Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros was hailed as a brilliant satire in the in

Question

Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros was hailed as a brilliant satire in the inter-war period;  furthermore, the play did not seem to impress  Jean-Paul Sartre, the acclaimed existentialist philosopher and playwright, who criticized the play for the shallow characterization of its protagonist.

(A) furthermore, the play did not seem to impress
(B) however, the play did not seem to have impressed
(C) however, the play did not seem to impress
(D) furthermore, the play did not seem to have impressed
(E) in addition, the play did not seem to impress

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zhanbo · Answer

My answer is  (C) . It took me 51 seconds.

We are told that the play was hailed in the clause before semi-colon. After semi-colon, we are told that Jean-Paul Sartre criticized the play. The appropriate transition word is thus "however", not "furthermore" or "in addition". 
Eliminate (ADE).

Between (B) and (C), I pick (C) because simple past tense (did not seem to) plus "impress" is sufficient to convey the meaning. "did not seem to have impressed" suggests that "impress" occurred before "seem", a distinction that may be true but still serves to confuse readers. Without strong reasons, use simple tenses. Simpler / shorter is better.

Sushil117 · Answer

(A) furthermore, the play did not seem to impress
need something that contrasts the following sentence .incorrect

(B) however, the play did not seem to have impressed
seems fine for now. hold on

(C) however, the play did not seem to impress
seems fine. hold on

(D) furthermore, the play did not seem to have impressed
same as A

(E) in addition, the play did not seem to impress
same as A
now between B& C, C is in simple past and coveys the intended meaning that play was considered brilliant by some and ordinary by some other at the same time, seems better than B
IMO C

Gio96 · Answer

Hi team,

I cannot understand why option B is not correct in that context. What I can see is that B presents that the action  impress  is established as single event, while option C seems to convey a continuous thinking of Jean-Paul Sartre about the play.

I can see a lot of correct question formulated like choice B. What am I missing?

Regards.

Bunuel · Answer

Experts' Global Official Explanation:

Meaning + Tenses

Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros was hailed as a brilliant satire in the inter-war period, but, in contrast, it did not seem to impress Jean-Paul Sartre.

• The present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present.
• The simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past

A. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “furthermore, the play did not seem to…”; the use of “furthermore” fails to convey the necessary sense of contrast and incorrectly implies that in addition to being hailed as a brilliant satire, Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros did not seem to impress Jean-Paul Sartre; the intended meaning is that Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros was hailed as a brilliant satire in the inter-war period, but in contrast, it did not seem to impress Jean-Paul Sartre.

B. Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses the present perfect tense verb phrase “did not seem to have impressed” to refer to an action that concluded in the past; please remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past, and the present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is only used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present.

C. Correct.  This answer choice uses the phrase “however, the play did not seem to…”, providing the necessary sense of contrast and conveying the intended meaning- that Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros was hailed as a brilliant satire in the inter-war period, but, in contrast, it did not seem to impress Jean-Paul Sartre. Further, Option C correctly uses the simple past tense verb phrase “did not seem to impress” to refer to an action that concluded in the past.

D. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “furthermore, the play did not seem to…”; the use of “furthermore” fails to convey the necessary sense of contrast and incorrectly implies that in in addition to being hailed as a brilliant satire, Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros did not seem to impress Jean-Paul Sartre; the intended meaning is that Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros was hailed as a brilliant satire in the inter-war period, but in contrast, it did not seem to impress Jean-Paul Sartre. Further, Option D incorrectly uses the present perfect tense verb phrase “did not seem to have impressed” to refer to an action that concluded in the past; please remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past, and the present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is only used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present.

E. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “in addition, the play did not seem to…”; the use of “in addition” fails to convey the necessary sense of contrast and incorrectly implies that in addition to being hailed as a brilliant satire, Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros did not seem to impress Jean-Paul Sartre; the intended meaning is that Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros was hailed as a brilliant satire in the inter-war period, but in contrast, it did not seem to impress Jean-Paul Sartre.

C is the best answer choice.

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Hello  Gio96 ,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, Option B incorrectly uses the present perfect tense verb phrase “did not seem to have impressed” to refer to an action that concluded in the past; please remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past, and the present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is only used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present.

The use of the present perfect tense is incorrect here because the play failing to impress Ionesco is not an action that continues to affect the present; rather, it is simply an action that concluded in the past.

To understand the concept of "Present Perfect Tense" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNmT9obXukI

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

Bunuel · Answer

Experts' Global Video Explanation:

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Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros was hailed as a brilliant satire in the in

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Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros was hailed as a brilliant satire in the in

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