Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
elevinty wrote:
Initiated five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World on Columbus Day 1992, Project SETI pledged a $100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
(A) Initiated five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World on Columbus Day 1992, Project SETI pledged a $100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
(B) Initiated on Columbus Day 1992, five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World, a $100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence was pledged by Project SETI.
(C) Initiated on Columbus Day 1992, five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World, Project SETI pledged a $100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
(D) Pledging a $100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, the initiation of Project SETI five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World on Columbus Day 1992.
(E) Pledging a $100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World, on Columbus Day 1992, the initiation of Project SETI took place.
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:Understanding the intended meaning of this sentence is key to solving the question; the intended meaning of the sentence is that Project SETI was initiated on Columbus Day 1992, a date five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World, and it pledged a $100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Modifiers + Grammatical Construction + Verb Forms• In a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun; this is one of the most frequently tested concepts on GMAT sentence correction.
• The simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past.
A: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World on Columbus Day 1992"; the construction of this phrase illogically implies that Europeans arrived in the New World
on Columbus Day 1992, and Project SETI was initiated five centuries
after 1992; the intended meaning is that Project SETI was initiated
on Columbus Day 1992, and
Columbus Day 1992 was five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World.
B: This answer choice incorrectly uses "Initiated on Columbus Day 1992" to modify "a $100 million investment", illogically implying that Project SETI's
$100 million investment was initiated on Columbus Day 1992; the intended meaning is that Project SETI
itself was initiated on Columbus Day 1992; remember, in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun.
C: Correct. This answer choice acts upon the independent subject noun "Project SETI" with the active verb "pledged" to form a complete thought, leading to a complete sentence and conveying the intended meaning - that Project SETI
itself pledged a $100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Further, Option C correctly uses "Initiated on Columbus Day 1992" to modify "Project SETI", conveying the intended meaning - that Project SETI
itself was initiated
on Columbus Day 1992, and
Columbus Day 1992 was five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World. Additionally, Option C correctly uses the simple past tense verb "pledged" to refer to an action that concluded in the past.
D: This answer choice fails to form a complete sentence; as "Pledging" and "arrived" are both participles that are part of modifying phrases, there is no active verb to act upon the subject "the initiation of Project SETI".
E: This answer choice incorrectly uses "Pledging a $100 million investment..." to modify "the initiation of Project SETI", illogically implying that
the initiation of Project SETI pledged a $100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence; the intended meaning is that Project SETI
itself pledged a $100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Further, Option E incorrectly uses the present participle ("verb+ing" - "Pledging" in this case) to refer to an action that concluded in the past; remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past.
Hence, C is the best answer choice.To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):
To understand the concept of "Phrase Comma Subject" and "Subject Comma Phrase" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team