Erasmus Montanus, a seventeenth-century farce written by Ludwig Holber

Question

Erasmus Montanus , a seventeenth-century farce written by Ludwig Holberg,  both predates and resembles  Moliere’s  Tartuffe  and is therefore thought to be one of Moliere’s sources.

(A) both predates and resembles
(B) it both predates and resembles
(C) both predated and resembles
(D) has both predated and resembled
(E) because it both predated and resembled

ottocento · Accepted Answer

The answer is (A). A work of literature (or any other type of artwork) is understood to exist permanently, from the time it is created through the present into the future. Discussions of the contents and history of a work of literature are generally in the present tense. Indeed, here in the nonunderlined portion of the sentence we have the present passive "is therefore thought to be". It is idiomatic, logical, and consistent to use the present tenses "predates" and "resembles".

(D) is wrong because the present perfect "has predated" and "(has) resembled" suggest that the predating and the resembling happened at some unspecified time in the past. But in fact, Erasmus Montanus still predates and resembles Tartuffe.

(D) is wrong because the present perfect "has predated" and "(has) resembled" suggest that the predating and the resembling happened at some unspecified time in the past. But in fact,  Erasmus Montanus  still predates and resembles  Tartuffe .

daagh · Answer

The tense of the passage is a simple present. Therefore we can remove C,D, and E. for using past or present perfect. 
Between the remaining A and B, we can dismiss B for using the pronoun 'it' without providing a verb for its antecedent, 
"Erasmus M..." A is the best.

SuryaNouliGMAT · Answer

Subject - Erasmus Montanus - Singular
, a.....Holberg, - Modifier - Extra information about the subject. 
Both Predates and Resembles - Simple Present
But the underlined free part - Thought, which tells present perfect tense - verb3
So it will be has + V3 (predated and resembled)

Option D

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sarahfiqbal · Answer

Hi daagh

I agree with your explanation too but the answer given is D. I answered A too!

How is the answer D?

bidskamikaze · Answer

why is A incorrect and D the correct answer here?

daagh · Answer

Let us look at this way. 
Think is the root or base form. 
Think(base form)- think( first person , second person and third person singular present tense) -thought ( past tense for all situations - thought( past participle,which cannot stand alone as a verb but has to be preceded by a helping verb) 
 The last mentioned 'thought' is a past participle and not a perfect tense finite verb. 
This term is not perfect tense verb as many might like to imagine. However, when used along with another helping verb such as have or has (as in have thought, has thought), it is present perfect. When used with "had', it is past perfect. (had thought). Same time, when used with the verb is /are (is thought /are thought, it is a passive voice progressive tense verb.

2. Use of perfect tense will be inappropriate in the context. One may note that both predating and resembling are not past events. Even today Erasmus is predating and resembling and will continue to predate and resemble in the future. Therefore, both the past tense and present perfect will not gel in the context. That is the reason, A, which uses a simple present tense, is the correct choice.
 
If someone can say, why D is better than A, it will be hopeful. Until then, I am imagining that it could be a typo

SantoshN · Answer

Iam not sure about the reasoning but I got it right 
A- both predates there is only one farce 
E is wrong - because is used
b and C is not parallen with is therfore
D - has and is therefore is parallel and predated and resembled refferred by both so 
D is the answer

globaldesi · Answer

A is also correct
can some official source explain preference of D over A

gmatway · Answer

I got it correct with below reasons .
between A & D 
A - is wrong because EM is '17th century stuff ' and using present verbs - predates and resembles DOESN'T FIT HERE . So we need present perfect - HAS
evidence 2 - is therefore = next step in a series of action and gives present perfect vibes . because EM (did something and its effect is still present and because of this whole thing its ''thought to be ''
evidence 3 - here HAS is just a helping verb . showing the effects of action are still present to this date . this makes sentence more clearer because the part after AND uses 'IS ' .

thinkvision · Answer

Hi  Bunuel  - Request you to please provide an explaination/ official answer to the above. Want to understand why D over A?

Additionally,  generis   GMATNinja  - Appreciate if you could provide your thoughts on this.

Shrey08 · Answer

Experts,

Please explain why D is better than A

abhik1502 · Answer

GMATNinja

Will you pls suggest why D is correct in here.
In my opinion, "predate" & "resemble" is kind of fact for "Erasmus Montanus", something that is true irrespective of time.
So it should be in simple present tense.

tramobile · Answer

Hi  Bunuel , can you please provide explanation

shanks2020 · Answer

KarishmaB   MartyTargetTestPrep

Is Option D really correct?

KarishmaB · Answer

I would go with (A) for the reasons mentioned by daagh above.

shanks2020 · Answer

Bunuel

Can you plz. recheck the correct answer as a lot of experts have an opinion different from the OA.

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

(D) is clearly incorrect. The use of the present perfect results in the sentence's suggesting that a book could cease to predate another book, doing the impossible.

Ritik25 · Answer

Bunuel , perhaps if you could provide an OE, it would be helpful here? The only explanation I can think of is that there is maybe an attempt to establish a clearer parallel context between "has" and "is" but even that is stretching it, no?

Shubhgarg · Answer

(A) both predates and resembles
(B) it both predates and resembles
(C) both predated and resembles
(D) has both predated and resembled

I would go with A because it still resembles while D seems to mean that it resembled in the past and doesn't resemble now in the present.

Erasmus Montanus, a seventeenth-century farce written by Ludwig Holber

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Erasmus Montanus, a seventeenth-century farce written by Ludwig Holber

Prep Toolkit

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

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