The 16.5-ton bell known as “Great Paul” rang traditionally at one o’cl

Question

Project SC Butler: Sentence Correction (SC1) 
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The 16.5-ton bell known as “Great Paul”— rang traditionally at one o’clock each day—was the largest bell in the British Isles until the casting of the Olympic Bell  for the 2012 London Olympics.

A) rang traditionally at one o’clock each day—was the largest bell in the British Isles until the casting of the Olympic Bell

B) traditionally rang at one o’clock each day—was the largest bell in the British Isles until casting the Olympic Bell

C) traditionally rung at one o’clock each day—was the largest bell in the British Isles until the Olympic Bell had been cast

D) traditionally rung at one o’clock each day—was the largest bell in the British Isles until the Olympic Bell was cast

E) rang at one o’clock each day by tradition—and was the largest bell in the British Isles until the Olympic Bell was cast

generis · Accepted Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Project SC Butler: Sentence Correction (SC1)

• Overview

→ em dashes are often used to set off parenthetical (nonessential) information.
They function as commas in this context. (Sometimes they are used in place of a colon.)

→ We cannot use a simple past tense verb such as  rang  after an em dash that follows the subject.
For one thing, phrases flanked by em dashes (or commas) are non-essential, but if  rang  were a simple past tense  main verb , it certainly could not be part of a nonessential clause and thus removeable!

Nor should an em dash (or comma) come between a subject   and a verb  . 
→ another example,  wrong : The building  ,   tilted towards the horizon.
→ another example,  wrong : Susanna, rode her bike to the library.

Grammatically, that "r_ng" word  cannot  be  rang .
The "r_ng" word must be a modifier.

→  COMMA + rung  modifies the noun that precedes it: bell (or "Great Paul")

→ the past participle (verbED) modifier  rung  is a reduced relative clause

That is, an imaginary "original" sentence stated, "The 16.5-ton bell known as “Great Paul”—  which was rung  traditionally at one o’clock each day—was the largest bell in the British Isles until the casting of the Olympic Bell  for the 2012 London Olympics.

→  which was rung traditionally at one o'clock each day  is a relative clause
The relative pronoun is  which . It is the subject of the relative clause.
A clause contains a subject and a verb.
The verb for  which    is  was .

We shorten ("reduce") the relative clause. This move is common in sophisticated English prose.
We end up with a  past participle (verbED) modifier 
From  which was rung 
1. Remove the relative pronoun (which)
2. Remove the TO BE verb (was)
3. Leave the past participle (the verbED) (rung)

Reduced relative clause, WHICH
 Correct :  The machine, which was nearly broken by overuse, gave off a strange odor. 
 Correct :  The machine, nearly broken by overuse, gave off a strange odor.

Reduced relative clause, WHO
 Correct :  The child, who is funny and spirited, quietly endures a rough home life. 
 Correct :  The child, funny and spirited, quietly endures a rough home life.

• Split #1: Rung v. Rang

Remember that in the nonunderlined portion an em dash precedes  rang  and  rung .
The  r_ng  phrase is thus nonessential material.

As I explained above, an em dash sets off parenthetical (nonessential) information. We cannot put a main verb such as  rang  in a nonessential part of the sentence. (A main verb cannot be "ejectable"!)

Nor can an em dash or comma separate a subject (bell) from its verb (which would be  rang ).

That   r_ng   word cannot be a verb.
That   r_ng   word must be a modifier.

The options present two choices: the simple past tense verb  rang  and the past participle modifier  rung .
Again, a verb cannot be set off by punctuation that makes the verb part of nonessential material.

Options A, B, and E incorrectly use the verb  rang  and should use the modifier  rung .
ELIMINATE A, B, and E

• Split #2:  had been  is logically absurd

Option C uses the past perfect tense verb  had been cast . 
Past perfect, passive voice: HAD + BEEN + past participle (verbED)

Past perfect is used to describe the  earlier  of two prior events.
 Had been cast  should be used to describe the event that came first.
Logically, though, the Olympic Bell must have been cast  after  Great Paul had reigned as the largest bell in the Isles.

The verb tense  had been cast  is illogical.
ELIMINATE C

The correct answer is D. 
→ (D) uses the past participle  rung  to begin the nonessential clause
→ the verb tenses are consistent and parallel:  was the largest bell  and  was cast

NOTES

This material is hard.
Do not worry if you do not quite understand it yet.

Read through my "overview" section above a few times.
Pay special attention to the examples ( which  and  who  reduced relative clauses).
See whether you can write one similar pair of sentences.

My original post contained typos in options D and E.
I have fixed them.

Takeaway:   
→ main verbs cannot be set off by em dashes (or commas)
→ subjects and verbs should not be separated by an em dash (or a comma)

COMMENTS

Because the original contained typos, everyone gets kudos, which are well-deserved no matter how you answered because this question is hard enough without typos.
Good for you for trying and/or posting good questions!

zhanbo · Answer

I could not find one answer I truly like. After spending almost 3 minutes, I chose (D) but its punctuation use is questionable.

For irregular verb "ring", its past tense is "rang", and its past participle is "rung".

(A) 
The 16.5-ton bell known as “Great Paul”—rang traditionally at one o’clock each day—was the largest bell in the British Isles until the casting of the Olympic Bell for the 2012 London Olympics.

In the main clause, its subject is "The 16.5-ton bell", and its verb is "was the largest bell". Between the em-dash pair, a past participle phrase (rung...) should be used. Eliminate (A).

(B) 
The 16.5-ton bell known as “Great Paul”—traditionally rang at one o’clock each day—was the largest bell in the British Isles until casting the Olympic Bell
for the 2012 London Olympics.

See above. Eliminated.

(C)  
The 16.5-ton bell known as “Great Paul”—traditionally rung at one o’clock each day—was the largest bell in the British Isles until the Olympic Bell  had been cast  for the 2012 London Olympics.

This option correctly uses past participle phrase "traditionally rung at one o’clock each day" between two em-dashes. We cannot choose (C), though, because past perfect tense is used in subordinate clause "until the Olympic Bell  had been cast  for the 2012 London Olympics". The use of past perfect tense indicates that the Olympic Bell came into existence  before  "Great Paul". Eliminate (C).

(D) 
The 16.5-ton bell known as “Great Paul”—traditionally rung at one o’clock each day  ,   was the largest bell in the British Isles until the Olympic Bell was cast for the 2012 London Olympics.

This option fixes the verb tense issue in (C), but uses a comma instead of em-dash to set off past participle phrase "traditionally rung at one o’clock each day". We should use em-dash in pairs.

(E)  
The 16.5-ton bell known as “Great Paul”—rang at one o’clock each day by tradition, and was the largest bell in the British Isles until the Olympic Bell was cast for the 2012 London Olympics.

Note the use of "rang" in this option. We might argue that “rang at one o’clock each day“ is the verb for subject "The 16.5-ton bell". But the use of em-dash is uncalled for.

I could not find a satisfactory option, but went for (D) in the end.

beeblebrox · Answer

Hi  zhanbo ,

Can you address this query of mine?

Isn't this statement  rang traditionally at one o’clock each day  a fact? So shouldn't this statement use simple past  rang ?

Thanks.

TarunKumar1234 · Answer

The 16.5-ton bell known as “Great Paul”—rang traditionally at one o’clock each day—was the largest bell in the British Isles until the casting of the Olympic Bell for the 2012 London Olympics.

A) rang traditionally at one o’clock each day—was the largest bell in the British Isles until the casting of the Olympic Bell -> traditional (adverb) modifies rang (verb), it is incorrect to modify "at one o’clock each day".

B) traditionally rang at one o’clock each day—was the largest bell in the British Isles until casting the Olympic Bell -> "casting the Olympic Bell" we don't have verb to complete the sentence. Incorrect.

C) traditionally rung at one o’clock each day—was the largest bell in the British Isles until the Olympic Bell had been cast -> "had been", is used for former action, if there are two actions in place. But, "Olympic Bell" casting was later action. Incorrect.

D) traditionally rung at one o’clock each day, was the largest bell in the British Isles until the Olympic Bell was cast -> It is better. We are talking about two actions in past.

E) rang at one o’clock each day by tradition, and was the largest bell in the British Isles until the Olympic Bell was cast -> "The 16.5-ton bell known as “Great Paul” and..." is incorrect.

So, I think D.

zhanbo · Answer

"Rang" can indeed be used when it is used to construct simple past tense in a clause.

Most of the options in this question, however, uses "ring" in a modifier. In that case, we cannot use past tense of "ring". Instead, we can use past or present participles, as appropriate.

generis · Answer

zhanbo  , you are correct. The punctuation was wrong in options D and E. Edited. Thank you.

Posted from my mobile device

ravigupta2912 · Answer

A) rang traditionally at one o’clock each day—was the largest bell in the British Isles until the casting of the Olympic Bell — adverb “traditionally” is supposed to modify the verb “rang” and not “one’o clock”. Eliminate.

B) traditionally rang at one o’clock each day—was the largest bell in the British Isles until casting the Olympic Bell — “casting” changes the meaning. We need the verb form “was cast” and not the gerund “casting”.

C) traditionally rung at one o’clock each day—was the largest bell in the British Isles until the Olympic Bell had been cast — “had” in this case is not required since we already have a time marker “until”. Also logically it is absurd. The Olympic bell was cast later. Can’t use past perfect.

D) traditionally rung at one o’clock each day—was the largest bell in the British Isles until the Olympic Bell was cast — no obvious errors.

E) rang at one o’clock each day by tradition—and was the largest bell in the British Isles until the Olympic Bell was cast — “by tradition” seems to be modifying “each” when it should modify the verb. From a verb modifier to an object modifier. This shift isn’t intended. Eliminate.

Posted from my mobile device

warrior1991 · Answer

zhanbo  If Option D were tweaked to

We are using the past tense of ring  i.e rang  to describe the event. I don't think there is any error. Please help.

generis · Answer

warrior1991  , please see my OE.
It should help.

generis · Answer

The official explanation is  here .

zhanbo · Answer

Right. Please check out the clear explanations in the OE.

The following rewrite is grammatically correct: 
The 16.5-ton bell known as “Great Paul” rang traditionally at one o’clock each day, and it was the largest bell in the British Isles until the casting of the Olympic Bell for the 2012 London Olympics.

hk111 · Answer

A) rang traditionally at one o’clock each day—was the largest bell in the British Isles until the casting of the Olympic Bell

usage of "casting" is incorrect  Incorrect

B) traditionally rang at one o’clock each day—was the largest bell in the British Isles until casting the Olympic Bell

Same as A,  Incorrect

C) traditionally rung at one o’clock each day—was the largest bell in the British Isles until the Olympic Bell had been cast

The phrase "Olympic bell had been cast" uses improper tense (had been) -  Incorrect

D) traditionally rung at one o’clock each day—was the largest bell in the British Isles until the Olympic Bell was cast -  Correct

E) rang at one o’clock each day by tradition—and was the largest bell in the British Isles until the Olympic Bell was cast

Not so sure about "each day by tradition but I guess we can ignore it for now, the usage of "and" is incorrect.  Incorrect

VibhuMishra · Answer

1. What is this big fuss about rang vs rung? I am unable to get it.

2. Also I feel a little discomfort in using "was cast" and somewhat feel more inclined to the usage "was casted" as cast is a verb.
 Its the reason why I eliminated choice D

Can anyone help me out here?
Thank you.

The 16.5-ton bell known as “Great Paul” rang traditionally at one o’cl

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

The 16.5-ton bell known as “Great Paul” rang traditionally at one o’cl

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