The compositions of Claude Debussy are known for their

Question

The compositions of Claude Debussy are known for  their orchestrational subtlety and brilliance, a use of scales considered exotic in Western music at the time, and  delicate but dramatic lyricism.

A.their orchestrational subtlety and brilliance, a use of scales considered exotic in Western music at the time, and

B.their orchestrational subtlety and brilliance, use of scales considered exotic in Western music at the time, and

C.their orchestrational subtlety and brilliance, use of scales considered exotic in Western music at the time, and their

D.orchestrational subtlety and brilliance, use of scales considered exotic in Western music at the time, and

E.their orchestrational subtlety and brilliance, use of scales considered exotic in Western music at the time, and a

Correct Answer: B

This sentence features a list of Equivalent Elements that must be in parallel form. The list of characteristics for which Debussy's compositions are known includes their orchestrational subtlety and brilliance, use of scales considered exotic in Western music at the time, and delicate but dramatic lyricism. Only choice B lists these characteristics correctly. Choice A says that the compositions are known for their "a use of scales', which is awkward ' one does not need the article 'a' to precede 'use.' Choice C lacks the possessive pronoun 'their' in front of 'use', making it not parallel. Choice D is missing the introductory possessive pronoun 'their.' Choice E, like A, has the unnecessary article 'a' preceding 'delicate'.

Carcass · Accepted Answer

Basically the structure of the sentence, at its core, is this: you must use their or a one time and not a mix of two pronouns (their) or articles (a) alternatively.

Only B has the right structure.

D is the first one goes suddenly out because after FOR you need the possessive pronoun NOT orchestrational........

Hope is clear. Indeed a tricky one

bhatgmat · Answer

can anyone please tell me why a introductory pronoun is required here?
Without the pronoun option D lokks OK to me.

ConnectTheDots · Answer

I am known for using cliches.
I am known for use of cliches.
I am know for my use of cliches.

Which one is wrong ?
The 2nd One.

In 1st one, "using" takes the subject I.
In case of 2nd: the subject is missing, as I doesn't fit - whose use of cliches ? The subject is ambiguous. So we must include "my/his/her or any possessive" in this case. That's why "my" is included in 3rd sentence(correct form of sentence 1)

So since in D, Use is used as verb so we must have a subject "their". Had it been "using" the gerund form then D could have been right as well.

daagh · Answer

Use of scale is a general feature of all music; however, when you consider a specific type of scale, then it is denoted as ‘a’ use of that particular scale, in this case, that was considered exotic (something special), at that period of time. That is the reason we need the term ‘a’ before the word ‘use’.

alphaseeker · Answer

The compositions of Claude Debussy are known for  their orchestrational subtlety and brilliance, a use of scales considered exotic in Western music at the time, and  delicate but dramatic lyricism.

A.their orchestrational subtlety and brilliance, a use of scales considered exotic in Western music at the time, and

B.their orchestrational subtlety and brilliance, use of scales considered exotic in Western music at the time, and

C.their orchestrational subtlety and brilliance, use of scales considered exotic in Western music at the time, and their

D.orchestrational subtlety and brilliance, use of scales considered exotic in Western music at the time, and

E.their orchestrational subtlety and brilliance, use of scales considered exotic in Western music at the time, and a

"their' is necessary here. The group is know for their unique subtlety and brilliance, the writer emphasizes uniqueness here. So eliminate D.

..... delicate but dramatic lyricism....since we have but here, we must maintain parallelism. remove everything except coordinating conjunction "and" . So, C and E are gone.

I dont think when they play their music they apply certain thing once, they should be doing in general to make their style different. That's why I eliminated A. B is the answer

junii · Answer

VeritasKarishma  can u pls explain why C is incorrect, should not their is needed for parallelism?

KarishmaB · Answer

Basic structure of the sentence:

The compositions are known for their brilliance, use of exotic scales and dramatic lyricism.

To maintain parallelism, we use "their" only once in the beginning or we use it with each item in the list.
So another correct way of writing it would be

The compositions are known for their brilliance, their use of exotic scales and their dramatic lyricism.

But we cannot mix and match. So we cannot put their with just two elements but not with the third. Hence, (C) is incorrect. 
 junii

Also, "their" helps clarify the meaning of the sentence.
The compositions are known for brilliance. (Whose brilliance? The author's? The Protagonist's?)
The compositions are known for their brilliance. (They are known for their own brilliance)

Also, consider this:
The compositions are known for their a use of exotic scales.
Use of the indefinite article "a" is incorrect here.

Hence, option (B) is correct.

VerbalBot · Answer

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The compositions of Claude Debussy are known for their

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