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Project SC Butler: Day 13: Sentence Correction (SC2)
During the nineteenth century Emily Eden and Fanny Parks journeyed throughout India, sketching and keeping journals
forming the basis of news reports about the princely states where they had visited.
(A) forming the basis of news reports about the princely states where they had
(B) that were forming the basis of news reports about the princely states
(C) to form the basis of news reports about the princely states which they have
(D) which had formed the basis of news reports about the princely states where they had
(E) that formed the basis of news reports about the princely states they
The
best or excellent answers get kudos, which will be
awarded after the answer is revealed.
• In choice A it is not immediately clear whether
forming modifies
journals or parallels
sketching and keeping.
Also,
where they had visited is wordy and inappropriate for a simple reference to past events.
• Choice B does not establish who visited the princely states, and
that were forming should be
that formed.
• Choice C is unclear because
to form could be read as either
in order to form or
so as to form, and the present perfect
have visited does not agree with the past tense journeyed.
• In choice D, as in choice A,
where they had is [
too verbose for simple past tense]
and
had formed suggests that the journals and news reports existed before the journey.
• E is best for this question.
-------------------------------
That OE is pretty good.
Takeaway: most of the time, if simple past sets the tone in the non-underlined
portion, look for a narrative of chronological events.
If you see such a narrative, stay with simple past.
Yes, GMAC likes to test past perfect, but if the narrative is sequentially sound,
simple past tense is better.
The writing is better. Simple past does not need auxiliary verbs such as have, was, have been . . .
Auxiliary verbs slow things down. They create a passive voice. Such a voice is not needed in a story
about two independent and spirtited women traveling through a vast country in search of
information to share.
Quote:
dave13: Preparing for GMAT is like hoovering the desert.
dave13 , I had to read that one a few times.
I thought, "Hoovering?"
"Does he mean
hovering? Why would anyone
hover . . . and where is the prep-o . . .
wait a minute.
He means
vacuuming."
Prateekj05 wrote
Quote:
Quote:
(A) forming the basis of news reports about the princely states where they had
Quote:
(D) which had formed the basis of news reports about the princely states where they had
In both the above statements,
had is not needed.
True. Why?
Answer: because the tone is set in the non-underlined portion of the sentence.
Eden and Parks journeyED.
Simple past tense.
This sentence contains linear events.
They traveled throughout India. They sketched and kept journals about the princely states
they visited, sources from which subsequent news reports were published.
The explanation of (B) in the OE is easier to see when the option is inserted, thus:
During the nineteenth century Emily Eden and Fanny Parks journeyed throughout India,
sketching and keeping journals that were forming the basis of news reports about the princely states visited.
...princely states visited by whom?
If time sequence is not an issue, as
dave13 points out,
Quote:
where actions in the past follow one by one, Simple past is used
dave13 also notes correctly
Quote:
In D incorrect there is an incorrect usage of non esssential modifier ; "which" requir[es] a comma
(D) should say . . . THAT
had formed the basis . . .
If "which" is involved as a modifier, it is preceded by a comma. See below for a link to an article about
that and
which. Finally,
daagh wrote:
Quote:
Quote:
In E, all is correct (though one question I have "that" refers to the word next to it i.e. to "journals" how should I prove that "that" refers this phrase "sketching and keeping journals" is there a rule?
E. During the nineteenth century, Emily Eden and Fanny Parks journeyed throughout India, sketching and keeping journals that formed the basis of news reports about the princely states they visited
In the end, it was the journals that formed the basis of the news reports. It does make a difference whether the journals were sketched, photographed, or kept. It is also in line with the touch rule of the restrictive pronoun 'that'.
first argues that the logic of the sentence requires that "journals" be modified by the THAT clause.
Those journals are the basis for subsequent news reports. This example is one of "logical predication" to which OEs often refer.
His second argument turns on the "restrictive or essential" modifier rule:
Details that are crucial to the core meaning of a sentence must
(1) NOT be set off by commas
(2) and in a that/which choice, if the modifier is essential, the pronoun is
that.This post, HERE, explains the difference between
that and
which (essential and non-essential modifiers)
Kudos go to
Prateekj05 and
dave13 
_________________
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