Art experts have attributed the enduring intrigue of Leonardo da Vinci

the answer should be D.

Only C and D uses the correct parallel "her enigmatic smile," but C uses "for which there has never been an explanation" that it unnecessarily long.

Art experts have attributed the enduring intrigue of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa to everything from having an enigmatic smile, which was never explained, to her association with the rich and powerful families of Europe.

• having an enigmatic smile, which was never explained
Incorrect. No parallelism.
• having an enigmatic smile, which has never been explained
Incorrect. No parallelism.
• her enigmatic smile, for which there has never been an explanation
Incorrect. Wordy/awkward.
• her enigmatic smile, which has never been explained
Correct.
• having an enigmatic smile, for which there has never been an explanation
Incorrect. No parallelism.

I am going with D.

Correct idiom is From A to B
So option D is correct and it follows parallelism
A,B,E having is wrong C is wordy

Art experts have attributed the enduring intrigue of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa to everything from having an enigmatic smile, which was never explained, to her association with the rich and powerful families of Europe.

• having an enigmatic smile, which was never explained - Missing Parallelish from x to y - also which was never explained is incorrect - should be present continuous tense
• having an enigmatic smile, which has never been explained - Missing Parallelish from x to y
• her enigmatic smile, for which there has never been an explanation - Which has never been explained is redundant and wordy
• her enigmatic smile, which has never been explained - Correctly establishes parallelism and present perfect tense is used - Correct
• having an enigmatic smile, for which there has never been an explanation - Missing Parallelish from x to y - also which was never explained is incorrect - should be present continuous tense

Hence, Answer is D

First step: Idiom - From X to Y where X and Y should be parallel elements. Element Y is "to her association with the rich and powerful families of Europe." Looking for the same construction, this yields a 3-2 split:

having an enigmatic smile, which was never explained
having an enigmatic smile, which has never been explained
her enigmatic smile, for which there has never been an explanation
her enigmatic smile, which has never been explained
having an enigmatic smile, for which there has never been an explanation

Second step: Concision
her enigmatic smile, for which there has never been an explanation
her enigmatic smile, which has never been explained

Hence D.

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION:

The original sentence contains two errors. First, the expression "from X to Y" requires that X and Y be in parallel form. Here, however, "having an enigmatic smile" and "her association with the rich and powerful families of Europe" are not parallel. The first is a verb construction while the second is a noun construction. Since the second construction is not underlined, the first construction must be altered. Second, the clause "which was never explained" incorrectly uses the simple past "was never explained." Instead, it should be in the present perfect ("has never been explained") because the potential for an explanation began in the past and continues to the present.


(A) This choice is incorrect as it repeats the original sentence.

(B) The parallelism error is not corrected here: "from having an enigmatic smile" is the same as in the original sentence. However, the present perfect tense ("has never been explained") is correctly used here.

(C) The parallelism error is corrected here: "her enigmatic smile" is parallel with "her association with the rich and powerful families of Europe." However, "for which there has never been an explanation" is wordy.

(D) CORRECT. Here, "her enigmatic smile" is parallel with "her association with the rich and powerful families of Europe." Moreover, "which has never been explained" is concise and properly in the present perfect tense.

(E) The parallelism error is not corrected here: "having an enigmatic smile" is the same as in the original sentence. Moreover, "for which there has never been an explanation" is wordy.

Official Solution (Credit: Manhattan Prep)

The original sentence contains two errors. First, the expression "from X to Y" requires that X and Y be in parallel form. Here, however, "having an enigmatic smile" and "her association with the rich and powerful families of Europe" are not parallel. The first is a verb construction while the second is a noun construction. Since the second construction is not underlined, the first construction must be altered. Second, the clause "which was never explained" incorrectly uses the simple past "was never explained." Instead, it should be in the present perfect ("has never been explained") because the potential for an explanation began in the past and continues to the present.

(A) This choice is incorrect as it repeats the original sentence.

(B) The parallelism error is not corrected here: "from having an enigmatic smile" is the same as in the original sentence. However, the present perfect tense ("has never been explained") is correctly used here.

(C) The parallelism error is corrected here: "her enigmatic smile" is parallel with "her association with the rich and powerful families of Europe." However, "for which there has never been an explanation" is wordy.

(D) CORRECT. Here, "her enigmatic smile" is parallel with "her association with the rich and powerful families of Europe." Moreover, "which has never been explained" is concise and properly in the present perfect tense.

(E) The parallelism error is not corrected here: "having an enigmatic smile" is the same as in the original sentence. Moreover, "for which there has never been an explanation" is wordy.

Though I agree that option D is much better choice but I think the explanation for A is not quite correct. Can we not say that "Having an enigmatic smile" is a gerund phrase, and therefore is structurally parallel to "her association.."?

Similar constructions:
Having a pool in the backyard can be very expensive --> "Having a pool in the backyard" is the subject (gerund phrase)

I would like to add something to the confusion between C and D
Whenever 'which' is preceded by a preposition such as for, by etc, we dont use a comma. Hence one more reason why C is wrong other than wordiness

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