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The idea that earth was a ball of expanding mass never drew

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The idea that earth was a ball of expanding mass never drew [#permalink] New post   05 Oct 2010, 05:45
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A
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E

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75% (hard)

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51% (01:49) correct 49% (01:57) wrong based on 816 sessions
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The idea that earth was a ball of expanding mass never drew any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts transformed the indifference into one of interest, though the concept of drift itself was ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift.

(A) was a ball of expanding mass never drew any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts transformed the indifference into one of interest , though the concept of drift itself was ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift

(B) is a ball of expanding mass had never drawn any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts transformed the indifference into one of interest, though the concept of drift itself was ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift

(C) was a ball of expanding mass did never draw any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts has transformed the indifference into one of interest, though the concept of drift itself has been ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift

(D) was a ball of expanding mass never drew any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts transformed this apathetic indifference into one of interest, though the concept of drift itself was ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift

(E) is a ball of expanding mass had never drawn any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts transformed the indifference into one of interest, though the concept of drift itself had been ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift
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Re: The idea that earth was a ball of expanding mass never drew [#permalink] New post   06 Oct 2010, 01:13
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Usage of past tense and past perfect tense


Use of past perfect is essentially a chronological factor, when two events that started and ended in the past are to be marked with proper tenses. In this scenario, the one that is clearly the earlier, will be in past perfect and the one that is later in simple past. Supposing there were more than two event the last of one of the series of action will entail a simple past tense, while the all the previous ones will entail use of past perfect.

Thus, to cite an example,

1. I had woken up pretty late in the morning and darted to the office like a bullet.

Only two events and hence the last one is in simple past and the earlier one is in past perfect.

2. I had woken up, pretty late, taken bath quickly, eaten my breakfast in a gulp and darted to the office like a bullet.
More than two events, only the last one in simple past and all the other earlier ones, though more than one, marked in past perfect.


By logical predication, a past perfect can not exist alone without an accompanying simple past. Thus when only one event is involved, you can not express it in the past perfect.

Ex; I had taken two cups of tea this morning
Ex; I had lived in Canada in the 1980s

Both the above examples are wrong, because they are not accompanied by a simple past event.
The correct answers are: I took two cups of tea; I lived in Canada 1980s.

Similarly, even if there is more the one event, say two, three or four, you can not mark all of them with past perfect. At least, one function should be there in simple past, naturally the last of the events, to expose the chronological difference

3. When the events that occurred in the past are not distinguishable in regard to the timing, or if they occurred at the same time, then only simple past should be used for all the events.

Ex: As I entered the room, I was shocked to see the students snoring
Here, entering and being shocked are happening at the same time. You can not say one is earlier than the other. So use simple past for both.


If two different events in the past are confusing with respect to their occurrence
then we have to use past tense and get going.. But if we are very
sure abt the occurrence of the two events(like here where until makes it clear) then it is really mandatory to use past perfect for the earlier event.

Does it help?
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Re: The idea that earth was a ball of expanding mass never drew [#permalink] New post   05 Oct 2010, 23:21
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I have one question.
If two different events in the past are confusing with respect to their occurrence
then we have to use past perfect to clear this confusion . But if we are very
sure abt the occurrence of the two events(like here where until makes it clear) then
is it really mandatory to use past perfect.
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Re: The idea that earth was a ball of expanding mass never drew [#permalink] New post   06 Oct 2010, 01:22
can someone explain to me why A is not correct?
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Re: The idea that earth was a ball of expanding mass never drew [#permalink] New post   06 Oct 2010, 01:39
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The fact is that earth was a ball of expanding mass in the past, is a ball of expanding mass now and will be an expanding mass in the future. This is a universal fact, and has to be expressed in simple present. A uses the past tense was instead. Hence wrong.
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Re: The idea that earth was a ball of expanding mass never drew [#permalink] New post   06 Aug 2015, 22:52
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b/w B and E

We need past perfect to clarify time sequence but its optional if its clear from context.

In B, we have word until ----. So we know the sequence,

1. the concept of drift itself was ignored
2. physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift

Can anyone help me why I am wrong.
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Re: The idea that earth was a ball of expanding mass never drew [#permalink] New post   07 Aug 2015, 04:30
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Rukna wrote
Quote:
b/w B and E

We need past perfect to clarify time sequence but its optional if it is clear from context.

In B, we have word until ----. So we know the sequence,

1. the concept of drift itself was ignored
2. physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift

Can anyone help me why I am wrong.


I agree with you that it is optional; Optional means one has the choice either to use it or leave it. It doesn’t mean one should not do it. I chose to use it, because the past perfect renders the sequence explicit while not using it may leave it implicit. In addition, there are a number of instances in official GMAT in which the past perfect in spite of the presence sequence - markers is still used.
Please look at the following example

She was less successful after she had emigrated to New York compared to her native Germany, photographer Lotte Jacobi nevertheless earned a small group of discerning admirers, and her photographs were eventually exhibited in prestigious galleries across the United States.

A) She was less successful after she had emigrated to New York compared to

B) Being less successful after she had emigrated to New York as compared to

C) Less successful after she emigrated to New York than she had been in

D) Although she was less successful after emigrating to New York when compared to

E) She had been less successful after emigrating to New York than in

Ans : C. The sequence marker ‘ after’ is very much there in C; still the OA uses the past perfect ‘had been’.
There are many more such instances. So, I thought it would be crystal clear to use the past perfect.
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Re: The idea that earth was a ball of expanding mass never drew [#permalink] New post   27 Nov 2017, 14:50
I was able to get down to B and E relatively quickly but I choose B instead. As Daagh sir said, "Even if there is more the one event, say two, three or four, you can not mark all of them with past perfect. At least, one function should be there in simple past, naturally the last of the events, to expose the chronological difference", why is option B incorrect then? If we should use a simple past, shouldn't B be correct then (was instead of had been)? The reason why I eliminate option E because I assumed that we didn't need to use past perfect in the last perfect of the sentence. Could any of you guys please help? Would immensely appreciate it! mikemcgarry GMATNinjaTwo GMATNinja sayantanc2k
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Re: The idea that earth was a ball of expanding mass never drew [#permalink] New post   28 Nov 2017, 17:07
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csaluja wrote:
I was able to get down to B and E relatively quickly but I choose B instead. As Daagh sir said, "Even if there is more the one event, say two, three or four, you can not mark all of them with past perfect. At least, one function should be there in simple past, naturally the last of the events, to expose the chronological difference", why is option B incorrect then? If we should use a simple past, shouldn't B be correct then (was instead of had been)? The reason why I eliminate option E because I assumed that we didn't need to use past perfect in the last perfect of the sentence. Could any of you guys please help? Would immensely appreciate it!

Dear csaluja,

I'm happy to respond. :-)

My friend, to be honest, I don't have the highest opinion of this question. Far more is underlined than is necessary: I believe all five answer choices have the identical phrase "ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift" at the end. None of that needs to be part of the underlined section! Oh, and by the way, the Earth is not a "ball of expanding mass"! GMAT SC questions about science generally reflex scientific reality.

The difference between (B) & (E) is minuscule, too close for one to be definitively wrong. I would urge you not to worry about this split: it's not a flaw in your understanding, but a failing on the part of the question writer.

Here's a high quality SC practice question:
Comparing tensile strength

Does all this make sense?
Mike :-)
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Re: The idea that earth was a ball of expanding mass never drew [#permalink] New post   08 Dec 2018, 00:09
daagh wrote:
The idea that earth was a ball of expanding mass never drew any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts transformed the indifference into one of interest, though the concept of drift itself was ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift.

(A) was a ball of expanding mass never drew any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts transformed the indifference into one of interest , though the concept of drift itself was ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift

(B) is a ball of expanding mass had never drawn any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts transformed the indifference into one of interest, though the concept of drift itself was ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift

(C) was a ball of expanding mass did never draw any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts has transformed the indifference into one of interest, though the concept of drift itself has been ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift

(D) was a ball of expanding mass never drew any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts transformed this apathetic indifference into one of interest, though the concept of drift itself was ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift

(E) is a ball of expanding mass had never drawn any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts transformed the indifference into one of interest, though the concept of drift itself had been ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift


Got this one correct, but please let me know if my thought process is flawed:

A, C, D) are wrong because Earth is CURRENTLY a ball of expanding mass, hence the need for IS

I chose E over B simply because E uses the past perfect and that gives us a better sequencing of events.

1) concept was ignored first
2) compelling evidence prove the occurrence

TBH, I'm not sure if there are any mistakes in B.
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The idea that earth was a ball of expanding mass never drew [#permalink] New post   25 Apr 2023, 20:21
daagh wrote:
The idea that earth was a ball of expanding mass never drew any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts transformed the indifference into one of interest, though the concept of drift itself was ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift.

(A) was a ball of expanding mass never drew any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts transformed the indifference into one of interest , though the concept of drift itself was ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift

(B) is a ball of expanding mass had never drawn any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts transformed the indifference into one of interest, though the concept of drift itself was ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift

(C) was a ball of expanding mass did never draw any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts has transformed the indifference into one of interest, though the concept of drift itself has been ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift

(D) was a ball of expanding mass never drew any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts transformed this apathetic indifference into one of interest, though the concept of drift itself was ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift

(E) is a ball of expanding mass had never drawn any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts transformed the indifference into one of interest, though the concept of drift itself had been ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift


I am a bit confused about the first part of the sentence, "the earth was a ball of expanding mass".
Could anyone please help me understand why we are assuming it to be a universal fact? Maybe we are just talking about a historical fact, i.e. Earth used to be a ball of expanding mass (maybe when it was still hot) but is not anymore. :?
mikemcgarry GMATNinjaTwo GMATNinja sayantanc2k, would really appreciate any help.
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Re: The idea that earth was a ball of expanding mass never drew [#permalink] New post   25 Apr 2023, 23:58
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Jarvis07 wrote:
daagh wrote:
The idea that earth was a ball of expanding mass never drew any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts transformed the indifference into one of interest, though the concept of drift itself was ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift.

(A) was a ball of expanding mass never drew any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts transformed the indifference into one of interest , though the concept of drift itself was ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift

(B) is a ball of expanding mass had never drawn any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts transformed the indifference into one of interest, though the concept of drift itself was ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift

(C) was a ball of expanding mass did never draw any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts has transformed the indifference into one of interest, though the concept of drift itself has been ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift

(D) was a ball of expanding mass never drew any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts transformed this apathetic indifference into one of interest, though the concept of drift itself was ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift

(E) is a ball of expanding mass had never drawn any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts transformed the indifference into one of interest, though the concept of drift itself had been ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift


I am a bit confused about the first part of the sentence, "the earth was a ball of expanding mass".
Could anyone please help me understand why we are assuming it to be a universal fact? Maybe we are just talking about a historical fact, i.e. Earth used to be a ball of expanding mass (maybe when it was still hot) but is not anymore. :?
mikemcgarry GMATNinjaTwo GMATNinja sayantanc2k, would really appreciate any help.


Hello Jarvis07,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, it is a matter of context; since the sentence makes no reference to a past time period, it is more logical to assume that it refers to permanent information.

Further, if the action taken by the Earth were a past action, it would have to be written in the past perfect tense verb "had been", rather than the simple past tense verb "was", as it is the earliest of multiple actions that concluded in the past.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
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Re: The idea that earth was a ball of expanding mass never drew [#permalink]
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