The record of the past is always incomplete, and the historian who wri

Question

The record of the past is always incomplete, and  the historian who writes about it inevitably reflects  the preoccupations of their own time.

(A) the historian who writes about it inevitably reflects

(B) the historian writing about it will inevitably reflect

(C) a historian writing about it inevitably reflects

(D) writing about it, it is inevitable for historians to reflect

(E) historians in writing about it inevitably reflect

Could someone explain the role of the verb modifier in the right answer ?

daagh · Accepted Answer

First thing, let us decide wither it is inevitable or inevitably. Can an adjective  inevitable  modify a verb  reflect ? Plain wrong. 
A, B and C are out becos of the singular historian not tallying with  their  in the non-underlined part. D is left

diebeatsthegmat · Answer

The record of the past is always incomplete, and the historian who writes about it
inevitably reflects the preoccupations of  their  own time.
(A) the historian who writes about it inevitably reflects
(B) the historian writing about it will inevitably reflect
(C) a historian writing about it inevitably reflects
(D) writing about it, it is inevitable for historians to reflect
(E) historians in writing about it inevitable reflect

because the main st used " their" > historian must be historians
we can eliminate ABC
D is wordy
E left

Target760 · Answer

Got it wrong on first go. Chose B
was not able to understand fully. the question and statements are bit garbled.

on second attempt, D looks ok
we need historians for 'their'; therefore A,B,C out.

between D & E
"inevitable reflect" is incorrect. we need inevitably

E is the Answer
 the  first 'it'  refers to "record of the past" . . and . .  second 'it'  acts like a placeholder to postpone the "infinitive subject" . . seems justified, though clumsy

‘IT’ used as a PLACEHOLDER  
IT is a word that doesn't refer to anything but serve a placeholder so that the sentence can express its meaning

Used rightly : Although the lesser cornstalk borer is widely distributed, measures to control  it  are necessary only in the South
 To postpone “that clause” : As machines replaced human labor,  it  was widely anticipated that the workweek would continue to become shorter. . . placeholder IT has delayed the use of that clause; “that the workweek would continue to become shorter”
 To postpone infinitive subjects : IT is futile  To  resist temptation

daagh · Answer

Target 760

Only D has i nevitably reflect ; E has  inevitable reflect . Is your choie of E a typo?”

Target760 · Answer

yes typo!

i meant; when choosing between D & E -> we can drop E, because 'inevetiable' cannot modify 'reflect' . . whereas in D, use of inevitable is correct. so i think!!

whichscore · Answer

in my view, the correct answer is E. 
The major flaw of "D" is that it fails to rightly place "historians", which is modified by "writing about it". "Historians" should be place right after "writing about it". 
Any further suggestions ?

varunmaheshwari · Answer

If OA is E.. My question is can "inevitable" modify "reflect" i.e. Can an adjective modifiy the verb??
Am I missing something here??

daagh · Answer

Is there a typo in Choice E? Some other forums say  'inevitably reflect’ , in which case, E is the answer. Which is the correct version? Will the original poster help us?

Narenn · Answer

The record of the past is always incomplete, and  the historian who writes about it inevitably reflects  the preoccupations of their own time.

(A) the historian who writes about it inevitably reflects
(B) the historian writing about it will inevitably reflect
(C) a historian writing about it inevitably reflects
(D) writing about it, it is inevitable for historians to reflect
(E) historians in writing about it inevitable reflect

My Answer is D
Official Answer is E

A) incorrect because singular  'the historian'  does not agree with plural  'their' 
B) incorrect for the same
C) incorrect for the same
 E) incorrect because  'inevitable'  should function as an adverb to  'reflect'  
 Thats left us with only choice D.

PrashantPonde · Answer

I agree. The choice E (OA) should have " inevitably ", not "inevitable"
  (E) historians in writing about it inevitably reflect

Choice(D) is changes the intended meaning and also grammatically incorrect. 
"inevitable for historians to reflect" is nonsensical in this context.

DharLog · Answer

1. We have "their" in the end of the sentence, it is not underlined --------> we need plural "historians" ------> A, B, C are out.

2. Between D and E I chose E because I did not like "in writing" ("writing" is better imo) in E, and for sure "inevitable" is wrong.
But of course in D double "it" does not make sense, and GMAT does not like it. Moreover, "inevitable for historians to reflect" has very strange semantic meaning, not good one.

So, if in E we replace "inevitable" with "inevitably", it will be fine

Will2020 · Answer

The question above has a typo in alternative E. Here is the proper question:

The record of the past is always incomplete and the historian who writes about it inevitably reflects the preoccupations of their own time.

(A) the historian who writes about it inevitably reflects
(B) the historian writing about it will inevitably reflect
(C) a historian writing about it inevitably reflects
(D) writing about it, it is inevitable for historians to reflect
(E) historians in writing about it inevitably reflect

OA: E

I'm not an expert, but in my opinion D is less concise than E. I don't believe it is grammatically wrong. "...it is inevitable... " is an idiom, such as It is possible that... IT doesn't need to have an antecedent in this case.

generis · Answer

WilliamH  , edited. Thank you.

generis · Answer

WilliamH  , others on the thread also believe as you do, but Option D is grammatically incorrect.
We cannot omit "the" before "writing." As such, we need to situate historians who, IN writing about the past (who, in doing something), inevitably reflect their biases.

Correct  because writing is a gerund, the subject (not an option): 
 The record of the past is always incomplete and THE writing of such a record is difficult. 
"The writing" is a gerund, the subject.
 Not correct :  The record of the past is always incomplete and THE writing about it, it is inevitable for historians to reflect the preoccupations of their own time. 
That sentence is a run-on.

The sentence has clauses that are connected without logic or a conjunction.
Clause 1: The record of the past is always incomplete
Clause 2: THE writing about it . . . VERB? The writing about   . . . does what? is what? 
Clause 3: It is inevitable for historians to reflect the preoccupations of their time.

Clauses 1 and 3 are full independent clauses that are not connected properly and worse, are interrupted by a gerund (a verbING) that as constructed must be the subject of a different verb.
The following construction  might  be okay absent any other alternative: (replication of "it" may not be fatal, though I cannot see GMAT allowing such a construction): 
 The record of the past is always incomplete and IN the writing of it, it is inevitable for historians to reflect the preoccupations of their own time.

Regardless, option E is correct and far superior to D.

Hope that helps.

emcheeks · Answer

By looking at the "their", we should use plural "historians". A B C are out.

In D, the "writing about it" modifies it but it should modify historians. Therefore, E correct.

Crytiocanalyst · Answer

(A) the historian who writes about it inevitably reflects
writes isn't the right usage hence out

(B) the historian writing about it will inevitably reflect
addition of will is unnecessary and distorts the meaning

(C) a historian writing about it inevitably reflects
a isn't the right usage

(D) writing about it, it is inevitable for historians to reflect
unnecessary addition of commas since these are dependent clauses thay should not be seperated with comma therefore out

(E) historians in writing about it inevitably reflect
The meaning is perfect and the iinly option left

Therefore IMO E

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