Most of the fighting had ended with Angolan independence in November

Question

Most of the fighting had ended  with Angolan independence in November 1975 , in an apparent Cold War victory for the Soviet-backed People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola

A. Most of the fighting had ended

B. The fighting had mostly ended

C. Most of the fighting ended

D. The fighting ended mostly

E. Most of the fighting has ended

Source-  GMAT  Whiz

SiffyB · Answer

Most of the fighting had ended  with Angolan independence in November 1975 , in an apparent Cold War victory for the Soviet-backed People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola
 
A. Most of the fighting had ended -  past perfect tense 'had ended' is incorrect.

B. The fighting had mostly ended -  past perfect tense 'had mostly ended' is incorrect.

C. Most of the fighting ended   Usage of simple past tense 'ended' is correct here.

D. The fighting ended mostly -  This choice changes the intended meaning of the sentence. According to the original sentence, most of the fighting ended in something. However, this sentence says that all of the fighting ended in something. This is incorrect - meaning error.

E. Most of the fighting has ended -  Usage of present perfect tense is incorrect because the war has been and its effects are also not continuing (at least not stated in the passage).

NOTE: Suppose there are two events that occurred in the past. We use past perfect tense (had + verb) to denote the earlier of the two past events.

NiftyNiffler · Answer

Most of the fighting had ended  with Angolan independence in November 1975 , in an apparent Cold War victory for the Soviet-backed People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola

A. Most of the fighting had ended  -- Since the exact year in the past is mentioned, no need for past participle since simple past would do

B. The fighting had mostly ended  -- Makes it seem like a particular fight of that time, also same reasons as A

C. Most of the fighting ended  -- CORRECT, simple past and crisp

D. The fighting ended mostly  -- same as B, we don't know of any specific fight

E. Most of the fighting has ended  -- can't use present perfect with a particular time in past

So, C

ktzsikka · Answer

Here is the OE

Solution: 
 Step 1: Understanding Intended Meaning 
 
Most of the fighting had ended with Angolan independence in November 1975 , 
• The use of past perfect “had ended” is incorrect since the specific time marker 1975 is given.
• Correct version: use the simple past “ended”
• So, most of the fighting ended. It ended with Angolan independence in November 1975
in an apparent Cold War victory for the Soviet-backed People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola.
• This segment is a prepositional phrase modifying the verb “ended” – it tells us how the fighting ended.
Intended meaning:
• Most of the fighting ended in November 1975. 
• It ended with Angolan independence in November 1975
• It ended in an apparent Cold War victory for the Soviet-backed People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola
 
 Step 2: Eliminate choices with identified errors 
 
Checking for five aspects
1. Golden rules
2. Meaning : distorted
3. Lists
a. No error
4. Tenses
a. Incorrect use of past perfect tense
5. Idioms
Eliminate 
The following choice/s have one or more of the errors present in Choice A.
Choice B
________________________________________
A. Most of the fighting had ended
Option A Feedback:
Incorrect and Eliminated in Step 2

B. The fighting had mostly ended
Option B Feedback:
Incorrect and Eliminated in Step 2

C. Most of the fighting ended
Correct Option
Option C Feedback:
Fitting in the original sentence
Most of the fighting ended with Angolan independence in November 1975 , in an apparent Cold War victory for the Soviet-backed People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola
✓ Logical
✓ Clear, 
✓ Same as the intended meaning
 Correct Choice.

D. The fighting ended mostly
Option D Feedback:
Fitting in the original sentence:
The fighting ended mostly with Angolan independence in November 1975 , in an apparent Cold War victory for the Soviet-backed People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola
• The sentence is grammatically correct (if somewhat illogical) but different from the intended meaning. This sentence does not state that “maximum amount” of fighting ended. It states that the ending was mostly made up of the independence of Angola
• Mostly is modifying the verb “ended” instead of modifying the noun “fighting”.
Incorrect Choice.

E. Most of the fighting has ended
Option E Feedback:
Fitting in the original sentence:
Most of the fighting has ended with Angolan independence in November 1975 , in an apparent Cold War victory for the Soviet-backed People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola
• The use of present perfect is incorrect given the past event marker.
Incorrect Choice.

Raman109 · Answer

Most of the fighting had ended  with Angolan independence in November 1975 , in an apparent Cold War victory for the Soviet-backed People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola

Option Elimination -

A. Most of the fighting had ended - usage of the past perfect "had ended" is incorrect. There is no other past action.

B. The fighting had mostly ended - same as A.

C. Most of the fighting ended - ok

D. The fighting ended mostly - This says the fighting ended, but the intended meaning is that Most of the fighting ended, say 51% of the fighting ended, but the rest is still there. This option is not as per the intended meaning and conveys that the fighting ended, say, 100%.

E. Most of the fighting has ended - use of present perfect is not ok.

Most of the fighting had ended with Angolan independence in November

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Most of the fighting had ended with Angolan independence in November

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