The Oxford English Dictionary was completed in the early nineteenth ce

Question

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The Oxford English Dictionary was completed in the early nineteenth  century, before which Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English language was the most comprehensive British lexicon .

A) century, before which Samuel Johnson’s  Dictionary of the English Language  was the most comprehensive British lexicon

B) century, and Samuel Johnson’s  Dictionary of the English Language  was before this the most comprehensive British lexicon

C) century, before that time Samuel Johnson’s  Dictionary of the English Language  was the most comprehensive British lexicon

D) century, Samuel Johnson’s  Dictionary of the English Language  being the most comprehensive lexicon before this

E) century, before which Samuel Johnson’s  Dictionary of the English Language  has been the most comprehensive lexicon in Britain

generis · Accepted Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Project SC Butler: Sentence Correction (SC1)

THE PROMPT

Quote:

The Oxford English Dictionary was completed in the early nineteenth century, before which Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language was the most comprehensive British lexicon.

As I wrote in a post on this thread that is linked below, this question is hard but tests (among other things) a straightforward concept: permissible ways by which we join two independent clauses.

An independent clause contains a subject and a verb and can stand on its own.
NOT an IC: Because Lisa was ill. (What is next? What happened because she was ill?)
IC: Lisa was ill.
IC: We took her some soup.
We cannot simply place the two OCs together with nothing more than a comma.
Wrong: Lisa was ill, we took her some soup.
As I explain in my notes under option (C), this comma splice can be corrected in three ways.

Between those two ICs we could use
1) COMMA + coordinating conjunction SO (which signals a result)
2) a semicolon
3) a period

A "coordinating conjunction" joins (coordinates) items of equal rank, such as two ICs.

THE OPTIONS

Quote:

A) The Oxford English Dictionary was completed in the early nineteenth century, before which Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English language was the most comprehensive British lexicon.

• the construction before which logically refers to the noun that precedes it (nineteenth century)
→ This construction is very formal.
→ It is also efficient and elegant. The phrase connects the two clauses without using an abrupt semicolon or a predictable coordinating conjunction (one of the FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).

This kind of construction allows writers to vary their sentences. Variation creates sophisticated prose.

→ I searched quickly and found a similar example that uses after:

[The ancient Irish city of] Clonmacnoise remained constantly vulnerable to invasion: the Vikings and the Normans, as well as hordes of native Irish, plundered it before the 13th century, after which it went into pronounced decline. New York Times, here. (November 17, 1985)
KEEP A

Quote:

B) The Oxford English Dictionary was completed in the early nineteenth century, and Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language was before this the most comprehensive British lexicon.

• "and" (a coordinating conjunction) seems strange.
-- We want either but in order to show contrast or some other structure such as that in (A) in order to join these two independent clauses.
For more information about which coordinating conjunctions to choose, see this page, here.
(Ignore the part about not starting sentences with coordinating conjunctions. That advice makes for horrible writing. That alleged rule has never been a rule. As is true of any sentence you write, do not overuse this construction.)

• this should be followed by a noun. This "points" to a noun: this country, this megalomaniac, this chocolate cookie
Jargon: this is called a demonstrative adjective or a determiner.

• One recent official GMAC question defies this rule.
-- For the first time that I know of, in OG 2020, GMAC published a question in which THIS was a standalone pronoun rather than a demonstrative adjective.
-- That is, GMAC allowed THIS to refer to a situation described in the previous clause but not actually named by a noun.
Spoiler alert: if you click on the link, the correct answer to a new official question is revealed
That official question is HERE

• conclusion? Don't automatically dismiss a standalone "this." In this case dismissal is justified: and seems strange, this is not followed by a noun, and option A is better.
Eliminate B

Quote:

C) The Oxford English Dictionary was completed in the early nineteenth century, [BUT] before that time Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language was the most comprehensive British lexicon.

• This option "sticks together" two ICs with nothing more than a comma.

• On this thread, please see my post, here.

I discuss option C quite thoroughly. That post also contains a link to a good, short article about comma splices.

• You cannot join two independent clauses (ICs) with only a comma. Doing so creates a "comma splice."
Everyone must learn to spot comma splices.
Some people call them "run-ons."
I don't care what you call them.
Just understand that they are illegal. GMAC tests this issue.

• The two ICs in this option are:
1) The Oxford English Dictionary was completed in the early nineteenth century.
2) Before that time, Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language was the most comprehensive British lexicon.

• We can fix these two improperly "stuck together" ICs in three ways
→ 1) Use a semicolon (unlike a comma, a semicolon joins ICs without a conjunction).
The OED was completed in the early nineteenth century; before that time, Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language was the most comprehensive British lexicon.

→ 2) Make two sentences and use a period.
The OED was completed in the early nineteenth century. Before that time, Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language was the most comprehensive British lexicon.

→ 3) Add a coordinating conjunction after the comma.
The OED was completed in the early nineteenth century, but before that time, Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language was the most comprehensive British lexicon.

The comma splice is fatal.
Eliminate C

Quote:

D) The Oxford English Dictionary was completed in the early nineteenth century, Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language being the most comprehensive lexicon before this.

• as in (B), this should be followed by a noun
• as in (C), this sentence is a comma splice
• being is hard to assess because of the comma splice, but we can sidestep the issue because the other two errors are significant.
Eliminate D

Quote:

E) The Oxford English Dictionary was completed in the early nineteenth century, before which Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language has been the most comprehensive lexicon in Britain.

• has been is the wrong verb tense and should be was.
Has been is called "present perfect," which signals an action that continues into the present.
Johnson's dictionary ceased to be the most comprehensive dictionary (lexicon) in the early 1800s. No connection to the present exists.
Eliminate E

The best answer is A.

COMMENTS

dushyantkanal , divya369 , and youggotthis95 , welcome to SC Butler.

Although none of you who posted explanations chose the right answer, your reasoning was pretty good.
You just missed a couple of pieces of the puzzle.
And you showed courage.
Kudos to those who posted explanations.

Although none of you who posted explanations chose the right answer, your reasoning was pretty good. You just missed a couple of pieces of the puzzle. And you showed courage. Kudos to those who posted explanations.

dushyantkanal · Answer

The Oxford English Dictionary was completed in the early nineteenth century, before which Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English language was the most comprehensive British lexicon.

A) century, before which Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language was the most comprehensive British lexicon - Seems fine but there is a subject verb disagreement here in terms of the period being spoken of and the 'which' just doesn't fit.

B) century, and Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language was before this the most comprehensive British lexicon - 'and' just doesn't make any sense here

C) century, before that time Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language was the most comprehensive British lexicon -  CORRECT, it is in active voice, fixes a subject verb disagreement, referring to the time before the century, makes the most sense IMO.
 
D) century, Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language being the most comprehensive lexicon before this - Too passive to consider

E) century, before which Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language has been the most comprehensive lexicon in Britain - Two errors..1- Subject verb - Should refer to the period and not 'which'...2-'has been the...' ...incorrect tense...should be in the past and not present continous.

monk123 · Answer

The Oxford English Dictionary was completed in the early nineteenth century, before which Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English language was the most comprehensive British lexicon.
 
POE:
Eliminate (A) & (E) - 'which' is ambiguous.
Eliminate (B) - parallelism error.
Eliminate (D) - 'being' is redundant on GMAT.

A) century, before  which  Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language was the most comprehensive British lexicon

B) century,  and Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary  of the English Language was before this the most comprehensive British lexicon

C) century, before that time Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language was the most comprehensive British lexicon -   CORRECT

D) century, Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language  being  the most comprehensive lexicon before this

E) century, before  which  Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language has been the most comprehensive lexicon in Britain

divya369 · Answer

The Oxford English Dictionary was completed in the early nineteenth century, before which Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English language was the most comprehensive British lexicon.

A) century, before which Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language was the most comprehensive British lexicon

B) century, and Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language was before this the most comprehensive British lexicon

C) century, before that time Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language was the most comprehensive British lexicon

D) century, Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language being the most comprehensive lexicon before this

E) century, before which Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language has been the most comprehensive lexicon in Britain

What is wrong with Choice C?

generis · Answer

divya369  , I don't have time to write the OE until later today, but think about comma splices.
 Before  is not a coordinating conjunction.

youggotthis95 · Answer

A) century, before which Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language was the most comprehensive British lexicon
- which is not clearly defined here

B) century, and Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language was before this the most comprehensive British lexicon
- and is unnecessary.

C) century, before that time Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language was the most comprehensive British lexicon
- I think this is the correct choice. The use of that fixes the which problem in option A.

D) century, Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language being the most comprehensive lexicon before this
- Usage of being is incorrect here.

E) century, before which Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language has been the most comprehensive lexicon in Britain
- Has been is the incorrect tense as it shows continuity.

generis · Answer

This question is hard. 
That said, what it tests is fairly basic: the permissible ways to join two independent clauses. A comma without a conjunction is NOT one of those permissible ways.

This sentence is similar to option C and is not correct:

Cats were the most popular pet until the nineteenth century, before that time dogs were the most popular pet.

Here is another example similar to option C, also incorrect:

Women wore pants in the twentieth century, before that time they wore skirts.

Let's fix that last sentence.
 
Correct: 
Women wore pants in the twentieth century; before that time, women wore skirts.
(Two ICs joined by a semicolon. No coordinating conjunction needed.)

Correct:
Women wore pants in the twentieth century. Before that time, women wore skirts. 
(Two ICs separated by a period.)

Correct:
Women wore pants in the twentieth century, but before that time, women wore skirts. 
(Two ICs joined by  , in which  but  is a "coordinating conjunction." Google the latter term if you do not understand it.)

You cannot join two independent clauses with just a comma. (Doing so creates a "comma splice.")
You must add a coordinating conjunction such as  but.

Here is an easier example of a comma splice.
WRONG:
 Dan was late, we left without him.

I took that example from a site that explains comma splices and how to fix them. 
The page on that site is easy to understand. You can find it  here.

Finally,  the nineteenth century  is a noun.

"Before which" is  very  formal, but the phrase does not create a comma splice in which two ICs are "stuck together" with just a comma as is the case in (C).

Posted from my mobile device

generis · Answer

The official explanation is  here .

The Oxford English Dictionary was completed in the early nineteenth ce

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

The Oxford English Dictionary was completed in the early nineteenth ce

Prep Toolkit

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