Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
sandalphon wrote:
In 1995 Richard Stallman, a well-known critic of the patent system, testified in Patent Office hearings that, to test the system, a colleague of his had managed to win a patent for one of Kirchhoff's laws, an observation about electric current first made in 1845 and now included in virtually every textbook of elementary physics.
(A) laws, an observation about electric current first made in 1845 and
(B) laws, which was an observation about electric current first made in 1845 and it is
(C) laws, namely, it was an observation about electric current first made in 1845 and
(D) laws, an observation about electric current first made in 1845, it is
(E) laws that was an observation about electric current, first made in 1845, and is
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that a colleague of Richard Stallman managed to win a patent on one of Kirchhoff's laws, which is an observation about the electric current that was first made in 1845 and is now included in virtually every textbook of elementary physics.
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Tenses + Grammatical Construction+ Parallelism + Awkwardness/Redundancy• Information that is permanent in nature is best conveyed through the simple present tense.
• The simple past tense is only used to refer to events that concluded in the past.
• Any elements linked by a conjunction (“and” in this sentence) must be parallel.
• A comma cannot join two independent clauses; such usage leads to the error of comma splice; to correct this error, the comma must be replaced with semicolon or comma followed by a conjunction such as "and", "but" etc.
A: Correct.This answer choice correctly modifies “one of Kirchhoff's laws” with “an observation about electric current first made in 1845 and now included in virtually every textbook of elementary physics”, conveying the intended meaning – that a colleague of Richard Stallman managed to win a patent on one of Kirchhoff's laws, which is an observation about the electric current that was first made in 1845 and is now included in virtually every textbook of elementary physics. Further, Option A avoids the tense error seen in Option B, as it does not employ an active simple past tense verb, such as “was” in Option B. Additionally, Option A correctly uses a comma to join the independent clause “In 1995 Richard Stallman…testified...laws” and the dependent clause “an observation…physics”. Moreover, Option A correctly maintains parallelism between “first made in 1845” and “now included in virtually every textbook of elementary physics”. Besides, Option A is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.
B: This answer choice incorrectly uses the simple past tense verb “was” to refer to information that is permanent in nature; please remember, information that is permanent in nature is best conveyed through the simple present tense, and the simple past tense is only used to refer to events that concluded in the past. Further, Option B fails to maintain parallelism between “which was an observation about electric current first made in 1845” and “it is now included in virtually every textbook of elementary physics”; please remember, any elements linked by a conjunction (“and” in this sentence) must be parallel. Additionally, Option B uses the needlessly wordy constructions “which was an observation” and “it is now included”, leading to awkwardness and redundancy.
C: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the construction “namely, it was an observation about electric current”; the inclusion of “namely” leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that one of Kirchhoff's laws is an observation about the electric current that was first made in 1845 and is now included in virtually every textbook of elementary physics. Further, Option C incorrectly uses a comma to join the independent clauses “In 1995 Richard Stallman…testified...laws” and “namely, it was an observation about electric current...physics”; please remember, a comma cannot join two independent clauses; such usage leads to the error of comma splice; to correct this error, the comma must be replaced with semicolon or comma followed by a conjunction such as "and", "but" etc.
D: This answer choice incorrectly uses a comma to join the independent clauses “In 1995 Richard Stallman…testified...laws” and “it is now included…physics”; please remember, a comma cannot join two independent clauses; such usage leads to the error of comma splice; to correct this error, the comma must be replaced with semicolon or comma followed by a conjunction such as "and", "but" etc.
E: Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “that was an observation about electric current “; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that Richard Stallman's colleague managed to win a patent on that
specific Kirchhoff's law that was an observation about electric current first made in 1845 and now included in virtually every textbook of elementary physics; the intended meaning is that a colleague of Richard Stallman managed to win a patent on one of Kirchhoff's laws, which
happens to be an observation about the electric current that was first made in 1845 and is now included in virtually every textbook of elementary physics.
Hence, A is the best answer choice.To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
To understand the concept of "Comma Splices" and "Run-ons" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~6 minutes):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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