  creates redundancy because it expresses the exact same meaning in more words.

D. Poplar was the most commonly used for Italian panel paintings of the Italian Renaissance,

Incorrect.

This answer choice repeats the original mistake. The Superlative form, indicated here by the use of the words  the most , requires that the group under comparison be defined. However, the sentence does not provide information about the group out of which  poplar was the most commonly used for Italian panel paintings .

In order for this superlative to be complete, this group must be defined.

E. During the Italian Renaissance, poplar was the most commonly used wood for Italian panel paintings

This answer choice completes the superlative form by letting us know what group is under comparison: woods. The addition of the word wood tells us that poplar was the most commonly used wood for Italian panel paintings, or in other words, that out of all the available types of wood, poplar was the one which was most often used for this purpose.

During the Italian Renaissance, poplar was the most commonly used for

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During the Italian Renaissance, poplar was the most commonly used for

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615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

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