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A
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
45%
(medium)
Question Stats:
64% (01:41) correct
36%
(01:52)
wrong
based on 12679
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
In the major cities of industrialized countries at the end of the nineteenth century, important public places such as theaters, restaurants, shops, and banks had installed electric lighting, but electricity was in less than one percent of homes, where lighting was still provided mainly by candles or gas.
(A) electricity was in less than one percent of homes, where lighting was still
(B) electricity was in less than one percent of homes and lighting still
(C) there had been less than 1 percent of homes with electricity, where lighting was still being
(D) there was less than 1 percent of homes that had electricity, having lighting that was still
(E) less than one percent of homes had electricity, where lighting had still been
(A) electricity was in less than one percent of homes, where lighting was still
(B) electricity was in less than one percent of homes and lighting still
(C) there had been less than 1 percent of homes with electricity, where lighting was still being
(D) there was less than 1 percent of homes that had electricity, having lighting that was still
(E) less than one percent of homes had electricity, where lighting had still been
Progress and Barbarism: World in the Twentieth Century
Hardcover – Import, 1998
01.png [ 164.02 KiB | Viewed 110363 times ]
Major Cities
First glance
The parallel marker but is just before the underline. Should the underlined part of the sentence start with electricity or something else?
Issues
(1) Verb: provided; had been; was still being
Compare the answers vertically; various verb tenses change.
(A) electricity was in homes, where lighting was still provided by candles...
(B) electricity was in homes and lighting still provided by candles...
(C) there had been less...where lighting was still being provided by candles...
(D) there was less... having lighting that was still provided by candles...
(E) less than 1 percent had electricity, where lighting had still been provided by candles...
Answer (B) is missing the verb was before provided. It should read: lighting was provided by candles.
Answers (C) and (E) use past perfect (had been). Past perfect can be used only when the sentence also has another past event that took place later in time than the past perfect event.
In the case of answer (C), the had been event took place at the same time as the was provided event, so the two events should be in the same tense. The reasoning is the same for answer (E): the had event took place at the same time as the had been provided event, so they should employ the same tense. (Note that had, by itself, is simple past. Had becomes past perfect only when paired with a past participle, such as had provided.)
Eliminate answers (B), (C), and (E).
(2) Modifier / Meaning: having
Answers (A), (C), and (E) all use where to start the modifier; answer (D) uses having. (Answer (B) changes that part of the structure completely.)
Where was lighting still provided mainly by candles or gas? In the homes. The where modifier in answers (A) and (B) clearly points to the homes. In answer (E), the where could be interpreted as pointing to the noun just before the comma: electricity. This, of course, is not the right location. The Official Guide explanation does not address this point, so it’s unclear whether the test writers would consider this acceptable. Therefore, call this “suspicious” and avoid this choice unless there is no better option. Eliminate answers (A) and (B) and put a question mark next to (E).
Answer (D) uses the comma -ing modifier structure there was less than 1 percent..., having lighting. A comma -ing modifier refers to the main subject and verb of the clause to which it’s attached; in this case, the having modifier refers to there was. It should be referring to the homes, so eliminate answer (D).
The Correct Answer
Correct answer (A) uses the same verb tense (was, was provided) to talk about two past events that occurred at the same time. The where modifier correctly refers to homes.
Hardcover – Import, 1998
Attachment:
01.png [ 164.02 KiB | Viewed 110363 times ]
Major Cities
(A) CORRECT
(B) Verb (provided)
(C) Verb (had been, was still being)
(D) Modifier / Meaning (having)
(E) Verb (had been)
(B) Verb (provided)
(C) Verb (had been, was still being)
(D) Modifier / Meaning (having)
(E) Verb (had been)
First glance
The parallel marker but is just before the underline. Should the underlined part of the sentence start with electricity or something else?
Issues
(1) Verb: provided; had been; was still being
Compare the answers vertically; various verb tenses change.
(A) electricity was in homes, where lighting was still provided by candles...
(B) electricity was in homes and lighting still provided by candles...
(C) there had been less...where lighting was still being provided by candles...
(D) there was less... having lighting that was still provided by candles...
(E) less than 1 percent had electricity, where lighting had still been provided by candles...
Answer (B) is missing the verb was before provided. It should read: lighting was provided by candles.
Answers (C) and (E) use past perfect (had been). Past perfect can be used only when the sentence also has another past event that took place later in time than the past perfect event.
In the case of answer (C), the had been event took place at the same time as the was provided event, so the two events should be in the same tense. The reasoning is the same for answer (E): the had event took place at the same time as the had been provided event, so they should employ the same tense. (Note that had, by itself, is simple past. Had becomes past perfect only when paired with a past participle, such as had provided.)
Eliminate answers (B), (C), and (E).
(2) Modifier / Meaning: having
Answers (A), (C), and (E) all use where to start the modifier; answer (D) uses having. (Answer (B) changes that part of the structure completely.)
Where was lighting still provided mainly by candles or gas? In the homes. The where modifier in answers (A) and (B) clearly points to the homes. In answer (E), the where could be interpreted as pointing to the noun just before the comma: electricity. This, of course, is not the right location. The Official Guide explanation does not address this point, so it’s unclear whether the test writers would consider this acceptable. Therefore, call this “suspicious” and avoid this choice unless there is no better option. Eliminate answers (A) and (B) and put a question mark next to (E).
Answer (D) uses the comma -ing modifier structure there was less than 1 percent..., having lighting. A comma -ing modifier refers to the main subject and verb of the clause to which it’s attached; in this case, the having modifier refers to there was. It should be referring to the homes, so eliminate answer (D).
The Correct Answer
Correct answer (A) uses the same verb tense (was, was provided) to talk about two past events that occurred at the same time. The where modifier correctly refers to homes.
20 Nov 2015, 08:45
Kudos
Bookmarks
Grammar may solve most of this problem
A. electricity was in less than one percent of homes, where lighting was still – the best since where refers to a place namely homes.
B. electricity was in less than one percent of homes and lighting still --- Forthrightly unparallel with a clause in on side of ‘and’ but only a phrase at the other side.
C. there were less than one percent of homes with electricity, where lighting was still being ---1. still being provided changes the meaning. 2. Where is wrongly referring to electricity
D. there was less than one percent of homes that had electricity, having lighting that was still --- was less than one percent of homes—SV number problem
E. less than one percent of homes had electricity, where lighting had still been --- doesn’t make much sense
A. electricity was in less than one percent of homes, where lighting was still – the best since where refers to a place namely homes.
B. electricity was in less than one percent of homes and lighting still --- Forthrightly unparallel with a clause in on side of ‘and’ but only a phrase at the other side.
C. there were less than one percent of homes with electricity, where lighting was still being ---1. still being provided changes the meaning. 2. Where is wrongly referring to electricity
D. there was less than one percent of homes that had electricity, having lighting that was still --- was less than one percent of homes—SV number problem
E. less than one percent of homes had electricity, where lighting had still been --- doesn’t make much sense
22 Jul 2012, 11:57
Kudos
Bookmarks
maybeam
Here we go...
(A) electricity was in less than one percent of homes, where lighting was still --------- "where" is modifying adjacent "homes", keep it
(B) electricity was in less than one percent of homes and lighting still --------- " Lighting" was trying to modify "home" but "and" spoiled it
(C) there were less than one percent of homes with electricity, where lighting was still being ------- "where" cannot modify "electricity"
(D) there was less than one percent of homes that had electricity, having lighting that was still ------ use of "had electricity, having lighting that was still" is grammatically incorrect
(E) less than one percent of homes had electricity, where lighting had still been -------- "where" cannot modify "electricity"
Hence A ("where" can be used to identify a places only)
HTH
29 Nov 2021, 05:30
Kudos
Bookmarks
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 this sentence is that electricity was in less than one percent of homes, and in these homes, lighting was still provided mainly by candles or gas.
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Tenses + Parallelism
• Any elements linked by a conjunction (“and” in this sentence) must be parallel.
• “where” is only used to refer to a physical place.
• “being” is only to be used when it is part of a noun phrase or represents the passive continuous verb tense; the use of passive continuous must be justified in the context.
• The introduction of present participle ("verb+ing"- “having” in this case) after comma generally leads to a cause-effect relationship.
• Past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past".
• Past perfect continuous tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had/have been") is used when a sentence contains two actions in past and one action is in greater past as well as continuous in nature; the helping verb "had been" is used with the action that is in the greater past and continuous in nature.
A: Correct. This answer choice correctly modifies “one percent of homes” with “where lighting...gas”, conveying the intended meaning – that electricity was in less than one percent of homes, and in these homes, lighting was still provided mainly by candles or gas. Further, Option A forms a complete sentence; the object “lighting” is acted upon by the active verb “was...provided” to form an independent thought, leading to a complete sentence. Additionally, Option A correctly uses the simple past tense verbs “was” and “was…provided” to refer to events that concluded in the past. Moreover, Option A maintains parallelism between the clauses “electricity was in less than one percent of homes” and “where lighting...gas”. Besides, Option A is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.
B:This answer choice leads to an incomplete sentence; the phrase “and lighting still provided mainly by candles or gas” lacks an active verb to act upon the subject “lighting”, as “provided” is a past participle rather than an active verb. Further, Option B fails to maintain parallelism between the clause “electricity was in less than one percent of homes” and the phrase “lighting still provided mainly by candles or gas”; please remember, any elements linked by a conjunction (“and” in this sentence) must be parallel.
C: This answer choice incorrectly refers to "electricity" with "where"; please remember, "where" is only used to refer to physical places. Further, Option C incorrectly uses the past perfect tense verb “had been to refer to an action that concluded in the past; please remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to events that concluded in the past and the past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is only used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past". Additionally, Option C uses the word “being”, rendering it awkward and needlessly wordy; please remember, “being” is only to be used when it is part of a noun phrase or represents the passive continuous verb tense; the use of passive continuous must be justified in the context.
D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “having lighting that was still...gas”; the use of the “comma + present participle (“verb+ing” – “having” in this sentence)” construction incorrectly implies that less than one percent of homes had electricity because, in these homes, lighting was still provided mainly by candles or gas; the intended meaning is that less than one percent of homes had electricity, and in these homes, lighting was still provided mainly by candles or gas.; please remember, the introduction of the present participle ("verb+ing"- “having” in this case) after comma generally leads to a cause-effect relationship.
E: This answer choice incorrectly refers to "electricity" with "where"; please remember, "where" is only used to refer to physical places. Further, Option E incorrectly uses the past perfect continuous tense verb “had still been provided” to refer to an action that concluded in the past; please remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to events that concluded in the past, and the past perfect continuous tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had/have been") is only used when a sentence contains two actions in past and one action is in greater past as well as continuous in nature; the helping verb "had been" is used with the action that is in the greater past and continuous in nature.
Hence, A is the best answer choice.
To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
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 "Perfect Continuous Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):
To understand the use of "Being" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
yavasani
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 this sentence is that electricity was in less than one percent of homes, and in these homes, lighting was still provided mainly by candles or gas.
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Tenses + Parallelism
• Any elements linked by a conjunction (“and” in this sentence) must be parallel.
• “where” is only used to refer to a physical place.
• “being” is only to be used when it is part of a noun phrase or represents the passive continuous verb tense; the use of passive continuous must be justified in the context.
• The introduction of present participle ("verb+ing"- “having” in this case) after comma generally leads to a cause-effect relationship.
• Past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past".
• Past perfect continuous tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had/have been") is used when a sentence contains two actions in past and one action is in greater past as well as continuous in nature; the helping verb "had been" is used with the action that is in the greater past and continuous in nature.
A: Correct. This answer choice correctly modifies “one percent of homes” with “where lighting...gas”, conveying the intended meaning – that electricity was in less than one percent of homes, and in these homes, lighting was still provided mainly by candles or gas. Further, Option A forms a complete sentence; the object “lighting” is acted upon by the active verb “was...provided” to form an independent thought, leading to a complete sentence. Additionally, Option A correctly uses the simple past tense verbs “was” and “was…provided” to refer to events that concluded in the past. Moreover, Option A maintains parallelism between the clauses “electricity was in less than one percent of homes” and “where lighting...gas”. Besides, Option A is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.
B:This answer choice leads to an incomplete sentence; the phrase “and lighting still provided mainly by candles or gas” lacks an active verb to act upon the subject “lighting”, as “provided” is a past participle rather than an active verb. Further, Option B fails to maintain parallelism between the clause “electricity was in less than one percent of homes” and the phrase “lighting still provided mainly by candles or gas”; please remember, any elements linked by a conjunction (“and” in this sentence) must be parallel.
C: This answer choice incorrectly refers to "electricity" with "where"; please remember, "where" is only used to refer to physical places. Further, Option C incorrectly uses the past perfect tense verb “had been to refer to an action that concluded in the past; please remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to events that concluded in the past and the past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is only used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past". Additionally, Option C uses the word “being”, rendering it awkward and needlessly wordy; please remember, “being” is only to be used when it is part of a noun phrase or represents the passive continuous verb tense; the use of passive continuous must be justified in the context.
D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “having lighting that was still...gas”; the use of the “comma + present participle (“verb+ing” – “having” in this sentence)” construction incorrectly implies that less than one percent of homes had electricity because, in these homes, lighting was still provided mainly by candles or gas; the intended meaning is that less than one percent of homes had electricity, and in these homes, lighting was still provided mainly by candles or gas.; please remember, the introduction of the present participle ("verb+ing"- “having” in this case) after comma generally leads to a cause-effect relationship.
E: This answer choice incorrectly refers to "electricity" with "where"; please remember, "where" is only used to refer to physical places. Further, Option E incorrectly uses the past perfect continuous tense verb “had still been provided” to refer to an action that concluded in the past; please remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to events that concluded in the past, and the past perfect continuous tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had/have been") is only used when a sentence contains two actions in past and one action is in greater past as well as continuous in nature; the helping verb "had been" is used with the action that is in the greater past and continuous in nature.
Hence, A is the best answer choice.
To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
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 "Perfect Continuous Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):
To understand the use of "Being" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
