12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 1: In his 1922 novel Uly

Experts' Global Official Explanation:

Grammatical Construction + Tenses + Verb Forms + Redundancy/Awkwardness + Meaning + Idioms

Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of the crucial part of this sentence is that the conclusion seems inescapable that part of James Joyce’s work of 1922 was influenced and shaped by Julius Porkorny’s work of the same period.

• The simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past.
• Present participles (“verb+ing” - “influencing” and “shaping” in this sentence) are used to modify nouns, refer to ongoing events in any time period, and express cause-effect relationships.
• The “would + have + past participle (“influenced” and “shaped” in this sentence)” construction is used to refer to hypothetical events.

A. Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses the present participle (“verb+ing” - “influencing” and “shaping” in this sentence) to refer to actions that concluded in the past; please remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past, and present participles are used to refer to ongoing events in any time period. Further, Option A uses the passive voice construction “the inescapable conclusion seems to be one of”, rendering it needlessly indirect.

B. Correct. This answer choice uses the phrase “the conclusion seems inescapable that...”, conveying the intended meaning- that part of James Joyce’s work of 1922 was influenced and shaped by Julius Porkorny’s work of the same period. Further, Option B correctly uses the simple past tense verb phrase “was influenced and shaped” to refer to actions that concluded in the past. Additionally, Option C is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

C. Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “conclusion of Porkorny”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that a conclusion reached by Porkorny influenced and shaped Joyce’s work of this period; the intended meaning is that Porkorny’s work of 1922 influenced and shaped Joyce’s work of this period. Further, Option C incorrectly uses the present participle (“verb+ing” - “influencing” and “shaping” in this sentence) to refer to actions that concluded in the past; please remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past, and present participles are used to refer to ongoing actions in any time period.

D. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “conclusion of part of Joyce’s work…”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the conclusion of parts of Joyce’s work of this period was influenced and shaped by Porkorny; the intended meaning is that the conclusion seems inescapable that that part of James Joyce’s work of 1922 was influenced and shaped by Julius Porkorny’s work of the same period. Further, Option D uses the passive voice construction “having been influenced and shaped”, rendering it needlessly indirect.

E. Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses the “would + have + past participle (“influenced” and “shaped” in this sentence)” construction to refer to a certain event; please remember, the “would + have + past participle (“influenced” and “shaped” in this sentence)” construction is only used to refer to hypothetical events.

B is the best answer choice.


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