Official Explanation
Although Linus Pauling was well-known for his work as an educator, author, and peace activist, his work in chemistry, specifically the nature of the chemical bond,
which had begun in the 1920s, gained the most recognition in that it earned him both the Irving Langmuir Award as well as the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
A. which had begun in the 1920s, gained the most recognition in that it earned him both the Irving Langmuir Award as well as the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
B. begun in the 1920s, gained the most recognition, earning him both the Irving Langmuir Award and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
C. begun in the 1920s, gaining the most recognition by earning him both the Irving Langmuir Award and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
D. had begun in the 1920s and which, earning him both the Irving Langmuir Award and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, gained the most recognition
E. had begun in the 1920s, earning him both the Irving Langmuir Award as well as the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and gaining the most recognitionEven in the 5 second scan of the options, we can see that the sentence has multiple modifiers, including present participles (-ing words) and past participles along with one true verb. A review of our answer choices shows that we must choose which verb forms to use (actual verb or participle). The answer choices also use either “both the Irving Langmuir Award as well as the Nobel Prize in Chemistry” or “both the Irving Langmuir Award and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.” This is an idiom, and the correct structure is “both X and Y.” When using “both,” we do not use “as well as” because it is not idiomatic.
Options A and E use the unidiomatic “as well as,” so they cannot be the best answers.
To move forward, we need to determine what the subject of the sentence is. When we look at the part of the sentence that is not underlined, we see that the first part is a dependent clause (Although . . . activist). We can ignore the dependent clause. What comes right after the dependent clause should be the subject. “His work in chemistry” is the subject. The clause that follows the subject, enclosed in commas, is non-essential and merely provides more information about the subject so, for our purposes, we can ignore it. Let’s look at our three remaining answer choices individually.
Option B: His work in chemistry, begun in the 1920s, gained the most recognition, earning him both the Irving Langmuir Award and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
“Begun in the 1920s” is a participle phrase that is modifying the subject, and it can be ignored. This makes “gained” the verb. “His work in chemistry gained the most recognition.” That makes sense. The phrase that starts with “earning” is describing his work as well, and it is correct. This could be our answer.
Option C: His work in chemistry, begun in the 1920s, gaining the most recognition by earning him both the Irving Langmuir Award and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
We can ignore the first participle modifier. When we look at the rest of the sentence, we find there is no verb! “Gaining” and “earning” cannot act as verbs without a helping verb. To be a complete sentence, we must have a verb, so Option C cannot be the correct answer.
Option D: His work in chemistry, had begun in the 1920s and which, earning him both the Irving Langmuir Award and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, gained the most recognition.
The “earning” phrase is a modifier and can be ignored. This makes the sentence easier to read: His work in chemistry, had begun in the 1920s and which gained the most recognition.
The comma between the subject and the verb “had begun” is incorrect. “And which gained the most recognition” doesn’t make sense when the whole sentence is considered. “Which” is a relative pronoun that starts a non-essential relative clause, and it does not need the “and” in front of it. This sentence lacks logic and incorrectly uses commas. Option D cannot be the best answer.
We have successfully eliminated four answer choices.
Option B is the correct answer.
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