Used until the end of the Second World War, the German army employed

Question

Used until the end of the Second World War,  the German army employed the U-boat to attack both military or  civilian watercraft.

A. the German army employed the U-boat to attack both military or

B. the U-boat was employed by the German army to attack both military and

C. the U-boat employed the German army to attack both military or

D. the German army had employed the U-Boat to attack both military and the

E. the U-boat has been employed by the German army to attack both military and also

daagh · Answer

5. Used until the end of the Second World War,  the German army employed the U-boat to attack both military or  civilian watercraft.

Ask the question what was used until the end of the Second World War. Obviously not the German army but the U-boat. Therefore, the U-boat should come immediately after the introductory participial phrase. B, C, and E qualify. Now see the individual choices 
• the German army employed the U-boat to attack both military and ---  misplaced modification  
• the U-boat was employed by the German army to attack both military and:  correct choice.  
• the U-boat employed the German army to attack both military or ---  distorted meaning  
• the German army had employed the U-Boat to attack both military and the --- misplaced modification  
• the U-boat has been employed by the German army to attack both military and also:  has been employed is wrong tense ; ‘both military and also’ is redundant

RaviChandra · Answer

Used until the end of the Second World War,  the German army employed the U-boat to attack both military or  civilian watercraft.

A. the German army employed the U-boat to attack both military or

B. the U-boat was employed by the German army to attack both military and

C. the U-boat employed the German army to attack both military or

D. the German army had employed the U-Boat to attack both military and the

E. the U-boat has been employed by the German army to attack both military and also

after narrowing down to B & E.

Used  until the end of the Second World War

I feel "until" specifies time frame so  has been employed  is more appropriate than  was employed .

I agree  both military and also  is wrong grammar and is enough to eliminate option E, But i just want to find out whether Usage " has been employed " is more apt than  was employed

blueseas · Answer

hi,

If you want to talk about a specific,  completed time period , use the Simple Past, not the Present Perfect: 
 Wrong:  Veronica HAS TRAVELED all over the world in 2007.
 Right:  Veronica TRAVELED all over the world in 2007.

Note that  it is fine to write Veronica has traveled all over the world and omit any specific, completed time reference.

above is MANHATTAN SC GUIDE EXCERPT.

now in this question UNTIL SECOND WW==>Completed time..
hence use of present perfect is wrong

THATS why OPTION B is correct.

hope it helps

GMATPill · Answer

Yes, good points.

As a clue for when to use "has employed"----one keyword to look for is "SINCE"

As an example: "Since the end of the war, X has employed.."

But otherwise, with:

"Up until the end of the war, X employed.." - would be what we want.

In our example above, the wording is:

"Used until the end of the war, X was employed..." indicating that X was the one being "used" -- (B)

souvik101990 · Answer

Used until the end of the Second World War,  the German army employed the U-boat to attack both military or  civilian watercraft.

A. the German army employed the U-boat to attack both military or
B. the U-boat was employed by the German army to attack both military and
C. the U-boat employed the German army to attack both military or
D. the German army had employed the U-Boat to attack both military and the
E. the U-boat has been employed by the German army to attack both military and also

OFFICIAL SOLUTION:

The original sentence uses the introductory adjective modifier “used until the end of the Second World War”; The U-boat, the subject of the modifier, should immediately follow the modifying phrase. Additionally, the expression “both military or civilian” is unidiomatic; the correct idiom is “both military and civilian.”

(A) This choice is incorrect as it repeats the original sentence.

(B) CORRECT. The noun “U-boat” properly functions as the subject of the modifying phrase. Additionally, the idiomatic “both military and civilian” is properly used at the end of the sentence.

(C) This choice changes the intended meaning of the original sentence to one that is nonsensical. The U-boat, a boat, cannot “employ the German army” to do anything. Furthermore, the “both military or civilian” construction is unidiomatic.

(D) This choice incorrectly uses “the German army” as the subject of the introductory phrase. Additionally, this choice creates a verb tense error by unnecessarily switching to the past perfect “had employed” and a parallelism error by using the “both military and the civilian” construction.

(E) This choice uses the present perfect tense “has been employed,” incorrectly indicating that U-boats are still used by the German army. Furthermore, the “both military and also civilian” is unidiomatic.

sterling19 · Answer

A. the German army employed the U-boat to attack both military or  "Used until the end of the Second World War" should modify U-boat 
B. the U-boat was employed by the German army to attack both military and  This is the correct answer. 
C. the U-boat employed the German army to attack both military or  the correct form is "both" X "and" Y 
D. the German army had employed the U-Boat to attack both military and the  same error as   
E. the U-boat has been employed by the German army to attack both military and also  same error as

321kumarsushant · Answer

Used until the end of the Second World War,  the German army employed the U-boat to attack both military or  civilian watercraft.

took 32 Sec to solve. let us see if my analysis is right.

A. the German army employed the U-boat to attack both military or -  Used(verb-Ed) is modifying the german, Illogical Eliminate.  
B. the U-boat was employed by the German army to attack both military and - Correct choice.
C. the U-boat employed the German army to attack both military or -  correct form is  BOTH A AND B . Eliminate 
D. the German army had employed the U-Boat to attack both military and the -  same as A 
E. the U-boat has been employed by the German army to attack both military and also -    And also   is redundant in GMAT  .

DesiGmat · Answer

A. the German army employed the U-boat to attack both military or

---- German army was not "Used until the end of the Second World War"-----

B. the U-boat was employed by the German army to attack both military and
---- Hold it----

C. the U-boat employed the German army to attack both military or

--- The U-Boat employed the German Army???? Really??-----

D. the German army had employed the U-Boat to attack both military and the

--- Same as A-----

E. the U-boat has been employed by the German army to attack both military and also

---- Not parallel---- Wrong tense----

option B is correct

AA2014 · Answer

This is a rather simple question. Since "both" is used in all choices, so "BOTH MILITARY AND CIVILIAN" is the only correct construct. B is the correct choice.

dreamsatgmat · Answer

I was just wondering, why in the answer options we don't have a past perfect tense of "Had been", since we are talking about two past actions. Can anybody clarify.

Regards

chetan2u · Answer

Hi,
the Q tests on two things apart from meaning aspect..
 1)  MODIFIER  :- what should be modified by "Used until the end of the Second World War".. definitely some equipment , 
so eliminate the choices modifying german army.... A and D are out 
2)   Idiom BOTH X AND Y :-  
C can be eliminated as it uses unidiomatic Both X or Y, also it illogically means that boats employed german army..
E too can be eliminated because of the usage of redundant 'also' in 'both X and also Y... Also usage of present perfect is wrong

ans B

daagh · Answer

I agree with Chetan for his crisp and bull's eye explanation. The answer must be indeed B

Youraisemeup · Answer

Used until---2nd w/w incorrectly modifies German army. it should be boat instead.
Also both x or y is incorrect. it should be both x and y.

Thus B

#Chetanrocks

vivek2k70 · Answer

use of Idioms Both...and...
rest all options are not following idioms rules
Answer B

sobby · Answer

Its B..
A and D is wrong -"used" should modify U-boat
C - changes the meaning --its seems U boat employed the army ..
E- present perfect is wrong here ...

B is correct

abhishekdadarwal2009 · Answer

Used until the end of the Second World War, the German army employed the U-boat to attack
both military or civilian watercraft.

• the German army employed the U-boat to attack both military or

• the U-boat was employed by the German army to attack both military and

• the U-boat employed the German army to attack both military or

• the German army had employed the U-Boat to attack both military and the

• the U-boat has been employed by the German army to attack both military and also

The U boat was employed and not the german army.

anairamitch1804 · Answer

The original sentence uses the introductory adjective modifier “used until the end of the Second World
War”; The U-boat, the subject of the modifier, should immediately follow the modifying phrase.
Additionally, the expression “both military or civilian” is unidiomatic; the correct idiom is “both military
and civilian.”

(A) This choice is incorrect as it repeats the original sentence.

(B) CORRECT. The noun “U-boat” properly functions as the subject of the modifying phrase.
Additionally, the idiomatic “both military and civilian” is properly used at the end of the sentence.

(C) This choice changes the intended meaning of the original sentence to one that is nonsensical. The
U-boat, a boat, cannot “employ the German army” to do anything. Furthermore, the “both military or
civilian” construction is unidiomatic.

(D) This choice incorrectly uses “the German army” as the subject of the introductory phrase.
Additionally, this choice creates a verb tense error by unnecessarily switching to the past perfect “had
employed” and a parallelism error by using the “both military and the civilian” construction.

(E) This choice uses the present perfect tense “has been employed,” incorrectly indicating that U-boats
are still used by the German army. Furthermore, the “both military and also civilian” is unidiomatic.

sonalchhajed2019 · Answer

Used until the end of the Second World War,  the German army employed the U-boat to attack both military or  civilian watercraft.

A. the German army employed the U-boat to attack both military or
B. the U-boat was employed by the German army to attack both military and
C. the U-boat employed the German army to attack both military or
D. the German army had employed the U-Boat to attack both military and the
E. the U-boat has been employed by the German army to attack both military and also

Hi,

Thank You for the explaination. I understand why the correct answer choice is correct and why the others are incorrect. However, I need additional information about tenses used in the answer choice D and E.

Choice D -the German army had employed the U-Boat to attack both military and the
 I feel the use of the past perfect tense is incorrect here. Until certain point in time this was true.>> their is no earlier or a later event here. And hence the use of past perfect tense is not required. Please let me know if my reasoning is correct.

Choice E- the U-boat has been employed by the German army to attack both military and also
I am not sure if the use of present perfect tense is correct to explain something that occured in the past and something that's not true in the present. The reason I am asking this question is, we are given a point in time in the sentence and until that point this was true. So is the use of present perfect tense justified in this case ??

Or should simple past tense be used ?

100mitra · Answer

Correct option : B

Sentence exam on : 
1. Modifier 
2. usage of "OR" / "AND"
3. Tense

Used until the end of the Second World War,  the U-boat was employed by the German army to attack both military and  civilian watercraft

1. Modifier :   Used  until the end of the Second World War  -   the U-boat

2. both X and Y - indicates - "AND" usage - to attack both   military    and   civilian watercraft

3. Tense : Simple Past tense

Used until the end of the Second World War, the German army employed

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Used until the end of the Second World War, the German army employed

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