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505-555 Level|   Subject Verb Agreement|   Verb Tense/Form|                              
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daagh
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Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject—the advances 24 Aug 2019, 06:02
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bratbg

original

(D) had been as disturbing in his own time as it was

Edited as per your idea.

(D) had been as disturbing in his own time as they was

'They was' is a basic error. In addition, we are talking about contemporary times of ours. How will you use past tense for current events?
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Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject—the advances 25 Aug 2019, 12:30
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bratbg

original

(D) had been as disturbing in his own time as it was

Edited as per your idea.

(D) had been as disturbing in his own time as they was

'They was' is a basic error. In addition, we are talking about contemporary times of ours. How will you use past tense for current events?
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Hi daagh, Thanks for your reply.
But what I thought that some person said the following statement in past, that is why I asked whether 'was' can be used.

So basically what you are saying is if there is any question which is saying anything similar or is talking abt OUR time and I have to put myself in that spot and think of that moment as present.
Right?
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Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject—the advances 28 Aug 2019, 20:12
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Siddharthjain07
GMATNinja i eliminated a,c and d . I'm stuck between b and e . Please help.

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Take another look at (E): "have been as disturbing in his own time as compelling for ours."

"Have been" is the present perfect tense, which is used for an action that began in the past and continues into the present. But the action takes place "in his own time," which is in the past. (If the action really did continue into the present, it wouldn't make any sense to differentiate between his own time and ours, as they'd both be the present!) Because we want a past tense action, "were" is the correct form of the verb, and so (B) is better.

I hope that helps!
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Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject—the advances 31 Aug 2019, 01:51
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Hi

Can anyone elaborate on Parallelism marker ....as.....as in this question. What structure is required for this marker and how is it maintained in choice B.
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Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject—the advances 31 Aug 2019, 02:24
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Mahsan

Why do you think as…as is a parallelism marker? It is a comparison marker. It is used in such cases as-- as tall as the Himalayas, as big as China, as tough as GMAT, etc. You see the real structure is -- as adjective as a noun. If you want parallelism in play here, it must really be as noun as noun ex: as the Himalayas as the Taj Mahal - or as tall as tough; such a structure never exists
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Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject—the advances 08 Mar 2020, 18:55
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daagh
I want to ask 3 questions about the correct answer. Can you help me?
I noticed it's a X as...as Y comparison, but I couldn't clearly understand the X and Y elements.
01
I thought it's maybe:
X=T's powerful style and his choices of subject were disturbing to his own time
Y=they(T's powerful style and his choices of subject) are compelling for ours
Is it right?
02
Can you help me to change this sentence's order to make it clearer?
03
So this sentence compares different opinions in two eras about T's thought, right?

Thank you very much!
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Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject—the advances 22 May 2020, 04:15
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Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject—the advances in modern surgery, the discipline of sport, the strains of individuals in tension with society or even with themselves—was as disturbing to his own time as it is compelling for ours.

(A) was as disturbing to his own time as it is
(B) were as disturbing to his own time as they are
(C) has been as disturbing in his own time as they are
(D) had been as disturbing in his own time as it was
(E) have been as disturbing in his own time as

Show Spoiler
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/02/books/disturbing-once-compelling-now.html

His uncompromising realism and exacting scrutiny of the human situation give a clue to his growing appeal today. The recent currents in realism attracting our artists and the anxieties permeating modern society have together opened our eyes afresh to Eakins's powerful style of painting, as disturbing to his own time as it is compelling for ours. American art has generally felt most comfortable with the modes of realism, and Eakins has emerged as the anchor of that tradition. His choices of subject - the advances in modern surgery, the discipline of sport, the strains on individuals in tension with society or even with themselves - also link his world with our own.
Show more


(A) was as disturbing to his own time as it is - Wrong: 1) SV 2) Pronoun
(B) were as disturbing to his own time as they are - Correct
(C) has been as disturbing in his own time as they are - Wrong: 1) SV 2) Verb
(D) had been as disturbing in his own time as it was - Wrong: 1) 2 Verb issues 2) Pronoun
(E) have been as disturbing in his own time as - Wrong: 1) Verb
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Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject—the advances Updated on: 20 Sep 2020, 09:01
Originally posted by kornn on 24 May 2020, 03:34.
Last edited by kornn on 20 Sep 2020, 09:01, edited 1 time in total.
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Dear GMATNinja DmitryFarber GMATGuruNY AjiteshArun MartyTargetTestPrep IanStewart,

...—the advances in modern surgery, the discipline of sport, the strains of individuals in tension with society or even with themselves—...

According to non-underlined part, why is "and" absent in connecting 3-item list in the modifier?
IMO, there should be "and" before "the strains of individuals..."
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Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject—the advances 19 Aug 2020, 18:58
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Can someone explain why my reasoning for E is wrong?

I know that the present perfect can be used to show effect. Even though his time is over, the effect or the fact that it is disturbing to his time period will continue forever...so it should be okay to use.

Posted from my mobile device
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Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject—the advances 21 Aug 2020, 12:51
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sislam04
Can someone explain why my reasoning for E is wrong?

I know that the present perfect can be used to show effect. Even though his time is over, the effect or the fact that it is disturbing to his time period will continue forever...so it should be okay to use.

Posted from my mobile device
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Have you tried reviewing this post?
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Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject—the advances 21 Aug 2020, 12:54
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sislam04
Can someone explain why my reasoning for E is wrong?

I know that the present perfect can be used to show effect. Even though his time is over, the effect or the fact that it is disturbing to his time period will continue forever...so it should be okay to use.

Posted from my mobile device
Have you tried reviewing this post?
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Wow it’s the legend himself responding! So honored. Yes I did see that post but my point is I can make the case that in present day 2020 the fact that those things were disturbing to his time is still true. I see the way you reasoned it in that post, but I guess my question is why can’t this also be a valid interpretation?
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Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject—the advances 20 Sep 2020, 08:52
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sislam04
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sislam04
Can someone explain why my reasoning for E is wrong?

I know that the present perfect can be used to show effect. Even though his time is over, the effect or the fact that it is disturbing to his time period will continue forever...so it should be okay to use.

Posted from my mobile device
Have you tried reviewing this post?

Wow it’s the legend himself responding! So honored. Yes I did see that post but my point is I can make the case that in present day 2020 the fact that those things were disturbing to his time is still true. I see the way you reasoned it in that post, but I guess my question is why can’t this also be a valid interpretation?
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Haha, don't inflate my ego! ;)

Consider this on its own: "Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject have been disturbing in his own time." This doesn't work because of the modifier "in his own time" -- we're talking about something that happened at a specific time in the past, not an action that continued up to the present.

Yes, it would make sense to say, "Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject have been disturbing SINCE his own time." In this case, the time period of the action continues to the present, so the verb tense is appropriate.

We're comparing two things: (1) how disturbing his style/choices WERE in his own time and (2) how compelling his style/choices ARE for our time. We are NOT comparing: (1) how disturbing his style/choices have been SINCE his own time and (2) how compelling his style/choices have been for our time.

The "in his own time" tells us without question that the act of being disturbed happened in the past, so (E) cannot work.

I hope that helps a bit!
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Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject—the advances 29 Nov 2020, 07:36
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Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject—the advances in modern surgery, the discipline of sport, the strains of individuals in tension with society or even with themselves—was as disturbing to his own time as it is compelling for ours.

(A) was as disturbing to his own time as it is This sentence has a compound subject – two items joined by ‘and’ - “powerful style and his choices of subject”. This is plural. Singular verb "was" is incorrect. Eliminate.

(B) were as disturbing to his own time as they are Correct answer.

(C) has been as disturbing in his own time as they are Same SVA error due to singular "has" as in (A). Eliminate.

(D) had been as disturbing in his own time as it was Use of singular pronoun "it" is incorrect for the same reason as (A) and (C). Eliminate.

(E) have been as disturbing in his own time as Use of present perfect "have been" to refer to an event solely in the past ("disturbing in his own time") is incorrect. Eliminate.

Hope this helps.
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Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject—the advances 02 Dec 2020, 11:37
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Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject—the advances in modern surgery, the discipline of sport, the strains of individuals in tension with society or even with themselves—was as disturbing to his own time as it is compelling for ours.

Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject are plural and must direct plural verbs.

(A) was as disturbing to his own time as it is- was and it is singular, but Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject are plural.
(B) were as disturbing to his own time as they are- >Okay. Let's keep it.
(C) has been as disturbing in his own time as they are- > has is singular, but Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject are plural.
(D) had been as disturbing in his own time as it was-> it is singular, but Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject are plural.
(E) have been as disturbing in his own time as-> Pronoun missed in last.

So, I think B. :)
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Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject—the advances 03 Jan 2021, 06:12
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GMATNinja
In the non underlined part it says "Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject".
But I suppose there's no logical antecedent to pronoun "his", since it can't refer to a possessive.

Please help me if this logic is correct?
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Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject—the advances 25 Jan 2021, 12:09
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okdone
GMATNinja
In the non underlined part it says "Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject".
But I suppose there's no logical antecedent to pronoun "his", since it can't refer to a possessive.

Please help me if this logic is correct?
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There are very few "rules" that are followed 100% of the time on the GMAT. It is, after all, a reasoning test, not a do-you-know-the-rules test. There are a couple of examples of a pronoun properly referring back to a possessive noun -- check out this official question, for instance.

In this particular case, notice also that the phrase "Thomas Eakins' powerful style" contains a possessive. "His" is also a possessive pronoun, and there's definitely no issue with a possessive pronoun referring back to a possessive noun.

I hope that helps!
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Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject—the advances 08 Apr 2021, 05:28
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Siddharthjain07
GMATNinja i eliminated a,c and d . I'm stuck between b and e . Please help.

Posted from my mobile device
Take another look at (E): "have been as disturbing in his own time as compelling for ours."

"Have been" is the present perfect tense, which is used for an action that began in the past and continues into the present. But the action takes place "in his own time," which is in the past. (If the action really did continue into the present, it wouldn't make any sense to differentiate between his own time and ours, as they'd both be the present!) Because we want a past tense action, "were" is the correct form of the verb, and so (B) is better.

I hope that helps!
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Hii! In E, is there a comparison issue too??
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Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject—the advances 08 Apr 2021, 09:41
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vivektripathi
Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject—the advances in modern surgery, the discipline of sport, the strains of individuals in tension with society or even with themselves—was as disturbing to his own time as it is compelling for ours.

(A) was as disturbing to his own time as it is
(B) were as disturbing to his own time as they are
(C) has been as disturbing in his own time as they are
(D) had been as disturbing in his own time as it was
(E) have been as disturbing in his own time as

Show Spoiler
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/02/books/disturbing-once-compelling-now.html

His uncompromising realism and exacting scrutiny of the human situation give a clue to his growing appeal today. The recent currents in realism attracting our artists and the anxieties permeating modern society have together opened our eyes afresh to Eakins's powerful style of painting, as disturbing to his own time as it is compelling for ours. American art has generally felt most comfortable with the modes of realism, and Eakins has emerged as the anchor of that tradition. His choices of subject - the advances in modern surgery, the discipline of sport, the strains on individuals in tension with society or even with themselves - also link his world with our own.
Show more




Subject is A and B(plural) so the necessary verb should agree with the plural subject leaving us with B and E.

In E, disturbing in his own time changes the meaning completely. The author is comparing the effects of the subject in two different time frames. B is clear, concise, and agrees with the number of subject by choosing as they are.

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Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject—the advances 05 May 2021, 10:28
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Siddharthjain07
GMATNinja i eliminated a,c and d . I'm stuck between b and e . Please help.

Posted from my mobile device
Take another look at (E): "have been as disturbing in his own time as compelling for ours."

"Have been" is the present perfect tense, which is used for an action that began in the past and continues into the present. But the action takes place "in his own time," which is in the past. (If the action really did continue into the present, it wouldn't make any sense to differentiate between his own time and ours, as they'd both be the present!) Because we want a past tense action, "were" is the correct form of the verb, and so (B) is better.

I hope that helps!

Hii! In E, is there a comparison issue too??
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Yes, if we ignore the tense issues in (E), we are left with a comparison issue. Take a look at this stripped down version (we'll leave out the problematic "in his own time" -- for more on that, make sure to check out this post):

    "Eakins’ style and choices have been as disturbing as _____."

Because we have as disturbing as, we expect to fill that blank with something that is as disturbing as Eakin's style and choices. For example:

    "Eakins’ style and choices have been as disturbing as his taste in music." - Here we have two things that are equally disturbing: his style and choices and his taste in music.

But in (E) we basically get:

    "Eakins’ style and choices have been as disturbing as compelling." - We are expecting another noun that we can compare to style and choices, but instead we get another modifier (compelling).

We could perhaps say that "Eakins’ style and choices have been equally disturbing and compelling." But "... as disturbing as compelling" doesn't work.

I hope that helps!
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Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject—the advances 15 Jun 2023, 10:34
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b) is the correct answer
a) and c) have subject-verb agreement. Here in non underlined portion, there is a compound subject(plural) so we need a plural verb
d) In the non underlined section 'ours' Is there so we definitely need a present tense. So because of tenses, option d) is wrong
e) The intended meaning of the sentence is to show a comparison of earlier times with the present time. The use of have been(present perfect) shows that the action started in the past and still going in the present. There is no comparison present
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