Explorer Bob Ballard recently discovered a completely intact

Question

Explorer Bob Ballard recently discovered a completely intact ancient vessel at the bottom of the Black Sea; it is so well preserved that  we see it as it was during  the Bronze Age

A. we see it as it was during
B. we see it as it had been during
C. we see it as if during
D. it appears to us as it did in
E. it appears to us as though in

Can some one please explain this ...

Zarrolou · Accepted Answer

Explorer Bob Ballard recently discovered a completely intact ancient vessel at the bottom of the Black Sea; it is so well preserved that  we see it as it was during  the Bronze Age.

Great question! +1

We can easily eliminate E because it's not grammatically correct: E. it appears to us as   though in

D) it is so well preserved that  it appears to us as it did in  the Bronze Age
Here it seems that "we" were able to see it during the Bronze Age.

C)it is so well preserved that  we see it as if during  the Bronze Age
"it" is necessary if we want to convey the meaning properly.

A and B remain:

A. we see it as it   was   during
B. we see it as it   had been   during

Present perfect is used to express a sequence of events, there is no sequence here: A is correct

ankurgupta03 · Answer

But i feel there is a sequence of events ... seeing the vessel and the appearance of the vessel ...
I know this is wring but somehow not able to justify myself.

ankurgupta03 · Answer

I meant to say that there are two events here 
1. Seeing the vessel
2. Appearance of the vessel ...

Zarrolou · Answer

Yeah of course, but are they supposed to be in sequence. There is a rule for past perfect tense:
We use the Past Perfect to express an action that took place previously to another expressed the Simple Past.
When I got to Susan's house yesterday, she had gone out.

Here it's not the case that the vessel was appearing and then we saw it.

Hope it's clear

vishnuns39620 · Answer

Great question Ankur!

And a great lesson in past perfect tense Zarrolou! Thank you both.

jns · Answer

Hi! Can someone please explain why E is grammatically incorrect and what is the correct usage of 'as though'? I read in MGMAT guide that 'as though' is used to discuss things that are untrue or did not happen (You behave as though you were richer than Bill Gates!). I thought E is correct because we did not actually see the vessel in bronze age.

neelzwiz · Answer

In choice E, it appears to us as though in Bronze Age distorts the meaning. Gives a sense it appeared in bronze age and now it is appearing again.

A. we see it as it was during -> correct anser
B. we see it as it had been during -> past perfect not needed, No sequencing required.
C. we see it as if during -> meaning distorted. we see like ppl saw during brone age
D. it appears to us as it did in -> distorts the meaning again
E. it appears to us as though in ->distorts the meaning.

Hope it helps.
Kudos pls if it helps

jns · Answer

Thanks neelzwiz for pointing out the difference in meaning. I still want to understand the correct usage of 'as though'. Is it incorrect to use 'as though' + preposition?

neelzwiz · Answer

Hi vjns, good question. as if, or as though can be used as conjuction when joining clauses. In the last option ellipsis at play. It should be read as it appears to us as though it did in But the issue here is "as if" or "as though" is used to convey some hypothetical scenario which dint happen actually or exist in the last option we are comparing the condition of the vessel with its original condition in bronze age. So it is incorrect Hope this clarifies

cyriuslevirus · Answer

Hello, what is the noun refered by "we"? none of the answers seem correct for me :-(

mvictor · Answer

very tricky one. Though, I doubt that the real GMAT would give such a question.

daagh · Answer

This is almost a simulation of an OG question, at the link given below. The Official A and explanations thereof might help to unravel Kaplan’s reasoning behind its question
quasars-are-so-distant-that-their-light-has-taken-billions-27314.html?fl=similar

DinkarDK · Answer

I hope you meant  PAST PERFECT

push12345 · Answer

The intention of question is that vessel still look in the same way as it used to look at the time of booking age.

A,b and c - only A is conveying intentional meaning.
D and E - use of it again after that doesn't sound good.also appears make it more wordy.

Posted from my mobile device

BlueCrab · Answer

D and E includes ‘us’ which gives out an incorrect weird meaning that ‘we’ were in that older period.
C is incorrect because of the ‘if’.
B contains ‘had’ which makes no sense because the sentence contains one past event and one present event. So we need simple past.
Had there been two past events, then ‘had’ might have worked.
Hence A.

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Explorer Bob Ballard recently discovered a completely intact

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