He was less successful after he had signed with the washington bullets

Question

He was less successful after he had signed with the Washington Bullets compared to  the New York Knicks, small forward Bernard King nevertheless earned a steadfast group of admirers who consider him one of the greatest scorers in basketball history.
 
(A) He was less successful after he had signed with the Washington Bullets compared to
(B) Being less successful after he had signed with the Washington Bullets as compared to
(C) Less successful after he signed with the Washington Bullets than he had been with 
(D) Although he was less successful after signing with the Washington Bullets compared to
(E) He had been less successful after signing with the Washington Bullets than with

This question was edited and taken from Official Guide

If I change D to "Although he was less successful after signing with the Washington Bullets than with", would it be correct?

vishu1414 · Accepted Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION 
The initial sentence features a significant Sentence Construction error, as the phrase before the comma is an independent clause, which cannot be followed by another subject without a transition. Because the phrase after the comma starts with an independent clause, "small forward Bernard King nevertheless earned," the underlined portion to begin the sentence must be a Modifier, and choices A and E are incorrect. Choice E is also incorrect in its Tense, as the past-perfect " had been less successful " must come before another event, and not "after signing with the Bullets". Answer choices A, B, and D commit an Idiomatic error in constructing the comparison, using the wordier " as compared to " instead of the idiomatic " less than ". Furthermore, these examples each commit a parallel Comparison error; the comparison needs to be made " less successful with X than with Y ", and not " less successful with X than Y ". Accordingly, these choices are incorrect. Choice C, which uses proper Tense and idiomatic comparison structure, and sets up an effective Modifier, is the correct answer.

rchatter · Answer

HI
can somebody clarify what type of modifier is the below component:"Less successful after he signed with the Washington Bullets than he had been with"

sayantanc2k · Answer

Adjctive phrase modifier - "less successful" is the adjective.

Nick90 · Answer

He was less successful after he had signed with the Washington Bullets compared to  the New York Knicks, small forward Bernard King nevertheless earned a steadfast group of admirers who consider him one of the greatest scorers in basketball history.

A) He was less successful after he had signed with the Washington Bullets compared to------- comparison should be with his success with the success of WB. LESS-THAN comparison marker is not used correctly
B)Being less successful after he had signed with the Washington Bullets as compared to-----LESS-THAN
C) Less successful after he signed with the Washington Bullets than he had been with------CORRECT
D) Although he was less successful after  signing  with the Washington Bullets compared to--------LESS-THAN, present participle
E) He  had been less successful  after  signing  with the Washington Bullets than with-------Present participle

shonakshi · Answer

what is the issue with 'less than' in option B ?

sayantanc2k · Answer

There is no "less.... than....", but "less.... as...." in option B, one reason that option B is wrong.

"... less  successful after he had signed with the Washington Bullets  as  compared to..."

GyMrAT · Answer

He was less successful after he had signed with the washington bullets compared to  the New York knicks small forward Bernard King nevertheless earned a steadfast group of admirers who consider him one of the greatest scorers in basketball history
 
(A) He was  less  successful after he had signed with the washington bullets  compared to 
(B) Being  less  successful after he had signed with the washington bullets  as compared to 
(C)  Less  successful after he signed  with  the washington bullets  than he had been with  
(D)  Although  he was  less  successful after signing with the washington bullets  compared to 
(E) He had been less successful after signing with the washington bullets  than with

Thanks,
GyM

thangvietnam · Answer

look at choice C, the official answer
I want
"than WHEN he had been with..."
I prefer to add "when". am I correct?

push12345 · Answer

C seems to be more appropriate 
Less successful after he signed with the Washington Bullets than he had been with

Correct usage of Had(to refer to more past) and meaning is conveyed correctly

lary301254M7 · Answer

(A) is also a run-on

He was less successful ... small forward nevertheless earned. Two independent clauses with no conjunction in between.

dcummins · Answer

He was less successful after he had signed with the Washington Bullets compared to the New York Knicks, small forward Bernard King nevertheless earned a steadfast group of admirers who consider him one of the greatest scorers in basketball history.

Split 1 - incorrect comparison: less successful with X than Y construction literally compares his success to the team itself
(A) He was less successful  after he had signed with the Washington Bullets  compared to the  New York Knicks 
(B) Being less successful after he had signed with the Washington Bullets as compared to the  New York Knicks 
(D) Although he was less successful after signing with the Washington Bullets compared to the  New York Knicks

Split 2- Comma splice (more complex than the first split)
 (A) is a comma splice. We need a conjunction to connect two independent clauses together. Here are the  subjects  and  verbs  of two independent clauses:
 He   was  less successful after  he   had signed  with the Washington Bullets compared to the New York Knicks ,   small forward Bernard King  nevertheless  earned 
(E)  He   had been  less successful after signing with the Washington Bullets than with the Washington Bullets compared to the New York Knicks ,   small forward Bernard King  nevertheless  earned

(C) Less successful after he signed with the Washington Bullets than he had been with

C is correct as it corrects the comparison error made in other answer choices by using the "less successful after he signed with   than he had been with  ". Also, C turns the first clause into a modifier, attaching itself to the subject, "Small forward Bernard King...", of the independent clause.

kitipriyanka · Answer

If 'Less' then 'than' is required and compared is unnecessary.

Also 1st he was in NY Knicks so that will be in past perfect.

Hence C

Ayush Mishra · Answer

I still have a doubt .
He was less successful after he had signed with the Washington Bullets compared to the New York Knicks,small forward Bernard King nevertheless earned a steadfast group of admirers who consider him one of the greatest scorers in basketball history.

If the sentence had compared between Bernard king and a person i.e. Ronaldo ,Option C would have been a better choice ??

Basshead · Answer

He was less successful after he had signed with the Washington Bullets compared to  the New York Knicks, small forward Bernard King nevertheless earned a steadfast group of admirers who consider him one of the greatest scorers in basketball history.
 
(A)  He  was less successful after he had signed with the Washington Bullets compared to

-- opening portion must be a modifier since 'small forward Bernard King' is in the non-underlined portion. Incorrect.

(B)  Being  less successful after he had signed with the Washington Bullets as compared to

-- Comparison error

(C) Less successful after he signed with the Washington Bullets than he had been with

- Correct

(D)  Although  he was less successful after  signing with the Washington Bullets  compared to

-- Comparison error

(E) He  had been  less successful after signing with the Washington Bullets than with

-- opening portion must be a modifier since 'small forward Bernard King' is in the non-underlined portion. Incorrect. 
-- 'had been' is incorrect.

VerbalBot · Answer

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He was less successful after he had signed with the washington bullets

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He was less successful after he had signed with the washington bullets

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