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Quasars are so distant that their light has taken billions of years to

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EducationAisle

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12 Jan 2020, 08:28

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GMATGuruNY

The statement in red is incorrect.

In the sentence above, did is standing in for the simple past tense form of has gone.

Hi Mitch, greetings! This is what I wanted to suggest as well (as is clear in the subsequent official example that I cited). Perhaps it didn't come out that way

did is (the past tense that is) substituting for the present perfect tense has gone (present perfect of action verb go) and not for has.

pk6969

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05 Jul 2021, 05:05

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aikido_fudoshin

Quasars are so distant that their light has taken billions of years to reach the Earth; consequently, we see them as they were during the formation of the universe.

(A) we see them as they were during

(B) we see them as they had been during

(C) we see them as if during

(D) they appear to us as they did in

(E) they appear to us as though in

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https://www.nytimes.com/1986/05/06/science/powerful-source-of-gravity-detected-deep-in-the-universe.html

Since then several thousand such ''quasi-stellar radio sources,'' or quasars, have been discovered. Assuming the yardstick used to measure cosmic distances - the so-called red shift - is valid, many quasars are so far away their light has taken billions of years to reach the Earth. They are therefore seen as they were during the infancy of the universe and may be galaxies in an early, extremely brilliant stage of development.

In this OG question how to eliminate option C? AndrewN

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17 May 2022, 23:15

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Hi Experts, MartyTargetTestPrep, AndrewN

In option D, the verb "did" is used as the past tense of the verb "appear", which is used earlier in the sentence. Thus the option becomes "they appear to us as they appeared in the formation of the universe." The only error I can spot in this sentence is the preposition "in" instead of "during".

How can we interpret the "to us" part after the second verb "did" (appeared). As per the explanations above in this post, option D is incorrect because "the way Quasers appear to us now is the same as they appeared to us when the Universe was formed. But, when the Universe was formed, we did not exist."

Thank You

MartyTargetTestPrep

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18 May 2022, 03:48

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KittyDoodles

The most logical understanding of "did" is "appeared to us," because the present action referenced is not just "appear" but "appear to us."

After all, if "to us" were not integral to the present action, then it wouldn't have to be mentioned at all. The sentence could say simply, "they appear as they did."

So, the explanation you mentioned, "the way Quasers appear to us now is the same as they appeared to us when the Universe was formed. But, when the Universe was formed, we did not exist," makes sense.

That said, that issue is somewhat subtle, so in a question with no better choice, that issue might not be enough to knock the (D) version out of contention. So, the misuse of "in" really helps to make choice (D) rather clearly wrong and knock it out of contention.

AndrewN

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18 May 2022, 03:56

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pk6969

aikido_fudoshin

In this OG question how to eliminate option C? AndrewN

KittyDoodles

It looks like Marty just beat me to this one, but I will reproduce my answer in full below.

---

I suppose I will kill two birds with one stone, even if I am quite late (for some reason) to get to the earlier query. I will work backwards, chronologically, so, KittyDoodles, you are up first. I agree that in is a problem in answer choice (D). If you can find a relatively easy way to doubt an answer choice, then you should look to do so. Pertaining to the implied to us after the substitute verb did, it is a reasonable interpretation because to us appears just after the verb appear and just prior to the comparative as, and we should not have to pick and choose what we want the verb to substitute for:

1) Quasars appear to us as [quasars] [appeared to us] X

But you could write,

2) Quasars appear as they did √

You have to be careful about just what these substitute verbs juggle, and you also want to keep comparisons as tight as possible on the GMAT™. Play it safe, so when in doubt about a comparison, seek a safer alternative.

Concerning answer choice (C), as if during the formation of the universe makes the comparison seem purely hypothetical and diminishes its effectiveness. That is, we cannot be sure the sentence is conveying that quasars actually existed at the time of the formation of the universe.

Perhaps answer choices (C) and (D) make more sense now. Thank you for thinking to ask.

- Andrew

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06 Aug 2022, 05:49

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A —> pronouns and verb tense look good
B —> b uses the wrong tense, as past perfect is used only for compound past actions. Here, only one action in the past
C —> we did not see any quasar during the formation of the universe, as their light did not reach the earth yet. Wrong in meaning
D —> Quasars did not appear to us in the formation of the universe at all; thus, the wrong meaning
E —> same meaning mistake here