Mozart himself was a piano virtuoso, and the piano parts of his piano

I just wanted to bring this to the notice of the members




We can see that the Magoosh version does not have a comma before ‘that’` in the text. This is a major difference. Secondly, the underlined part and some of the choices are different in the Gmatclub version. However, the Gmatclub edition is also correct in its own right.

Official Explanation:

First, the "that-which" distinction, about which you can read more here. As a general rule, when a clause is separated by commas from the rest of the sentence, it should use "which", but when it follows the noun modified without the break of a comma, it should use "that." That strongly suggests that (A) and (C) and (E) are not correct.

Let's look at the verb tenses:

(A) has demanded = verb in present perfect tense

(B) demanded = verb in simple past tense

(C) had demanded = verb in past perfect tense

(D) demands = verb in simple present tense

(E) is demanding = verb in present progressive tense

Mozart the person existed in the past, but in this situation, the Mozart piano concertos exist, and they have difficult finger work – in the present, this is the case. This difficult finger work demands incomparable technique, any time that a pianist sits down to play one of these concerti. This is why the sentence uses the present tense verb "have" for the fingerwork. It is a general present condition.

All of this happens at the present time, and could happen today, so the past tense (B) is out.

The past perfect tense indicate an action that happens before another past action, so this is complete inappropriate. (C) is right out.

We do not mean to imply that, right as this sentence is spoken, someone happens to be playing a Mozart concerto right at that moment. That could be true by coincidence, but it is not the intent of the sentence to emphasize that simultaneity, so (E) is out.

The present perfect tense in (A) sounds like we're emphasizing the fact that something has been going on in the past and it's still going on. That's not the tense we use for something that just exists in an ongoing present way. Thus, this is out.

That leaves (D), the simple present tense, as the verb that most aptly describes any action that is generally true in present times though not necessarily true at this precise moment. Choice (D) is the only possible answer.

A,B,C,E - Tense issues.

D - iS Correct as it states general truth. Which is simple present.

Hence, D is the answer.

I chose D because the option is in present tense. However, isn't the subject plural? The preceding verb "have" is also plural.

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Slightly different version of question with explanation :

Mozart himself was a piano virtuoso, and the piano parts of his piano concerti, especially the mature work composed in 1784 and after, have astonishingly difficult finger work that having demanded incomparable technique to produce the required elegance and precision.

(A) that having demanded

(B) which demanded

(C) that had demanded

(D) that demands

(E) which is demanding

First, the “that-which” distinction, about which you can read more here. As a general rule, when a clause is separated by commas from the rest of the sentence, it should use “which”, but when it follows the noun modified without the break of a comma, it should use “that.” That strongly suggests that (B) and (E) are not correct.

Let’s look at the verb tenses:

(A) having demanded = participle, not a verb at all = automatically wrong

(B) demanded = verb in simple past tense

(C) had demanded = verb in past perfect tense

(D) demands = verb in simple present tense

(E) is demanding = verb in present progressive tense

In this situation, the Mozart piano concertos exist, and they have difficult finger work – in the present, this is the case. This difficult finger work demands incomparable technique, any time that a pianist sits down to play one of these concerti. It is a general present condition.

All of this happens at the present time, and could happen today, so the past tense (B) is out.

The past perfect tense indicate an action that happens before another past action, so this is complete inappropriate. (C) is right out.

We do not mean to imply that, right as this sentence is spoken, someone happens to be playing a Mozart concerto right at that moment. That could be true by coincidence, but it is not the intent of the sentence to emphasize that simultaneity, so (E) is out.

That leaves (D), the simple present tense, as the verb that most aptly describes any action that is generally true in present times though not necessarily true at this precise moment. Answer = D.

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