Although she had been known as an effective legislator first

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the meaning of this sentence is key to solving the problem; the intended meaning of the crucial part of this sentence is that Barbara Jordan did not become a nationally recognized figure until 1974, which was when she participated in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, and, as a separate action, the hearings were televised nationwide.

Concepts tested here: Subject-Verb Agreement + Pronouns + Meaning + Verb Forms

• The introduction of the present participle ("verb+ing"- “being” in this case) after comma generally leads to a cause-effect relationship.

A: This answer choice incorrectly uses the singular pronoun "it" and the singular verb "was" to refer to the plural noun "hearings". Further, Option A alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "not until...was she made a nationally recognized figure"; the passive construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that some second entity made Barbara Jordan a nationally recognized figure; the intended meaning is that Barbara Jordan, herself, became a nationally recognized figure.

B: Correct. This answer choice correctly uses the plural verb "were" to refer to the plural noun "hearings". Moreover, Option B avoids the pronoun error seen in Option A, as it correctly uses the pronoun "which" to refer to the plural noun "hearings"; "which" can refer to both plural and singular nouns. Further, Option B uses the constructions "Barbara Jordan did not become a nationally recognized figure until 1974" and "which were televised nationwide", conveying the intended meaning - that Barbara Jordan, herself, became a nationally recognized figure and participated in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, and as a separate action, the hearings were televised nationwide. Additionally, Option B is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

C: This answer choice incorrectly uses the singular verb "was" to refer to the plural noun "hearings". Further, Option C uses the passive voice construction "it was not until 1974", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "being televised nationwide"; the use of the "comma + present participle ("verb+ing" - "being" in this sentence) illogically implies that Barbara Jordan participated in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon because she was being televised nationwide; the intended meaning is that Barbara Jordan participated in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, and as a separate action, the hearings were televised nationwide; remember, the introduction of the present participle ("verb+ing"- “being” in this case) after comma generally leads to a cause-effect relationship. Further, Option D uses the needlessly wordy phrase "then also later" and the passive construction "not until 1974 did Barbara Jordan become", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

E: This answer choice incorrectly uses the singular verb "was" to refer to the plural noun "hearings". Further, Option E uses the needlessly wordy phrase "then also later", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

Hence, B is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Comma Plus Present Participle for "Cause-Effect Relationship" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team

I will go with B. It avoids the subject-verb error which other sentences have when using "was" with "hearings".

Thanks, You are right, B!

I'm wondering why "NOT UNTIL" as in C is not the right answer... Anything remarkable about this idiom, or it's just the problem with the context that "not until" doesn't fit in?

This is a very good conceptual question guys.

OK option B is correct. But llok at "which" in option B> iT doesnt refers to Nixon but "hearings"

This was another question from brutal SC discussed a few days back

https://www.gmatclub.com/phpbb/viewtopic ... rs+effects


Moral of the story: : "which" may not refer to the noun that immediately precedes it("which").

Just for all our consumption and please correct me if this is not correct

A. later in the United States House of Representatives, not until Barbara Jordan’s
participation in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon in
1974 was she made a nationally recognized figure, as it was -> it is not referred clearly
B. later in the United States House of Representatives, Barbara Jordan did not
become a nationally recognized figure until 1974, when she participated in the
hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, which were
C. later in the Untied States House of Representatives, it was not until 1974 that
Barbara Jordan became a nationally recognized figure, with her participation in
the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, which was
D. then also later in the United States House of Representatives, not until 1974 did
Barbara Jordan become a nationally recognized figure, as she participated in the
hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, being
E. then also later in the United States House of Representatives, Barbara Jordan did
not become a nationally recognized figure until 1974, when she participated in the
hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, which was -> wordy

C

The modifier is modifying Barbara, so eliminate A.
then also later is wordy So eliminate D and E
C has modifier issues.

B is correct

Although she had been known as an effective legislator first in the Texas Senate and later
in the United States House of Representatives, not until Barbara Jordan’s participation in
the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon in 1974 was she made a
nationally recognized figure, as it was televised nationwide.

A. later in the United States House of Representatives, not until Barbara Jordan’s
participation in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon in
1974 was she made a nationally recognized figure, as it was
B. later in the United States House of Representatives, Barbara Jordan did not
become a nationally recognized figure until 1974, when she participated in the
hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, which were
C. later in the Untied States House of Representatives, it was not until 1974 that
Barbara Jordan became a nationally recognized figure, with her participation in
the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, which was
D. then also later in the United States House of Representatives, not until 1974 did
Barbara Jordan become a nationally recognized figure, as she participated in the
hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, being
E. then also later in the United States House of Representatives, Barbara Jordan did
not become a nationally recognized figure until 1974, when she participated in the
hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, which was

Not convinced by the oa. I think something is missing. Can some correct me if i have the right sc here. Apologies if i dont.


Hi Ajit,
The part of the sentence highlighted in red here acts as a modifier which is supposed to modify a noun. In GMAT it is always preferred to have a modifier and noun close together. Hence Barbara jordan is supposed to immediately follow the clause 'Although she had been known as an effective legislator first in the Texas Senate and later in the United States House of Representatives'. With this our choices will narrow down to B and E. E is wrong due to subject verb disagreement.
Hearings-Plural
Was-Singular
B correctly uses 'were' instead of 'was'.

B definitely... her name needs to come in after that second comma... to show who the pronoun "she" belongs to from the first clause.

Although she had been known as an effective legislator first in the Texas Senate and later in the United States House of Representatives, not until Barbara Jordan’s participation in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon in 1974 was she made a nationally recognized figure, as it was televised nationwide.

(A) later in the United States House of Representatives, not until Barbara Jordan’s participation in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon in 1974 was she made a nationally recognized figure, as it was
(B) later in the United States House of Representatives, Barbara Jordan did not become a nationally recognized figure until 1974, when she participated in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, which were
(C) later in the Untied States House of Representatives, it was not until 1974 that Barbara Jordan became a nationally recognized figure, with her participation in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, which was
(D) then also later in the United States House of Representatives, not until 1974 did Barbara Jordan become a nationally recognized figure, as she participated in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, being
(E) then also later in the United States House of Representatives, Barbara Jordan did not become a nationally recognized figure until 1974, when she participated in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, which was

2 Rules to be kept in mind

Rule 1 - Keep modifiers close to the thing that they are trying to modify
Although she "BLAH" BLAH BLAH, Barbara Jordan......until 1974, when she participated in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon

[*]"Barbara Jordan" needs to be placed immediately after the first modifier that starts with "Although...."
[*]The modifier "when she participated ...blah blah blah " modifies 1974,,,,

Try to keep modifiers close to the things that they are trying to modify. Many times, if we compare the answer choices, we can see that modifiers are being moved around

Rule 2 - To determine the subject associated to [b]which , we have to identify the noun that "which" refers to [/b]
In this case, we have 3 prep phrases

[*]in the hearings
[*]on the impeachment
[*]of President nixon

Now the question is what "does" which refer to. Were the hearings televised nationwide ? or was the impeachment televised nationwide. ?

The which refers to "hearings", the other prep phrases describe the "hearings"

.....when she participated in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, which were

Although she had been known as an effective legislator first in the Texas Senate and later in the United States House of Representatives, not until Barbara Jordan’s participation in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon in 1974 was she made a nationally recognized figure, as it was televised nationwide.

(A) later in the United States House of Representatives, not until Barbara Jordan’s participation in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon in 1974 was she made a nationally recognized figure, as it was
(B) later in the United States House of Representatives, Barbara Jordan did not become a nationally recognized figure until 1974, when she participated in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, which were
(C) later in the Untied States House of Representatives, it was not until 1974 that Barbara Jordan became a nationally recognized figure, with her participation in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, which was
(D) then also later in the United States House of Representatives, not until 1974 did Barbara Jordan become a nationally recognized figure, as she participated in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, being
(E) then also later in the United States House of Representatives, Barbara Jordan did not become a nationally recognized figure until 1974, when she participated in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, which was

@hafizkarim, you are absolutely right in terms of your understanding of "which" modifiers. In fact the fact that "which" modifier can modify slightly far away noun is something that students often ignore. I would suggest that people who are confused about this aspect of "which" modifiers and "other noun" modifiers as well read this article.

In this article we have included several more official sentences in which such modification works perfectly fine. Also, we have included cases in which such modification is not correct.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Payal

The sentence is fundamentally wrong because the part of the sentence before the first COMMA is talking about a person (SHE) being in the senate and in the house of representatives bla bla bla ... What should ideally follow after the comma should be the name of the person that the first part (before the comma) is referring to as ideally they should touch each other.

Going by this line of reasoning , we can eliminate A , C and D.

Focusing on the remaining two choices B and E , we can clearly see that E although partially correct ends with WAS TELEVISED .... , when we should ideally be using WERE TELEVISED because.. well we are talking about an event which took place earlier ... Therefore B is the only choice which meets both the criteria i.e. puts barbara follows the first comma , and ends the underlined portion with WERE ...

Well this is the option B:-

later in the United States House of Representatives, Barbara Jordan did not become a nationally recognized figure until 1974, when she participated in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, which were

After the 'when' in the sentence it is a beginning of a new clause hence new subject and a new verb.

Hence the sentence is like this:- She participated in the hearings - wherein hearings is the object of the sentence and 'on the impeachment of President RIchard Nixon' is modifying the hearings.

Hence, which were is the correct modifier for hearings and not Richard Nixon.

inmania is right, a small modifier or modifying phrase can be between two clauses.

That is known as the Mission Critical Modifier.

Hope this helps.

B is correct.

The structure is:

Although she......................., ==> we must use Barbara after the comma ==> Narrow down to B & E.

E is wrong because of "then also later" is redundant.

Only B is correct

Although she had been known as an effective legislator first in the Texas Senate and later in the United States House of Representatives, not until Barbara Jordan’s participation in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon in 1974 was she made a nationally recognized figure, as it was televised nationwide.

(A) later in the United States House of Representatives, not until Barbara Jordan’s participation in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon in 1974 was she made a nationally recognized figure, as it was ( Referent to she is missing; In correct comparison(although x,y); it- hearings on impeachment - plural)
(B) later in the United States House of Representatives, Barbara Jordan did not become a nationally recognized figure until 1974, when she participated in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, which were -- Correct
(C) later in the Untied States House of Representatives, it was not until 1974 that Barbara Jordan became a nationally recognized figure, with her participation in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, which was(Incorrect comparison [Although x,y];hearings on impeachment - plural)
(D) then also later in the United States House of Representatives, not until 1974 did Barbara Jordan become a nationally recognized figure, as she participated in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, being(Incorrect comparison [Although x,y])
(E) then also later in the United States House of Representatives, Barbara Jordan did not become a nationally recognized figure until 1974, when she participated in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, which was( hearings on impeachment - plural)

Correct me if I am wrong somewhere

Dissecting the question in and out to get the concepts tested, cleared. I got this one wrong on GMATPrep and was the costliest mistake of that test. (It was one of the few questions I got wrong from the start; I was heavily penalized)

Although she had been known as an effective legislator first in the Texas Senate and later in the United States House of Representatives, not until Barbara Jordan’s participation in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon in 1974 was she made a nationally recognized figure, as it was televised nationwide.

(A) later in the United States House of Representatives, not until Barbara Jordan’s participation in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon in 1974 was she made a nationally recognized figure, as it was
[
1.With possessive form of Noun used i.e. Barbara Jordan’s and hence subject(1st person pronoun) she has poor or incorrect usage;
2. incorrect usage of "it" having no defined referent;
]
(B) later in the United States House of Representatives, Barbara Jordan did not become a nationally recognized figure until 1974, when she participated in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, which were
[
1. 'which were' correctly refers to 'hearings'. Prepositional phrases which cant be re positioned any where in the clause is correctly used here and hence in such case on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, is ignored; There for we have 'when she participated in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, which were'.
2. She is clearly referring to Barbara Jordan.
]
(C) later in the Untied States House of Representatives, it was not until 1974 that Barbara Jordan became a nationally recognized figure, with her participation in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, which was
[
1. Using the pointers from B, which was is S-V error.
2. 'it' in the above clause does not have a clear referent; also the clause 'it was not until 1974 that Barbara Jordan became...' should begin with Barbara Jordan
]
(D) then also later in the United States House of Representatives, not until 1974 did Barbara Jordan become a nationally recognized figure, as she participated in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, being
[
1. usage of as is wrong. 'as' followed by a clause is used to present comparisons or present simultaneous action, which is not the case here.
2. 'being' alert!!!
3. 'not until 1974 did Barbara Jordan...' is incorrect because it should start with Barbara Jordan because of the preceding clause, which is a long noun modifier.
]

(E) then also later in the United States House of Representatives, Barbara Jordan did not become a nationally recognized figure until 1974, when she participated in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, which was
[
1. 'which was' is again wrong and presents a S-V error because 'which' clause refers to hearings and hence needs a plural verb.
]

With such a detailed dissection I hope I wont repeat my mistake in GMAT.

Guys.. I ve seen somewhere structure "It was not until 1974 that Barabara became" as right one.

I believe the reason for eliminating 'C' is "Which was" part that should be "Which were".

Please correct me if wrong. It would be helpful. Thanks a lot friends.