What has often been forgotten about Paine was that, after he discovere

Question

Project SC Butler: Sentence Correction (SC2) 
 For SC butler Questions  Click Here

What has often been forgotten about Paine  was that, after he discovered his vocation , he became a professional revolutionary.

A) was that, after he discovered his vocation

B) is that, after he had discovered his vocation

C) is that, once his vocation was discovered

D) is, after he had discovered his vocation, that

E) was that, once his vocation was discovered

generis · Accepted Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Project SC Butler: Sentence Correction (SC2)

THE PROMPT

• Issues?
→ Verb tense
GMAT follows the modern convention that if something is still true, even if the fact was discovered or came to light in the past, we use the present tense to describe the truth or the fact.
One well-known example is, "Albert Einstein  discovered in 1905  that light  is  both a particle and a wave."

→ Noun clauses
A noun clause (nominal clause, substantive clause) is typically a clause that begins with a wh- word or how; contains a noun and verb; is nonetheless  not its own sentence; and does everything a "regular" noun does.
Noun clause:  What has often been forgotten about Paine

Mike McGarry wrote a good post on noun clauses that you can read  here .

The details of the "forgotten" part in this sentence are hazy, but that haziness does not affect our grammar analysis.

Paine's very first vocation was as a maker of corsets.
I think that the sentence refers to Paine's later having discovered  journalism  as a vocation, after which time he became a professional revolutionary.
The word "discovered" leads me to believe that the author wanted to stress the connection between Paine's effective and influential journalism and its effect on his eventually becoming a professional revolutionary.
In those days, a person did not typically "discover" a vocation such as corset making, but rather, came from a family of corset makers or was promised to a corset maker.

THE OPTIONS

What has often been forgotten about Paine  was that, after he discovered his vocation , he became a professional revolutionary
 
• We need  is , not  was 
→ whatever has been forgotten about Paine has not changed.
→ we are talking about a general truth
Because that general truth is still true, we need  is , not  was 
ELIMINATE A

• correctly uses "is" to describe the fact that is still true
• time stamp ("after") + past perfect (he had discovered)?
→  warrior1991  , in response to your question: this usage is okay
→ GMAC has been inconsistent about whether using sequence words AND past perfect tense is redundant.

I would now say: 
→ do not immediately or automatically strike a sentence that uses past perfect and that contains a sequence word such as  after .
There are OEs in which such usage was considered redundant (because past perfect's HAD + verbED "announces" an event that preceded another prior event). 
There are also a couple of correct answers to official questions in which both sequence words and past perfect are used.
Find a different decision point.
KEEP

→ mid-sentence passive/active voice switches are rarely correct 
→ passive voice is not preferred in sentences in which active voice is already in play
In other words, if a sentence is in passive voice, keep it that way
If a sentence is in active voice, keep it that way
→ active voice is already in play:  he became  a professional revolutionary
→ the passive voice in the clause "once his vocation WAS discovered" makes it sound as though someone else discovered Paine's vocation
Option B is better than (C) because the former uses the active voice and thus matches with the nonunderlined portion of the sentence.
ELIMINATE C
 
• as a general rule, do not place anything between a verb (is) and its direct object (that ... )
• the placement of the phrase is incorrect: the phrase is part of the that-clause and should be placed after the that-clause
ELIMINATE D
 
• we need  is  that, not  was  that (see option A)
• passive voice is inconsistent with the nonunderlined portion of the sentence
→ the passive voice in the clause "once his vocation WAS discovered" makes it sound as though someone else discovered Paine's vocation
ELIMINATE E

The best answer is B.

COMMENTS

Sayantan1604  and  Deepakjhamb  (a second time), welcome to SC Butler.

These answers range from good to outstanding.
Nicely done.

As I mentioned in today's other OE, in the West, December 8 is now V-Day in the UK: vaccine day (at least for health care workers and the elderly, one of whom is named "William Shakespeare." And he's from Coventry. No relation. A great little story.

Stay safe.

AntrikshR · Answer

What has often been forgotten about Paine  ---So we are talking about something about paine that has been forgotten
 was that , ---that something is still forgotten, therefore use of past tense is incorrect.
 after he discovered his vocation ,---Paine discovered his vocation
 he became a professional revolutionary. ---After his discovery of vocation, He became professional revolutionary.

--The sentence talks about some guy Paine..he had discovered his vocation and became revolutionary. This is a fact that has been forgotten by everyone.

A)  was that , after he discovered his vocation

B) is that, after he had discovered his vocation

C) is that,  once his vocation was  discovered

D) is, after he had discovered his vocation,  that

E)  was that ,  once his vocation was discovered

Only B and D were close competitors...however, that in D is misplaced. Therefore, B should be the answer.

Deepakjhamb · Answer

Answer is b considering something still in present that is forgotten

Posted from my mobile device

carouselambra · Answer

IMO B

What has often been forgotten about Paine was that, after he discovered his vocation, he became a professional revolutionary.

A)  was  that, after he discovered his vocation

B) is that, after he had discovered his vocation

C) is that,  once  his vocation was discovered

D)  is, after he had  discovered his vocation, that

E)  was  that,  once  his vocation was discovered

generis  : The error in this question is not underlined. Could you please do the same for the wider visibility?
Thanks!

warrior1991 · Answer

Usage of "Has been" in the non-underlined part suggests that effect is still present. So using was is incorrect 
 
 Who discovered his vocation?? He himself. Therefore once his vocation was discovered is incorrect. Eliminate 
 
 The  that  after comma should be placed just before the first comma in the sentence.Eliminate 
 
 This is correct.  is   is used correctly to denote that the situation is still present.

IMO B

generis  In option B, do we really need past perfect   had  . I think the word   after   takes care of the two events.Please correct me.

Sayantan1604 · Answer

I was tempted by B as well but I realised the 'after' timestamp made the past perfect ' was discovered' redundant. Hence A is the correct answer

What has often been forgotten about Paine was that, after he discovered his vocation, he became a professional revolutionary.

A) was that, after he discovered his vocation (correct)

B) is that, after he had discovered his vocation (redundant)

C) is that, once his vocation was discovered (who discovered?)

D) is, after he had discovered his vocation, that (wrong placement of that)

E) was that, once his vocation was discovered (who discovered)

Anuragsharma93 · Answer

IMO- B

A) was that, after he discovered his vocation --- Was that is wrong tense --- It is interesting to note that  What has often forgotten about Paine  is a noun clause, and it has been used to show us some kind of fact/idea, and this idea is still true (Present Perfect tense). Hence we would need something which is in present tense after the comma--- which B does and hence B is our answer.

B) is that, after he had discovered his vocation --- Perfect

C) is that, once his vocation was discovered --- Meaning error "once his vocation was discovered"

D) is, after he had discovered his vocation, that ---- Positioning of that is erroneous.

E) was that, once his vocation was discovered --- again same error as C.

winterschool · Answer

What has often been forgotten about Paine was that, after he discovered his vocation, he became a professional revolutionary.

A)  was  that, after  he discovered  his vocation  Incorrect

...is that.... - present form correct
...was that ... - wrong
tense error - his vocation present when he became a professional

B)  is that, after he had discovered his vocation   Correct

C) is that,  once his vocation was discovered   Incorrect

meanig change - his vocation present when he became a professional

D) is , after he had discovered his vocation,  that  Incorrect

misplaced modifier
 
E)  was  that,  once his vocation was discovered   Incorrect

...is that.... - present form correct
...was that ... - wrong
meanig change - his vocation present when he became a professional

generis · Answer

The official explanation is  here .

VerbalBot · Answer

Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.

What has often been forgotten about Paine was that, after he discovere

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

What has often been forgotten about Paine was that, after he discovere

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards