Oscar Charleston was a hitter so feared that even when he came

Question

Oscar Charleston was a hitter so feared that even when he came to bat with the bases loaded he was routinely walked.

(A)
(B) the hitter so much feared that even when coming
(C) the hitter of such fearsomeness that even when he had come
(D) a hitter of such fearsomeness that even when he had come
(E) a hitter so much feared that even when coming

I DO NOT understand this Q.
"Oscar Charleston was a hitter so feared" <- who feared? OScar?
Th original sentence structure is so confusing to me, who is a non-native speaker.
Or maybe my English sucks. :cry:

MartyTargetTestPrep · Accepted Answer

(B) "the hitter" is OK, but possibly adds an unnecessary dimension by conveying that there was only one such hitter. Not a strong decision point, as it could be the case that there was only one such hitter.

"so much feared" is not a great way to express "so feared." He wasn't "so much feared." He was "so feared."

"when coming" does not make sense. A batter is walked once the batter is at bat. "when coming" seems to convey that this person was walked while still coming to bat.

(C) "the hitter" is OK, but possibly adds an unnecessary dimension by conveying that there was only one such hitter. Not a strong decision point, as it could be the case that there was only one such hitter.

"of such fearsomeness" does not as clearly as "so feared" connect his being walked to how others felt about him.

"had come" is not as good as "came" because the sentence is about something that occurred "routinely." "had come" would make more sense in a sentence about what occurred on one occasion when he "had come" to bat. This sentence is about what would happen when "he came to bat." This is an interesting subtle difference.

(D) "of such fearsomeness" does not as clearly as "so feared" connect his being walked to how others felt about him.

"had come" is not as good as "came" because the sentence is about something that occurred "routinely." "had come" would make more sense in a sentence about what occurred on one occasion when he "had come" to bat. This sentence is about what would happen when "he came to bat." This is an interesting subtle difference.

(E) "so much feared" is not a great way to express "so feared." He wasn't "so much feared." He was "so feared."

"when coming" does not make sense. A batter is walked once the batter is at bat. "when coming" seems to convey that this person was walked while still coming to bat.

The best choice is (A).

karun0109 · Answer

A is correct

B: "when coming" implies that he was walked while he was coming out to bat.. which seems ridiculous. "so much feared" is also wrong (I'm sure someone else can explain why) . Also this option says "the hitter" thereby unnecessarily adding that he was the only such hitter... so wrong on 3 counts

C: "even when he had come" implies one specific instance in the past which obviously cannot go with the fact that he was "routinely" walked implying that this happened many times.. Also refers to Charleston as "the hitter" instead of "a hitter"

D: Again in this option "when he had come to bat" implies on incident in the past which does not go..

E: same as reasons for B minus the "the hitter" reason...

A by POE

GMATD11 · Answer

much can be used as adjective, adverb or noun..

Is it is used as adverb ---if yes than it is correct

But if used as adjective --- than wrong

boomtangboy · Answer

+1 A

So much is incorrect usage & coming is incorrect as the action was performed in the past & is not continuing in the present

dransa · Answer

I answered A.
Here is the explanation :- 
Meaning of the original sentence : O.C. was a great hitter ; he was feared by his rivals; he was so feared (by his rivals) that he was routinely walked, even when he came to bat.>> I visualize that the last statement means that the hitter is like a gladiator who walks around the arena before battle. Now until this point i am not sure of the structure , i do not like the passive voice. But i have to see if there is a better answer choice that is grammatically correct and that conveys the right meaning.
Option B -> Wrong . A)So much feared is wordy; use of 'the' changes meaning. B)'that even when coming to bat' lacks subject.
Option C-> Wrong. A) the hitter of such fearsomeness is not compact compared to 'so feared that' and the use of article 'the' changes the meaing B) Even when he had come to is incorrect use of tense , it changes the meaning of the sentence.
Option D-> Wrong. Same as option C.
Option E-> Wrong. A)So much feared is wordy; B)'that even when coming to bat' lacks subject.

Please point out . If you find anything wrong with my analysis.

abhishekdadarwal2009 · Answer

Oscar Charleston was a hitter so feared that even when he came to bat with the bases loaded he was routinely walked.

(A) a hitter so feared that even when he came 
 (B) the hitter so much feared that even when coming   run on sentence no action
 (C) the hitter of such fearsomeness that even when he had come  wordy, prefer priority based on Verb>Adjective>noun
 (D) a hitter of such fearsomeness that even when he had come  same issue as in C
 (E) a hitter so much feared that even when coming  run on sentence no action, just describing OC.

akanshaxo · Answer

GMATNinja   daagh  Please explain this one.

Skywalker18 · Answer

Oscar Charleston was  a hitter so feared that even when he came  to bat with the bases loaded he was routinely walked.

(A) a hitter so feared that even when he came- Correct
(B) the hitter so much feared that even when coming- usage of 'the hitter' seems incorrect as we are not talking about a specific hitter
(C) the hitter of such fearsomeness that even when he had come - same as B, the usage of past perfect tense 'had come'
(D) a hitter of such fearsomeness that even when he had come - the usage of past perfect tense 'had come', verb feared is better than adjective fearsomeness
(E) a hitter so much feared that even when coming- when coming does not tell us who did the action

AjiteshArun  ,  GMATNinja  ,  MagooshExpert  ,  GMATGuruNY  ,  VeritasPrepBrian  ,  MartyTargetTestPrep  ,  DmitryFarber  ,  VeritasKarishma  ,  generis  ,  jennpt  , other experts - please enlighten with the POE for this question

Bombsante · Answer

Oscar Charleston was  a hitter so feared that even when he came  to bat with the bases loaded he was routinely walked.

The sentence tests correct use of idiom So X that Y. Therefore, whatever tense is used after  So  has to be used after  that  as well. The non-underlined part clearly indicates that all actions happened in past.
Process of POE as per my understanding:
 
(A) a hitter so feared that even when he came  (correct use of idiom +1,  feared and came  are both verbs, parallelism+1, best choice)  
(B) the hitter so much feared that even when coming  (incorrect idiom, it is not So much X that Y. Feared and coming create incorrect tense forms, eliminate) 
(C) the hitter of such fearsomeness that even when he had come  ( fearsomeness  if at all a legitimate word is a noun, after that this choice presents a verb in  come , incorrect, eliminate) 
(D) a hitter of such fearsomeness that even when he had come  (eliminate, same reasons as C) 
(E) a hitter so much feared that even when coming  (eliminate, same reason as B for tense forms)

An interesting split to note is the presence of  A hitter  and  The hitter . However, which one is correct, I am not sure.

davidbeckham · Answer

Is 'so much feared' the wrong idiom?

CrackverbalGMAT · Answer

Oscar Charleston was a hitter so feared that even when he came to bat with the bases loaded he was routinely walked.

(A) a hitter so feared that even when he came
  Correct.

(B) the hitter so much feared that even when coming 
“So much feared” is incorrect.
I was so scared that I turned pale and not- “I was so much scared that I turned pale”
“So X that Y” is correct. 
When was he routinely walked? When coming/while he was coming to bat or when he came to bat? The latter.  Eliminate B.

(C) the hitter of such fearsomeness that even when he had come 
 “the hitter of such fearsomeness” is awkward sentence construction. The use of past perfect tense is also incorrect- as this is something that routinely happened.  Eliminate C.

(D) a hitter of such fearsomeness that even when he had come 
Same as C.  Eliminate D.

(E) a hitter so much feared that even when coming
When was he routinely walked? When coming/while he was coming to bat or when he came to bat? The latter.  Eliminate E

thakurarun85 · Answer

" he came" gives a sense that we are talking about one particular instance. Am I right?

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

It could be read in that way, but it can also be read as meaning all instances in which he came.

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Hello  thakurarun85 ,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your question, as MartyTargetTestPrep has written, "even when he came" can refer to both a single instance and describe a habitual or recurring action. In this context, the latter interpretation makes more sense.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team

thakurarun85 · Answer

Ok. I will take this on face value.

Thanks for your contribution.

thakurarun85 · Answer

Thanks Marty

MartyTargetTestPrep

VerbalBot · Answer

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Oscar Charleston was a hitter so feared that even when he came

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Oscar Charleston was a hitter so feared that even when he came

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