Although various eighteenth and nineteenth-century American poets had

Hi all,

Click on the following link to view the detailed solution of this OG question. The audio-visual solution is also available there:
https://e-gmat.com/blogs/?p=552

Although various eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American poets had professed an interest in Native American poetry and had pretended to imitate Native American forms in their own works, until almost 1900, scholars and critics did not begin seriously to study traditional Native American poetry in native languages.

What does this sentence mean?
The sentence states a contrast.

Fact 1 = Various 18th & 19th century poets showed interest in Native American poetry & pretended to imitate this form in their works.
Fact 2 = But still scholars and critics seriously began studying this topic (Native American poetry) after 1900.

What are the errors in the sentence?

Clause 1: Although various eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American poets had professed an interest in Native American poetry and had pretended to imitate Native American forms in their own works, until almost 1900,
Clause 2: scholars and critics did not begin seriously to study traditional Native American poetry in native languages.

1. Subject-Verb
Poets – had professed & had pretended = Correct
Scholars – did not begin = Correct

2. Verb Tense – Correct Tenses used. The actions ‘had professed’ and ‘had pretended’ took place prior to ‘did not begin’. Thus the use of past perfect tense for earlier events and simple past for later event is appropriate.

3. Modifiers – until almost 1900 = Incorrect
It appears that this modifier should modify the verb in clause 2 indicating when the scholars and critics started studying the Native American poetry.
But, since it is separated by commas, it can either modify Clause 1 action or Clause 2 action. And hence modification is ambiguous.

4. Pronouns, Parallelism, Idiom – N/A



Answer Choice Analysis

Choice A – Incorrect – Modifier Error as explained above.

Choice B – This choice has two errors

1. Verb Tense: Past perfect tense for the verb – had begun – is incorrect because this action happened after the verbs in non-underlined portion (had professed & had pretended).

2. Modifier: The modifier error in Choice A has been corrected by removing the comma after this modifier. However, now if the complete sentence is read, it is ambiguous whether 1900 is part of “until almost” modifier or 1900 modifies scholars and critics – presenting the number of scholars and critics. Typically, comma should be used to separate the modifiers from the entity being modified to avoid such ambiguity.

Choice C – This choice uses awkward construction – scholars and critics were to begin seriously to study

Choice D – This choice changes the modifier and it is not clear what “almost” modifies. Per the intended meaning “almost” should modify 1900 implying “around 1900 – e.g. it could be in 1899 or 1901”. But placing “almost” before “until” no longer communicates the intended approximation of time period “around 1900”.

Choice E – Correct



Hope this helps.

Thanks
Shraddha
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A) Until almost 1900, scholars and critics did not begin seriously to study
-“until almost 1900” is the adverbial clause. In this sentence it is not clear whether “until almost 1900” is modifying “had professed and had pretended” or “did”. Hence incorrect

B) Until almost 1900 scholars and critics had not begun seriously studying
-Past tense is required; hence incorrect

C) Not until almost 1900 were scholars and critics to begin seriously to study
-“to begin seriously to study” is awkward; hence incorrect

D) It was not almost until 1900 when scholars and critics began to seriously study
-Split Infinite “to seriously study” is incorrect; moreover here it not clear whether “not” is modifying “was” or “almost”. Hence incorrect

E) It was not until almost 1900 that scholars and critics seriously began studying
-correct

As for your confusion: almost until or until almost. It depends on the other parts of speeches constituting the sentence.

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of the crucial part of the sentence is that scholars and critics did not seriously begin studying traditional Native American poetry in native languages until almost 1900.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Tenses + Grammatical Construction + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• Information that is crucial to the core meaning of the sentence can never be placed between commas.
• If a sentence contains multiple past actions, the past perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “had”) is used to refer to all but the most recent action; the simple past tense is used to refer to the most recent action.

A: This answer choice incorrectly places information vital to the core meaning of the sentence - at what point in time did scholars and critics seriously begin studying traditional Native American poetry in native languages - between two commas; remember, information that is crucial to the core meaning of the sentence can never be placed between commas.

B: This answer choice incorrectly uses the past perfect tense verb "had...begun" to refer to the latest of multiple actions that concluded in the past - eighteenth and nineteenth-century American poets professing an interest in Native American poetry and pretending to imitate Native American forms in their own works, and scholars and critics beginning to seriously study traditional Native American poetry in native languages; remember, if a sentence contains multiple past actions, the past perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “had”) is used to refer to all but the most recent action; the simple past tense is used to refer to the most recent action.

C: This answer choice uses the indirect and needlessly wordy phrase "were scholars and critics to begin seriously to study", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "not almost until 1900"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that scholars and critics did not seriously begin studying traditional Native American poetry in native languages until almost 1900. Further, Option D uses the split infinitive "to + adverb ("seriously" in this case) + base form of verb ("study" in this case)", rendering it awkward and needlessly indirect.

E: Correct. This answer choice uses the phrase "not until almost 1900", conveying the intended meaning - that scholars and critics did not seriously begin studying traditional Native American poetry in native languages until almost 1900. Further, Option E correctly uses the simple past tense verb "began" to refer to the latest of multiple actions that concluded in the past - eighteenth and nineteenth-century American poets professing an interest in Native American poetry and pretending to imitate Native American forms in their own works, and scholars and critics beginning to seriously study traditional Native American poetry in native languages. Additionally, Option E avoids the grammatical construction error seen in Option A, as it places no information between commas. Besides, Option E is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Past Perfect Tense" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



To understand the concept of 'Extra Information Between Commas" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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since the nonunderlined portion starts with although, the 2nd part should give contrast.. so only D n E remain....
until almost should be the correct usage so E
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These are the only genuine contenders

(D) it was not almost until 1900 when scholars and
critics began to seriously study < changes the meaning>
(E) it was not until almost 1900 that scholars and
critics seriously began studying <bingo>

I can explain Why B,C, D are wrong but can anyone please explain why A is wrong?

Original sentence is , Although poets had professed x and had pretended Y, until almost 1900, scholars and critics did not begin study Z in native languages.
I don't know why A is wrong, Excuse me for that.
For B, the meaning of the sentence will be "until almost 1900 scholars and critics" means scholars and critics were 1900 in number, Wrong.
For C, it is saying "1900 were scholars and critics", how could a year (1900) be student and critics.
For D, almost is adjective and until is preposition so adjective should touch noun. so correct structure is until almost 1900.
To see this we can take below examples.
I kept my book on wood table. Here "Wood" is adjective and "on" is preposition.Now if I will change order
I kept my book wood on table. -----------------> Wrong.
For E, Until almost 1900 correct but don't know why we need "that"

Can someone please explain logic behind A.


I hope my explanation helped, If indeed please give me Kudos.

Focus on the first word : Although = representative of a transition, a change of course .

Original Sentence:
Although various eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American poets had professed X, until almost 1900, Y happened . ==> No evidence of transition.

Correct Sentence:

Although various eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American poets had professed X, it was not until almost 1900 that Y happened . ==> Voila !!! So thats the the transition.

Crick

By transition I meant a word that itself entails some logic.

Example:

Although I was tired, I stayed up late last night.

Meaning:

I was tired last night. Normally a tired person (including the person in the sentence) would take rest and sleep. But/Still/However I stayed up late last night. ==> Thats the transition.

I completely agree with Daagh about the issue of "seriously" in option D, although I am still not sure if "that" is correct in E. But I think "that" in E is not as bad as "seriously" in D.

@rphardu The reason why A is not correct is that In A, modifier ",until almost 1900," is sandwiched between two sentences and it's not clear from the sentence whether it is modifying the sentence before or after it, so A can not be correct.

until almost and almost until have different meaning.
I will not eliminate a choice right away because it has almost until 1900
Almost until 1900: Here almost actually modifies 'until 1900', is the meaning correct? NO!
Until almost 1900: Here, almost modifies 1900. correct meaning.
Note that similar words whose placement changes meaning on gmat choices are only, and, etc. Be careful while reading choices. these errors seem subtle but make a sentence non-sensical.

B is the answer. not until almost is incorrect so C D E are out, seriously to study in A is incorrect

Hi there,

This is a question from OG 12 and the official answer to this question is E. To know why choice E is the ocrrect answer and what are the errors in the other answer choices, please click on the following link. We also have a detailed video solution for this question.
https://e-gmat.com/blogs/?p=552

Let us know if you have any doubt pertaining to this question.

Thanks.
Shraddha
_________________

Case of Placeholder IT

IT is raining : Here, IT doesnt have an antecedent

IT is a pronoun : Here, IT doesnt refer back to anything / anyone

Eg : Although SKM is a regular poster on SC forum, IT is too early to form an opinion on his SC skills : Here, IT doesnt refer back to anything, just hangs there to give the sentence a logical structure.

I have not studied gmat until now

is correct

I had not studied gmat untill 2010

is incorrect.

"had done" is not used to show the action which began before and continued into another past action/past point of time. (this is different from "have done")

I had finished gmat before 2010
is correct

is my thinking correct?

Hi thangvietnam,

Yes, usages of present perfect tense and past perfect tense are very different.
One of the usages of present perfect tense is that it can be used to denote an action that took place in the recent past nut the effect of which can be felt in the present. However, this past perfect tense cannot be used in this way. On GMAT, past perfect tense is used to show the verb sequencing. If two events took place in the past, we use past perfect tense for the earlier event and simple present tense for the later event.

I had finished GMAT 2010 before 2010.

This sentence is correct. However, we can write this sentence in simple past tense also because the presence of "before" which clearly establishes the time-frame that GMAT was finished before 2010. In presence of such time markers, use of past perfect tense becomes optional.

Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha
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Hi E-Gmat Team , I need your help on this official Guide qs no-2

Although various eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American poets had professed an interest in Native American poetry and had pretended to imitate Native American forms in their own works, until almost 1900, scholars and critics did not begin seriously to study traditional Native American poetry in native languages

A) until almost 1900, scholars and critics did not begin seriously to study
(B) until almost 1900 scholars and critics had not begun seriously studying
(C) not until almost 1900 were scholars and critics to begin seriously to study
(D) it was not almost until 1900 when scholars and critics began to seriously study
(E) it was not until almost 1900 that scholars and critics seriously began studying

Meaning-Starts with contrast although American poets had professed & pretended to intimate the native American forms in their work , it was almost 1900 when the scholars and critics took it seriously.

1.Although various eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American poets had professed an interest in Native American poetry
and had pretended to imitate Native American forms in their own works -D.C staring with subordinate conjuction / Past Perfect
2.until almost 1900- modifier phrase
3.scholars and critics did not begin seriously to study traditional Native American poetry in native languages -I.C- past tense ( use of begin is wrong)
S-Verb - No Error

POE-
A) until almost 1900, scholars and critics did not begin seriously to study- Incorrect Begin is wrong ,should be simple past
(B) until almost 1900 scholars and critics had not begun seriously studying- Incorrect -1900 scholars changes the meaning/ past perfect is used
(C) not until almost 1900 were scholars and critics to begin seriously to study- Incorrect -wrong construction, 1900 were scholars/ begin seriously to study- is wrong
(D) it was not almost until 1900 when scholars and critics began to seriously study - Incorrect split infinitive,/ modifier not almost until
(E) it was not until almost 1900 that scholars and critics seriously began studying-Correct past tense.

Kindly review and advise

Having a tough time shifting from vertical to horizontal split.

Kindly advise if there are links for E-Gmat explanation of OG- sc problems.

Tks/Brgds
Anurag

Dear Anurag,

You did a good analysis.

However, there is one error in your analysis that needs to be pointed out.

Note that "did not begin" is indeed simple past.

Let me solve the question using the 3-step process.

Meaning Analysis: The sentence states a contrast.

Fact 1 = Various 18th & 19th century poets showed interest in Native American poetry & pretended to imitate this form in their works.

Fact 2 = But still scholars and critics seriously began studying this topic (Native American poetry) after 1900.


Error Analysis:

Clause 1: Although various eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American poets had professed an interest in Native American poetry and had pretended to imitate Native American forms in their own works,until almost 1900,

Clause 2: scholars and critics did not begin seriously to study traditional Native American poetry in native languages.

There is no Subject Verb error.

The actions "had professed" and "had pretended" took place prior to "did not begin". Therefore the usage of past perfect tense represents the correct sequencing of events.

However, there is an issue with the usage of the modifier "until almost 1900". It appears that this modifier should modify the verb in clause 2, but its placement (separated by commas from both clauses) is such that it can modify clause 1 verbs as well. Thus, this sentence has modifier error.

POE:

(A) until almost 1900, scholars and critics did not begin seriously to study - Incorrect - Modifier Error as discussed.

(B) until almost 1900 scholars and critics had not begun seriously studying - Incorrect - Although, modifier error is corrected by removing the comma after 1900, there is a verb tense error - "had begun" should be "began" to show the intended verb sequencing.

(C) not until almost 1900 were scholars and critics to begin seriously to study - Incorrect - Awkward construction - scholars and critics were to begin...

(D) it was not almost until 1900 when scholars and critics began to seriously study - Incorrect - It is not clear what "almost" modifies. Per the intended meaning "almost" should modify 1900 implying "around 1900 - e.g it could be in 1899 or 1901". But placing "almost" before "until" no longer communicates the intended approximation of time period "around 1900".

(E) it was not until almost 1900 that scholars and critics seriously began studying - Correct. The modifier has been correctly placed.


Hope this helps

Regards,
Krishna
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Usage if "IT" in option E.

So E i correct. No issues there.

But how does one actually figure out if the "dangling" IT is because of an error or part of correct grammar?

Dear vingmat001,

I will be happy to respond to your question. If I understand your question correctly, you are asking when it is correct for "it" to not have an antecedent. I believe that is what you mean when you say "dangling it". Please do correct me if my understanding of your question is not correct.

Let's look at this sentence:

It is very windy today.

In this sentence, you will see that "it" has no antecedent and "it" is used correctly. Basically such usage of it is referred to as "placeholder it".

Thus, you need to always go by the context of the sentence and determine if you really need a noun to replace the "it".

Now let's consider two official sentences:

Choice E of the question in discussion - "it was not until almost 1900 that scholars and critics seriously began studying"
Choice D of another official question - "It can hardly be said that educators are at fault for not anticipating the impact of microcomputer technology"

Here also "it" is used as a placeholder. Now how do you check that - ask yourself, can I replace this with any noun and still have the sentence make sense?
I look forward to your response for this question for both official answers above.

Regards,

Payal
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