Until the time of Cantors work on set theory in the 1870s, no serious

Question

Until the time of Cantor’s work on set theory in the 1870s, no serious mathematician anywhere in the world,  even the giants in the field, like Leonard Euler and Karl Gauss, were  able to appreciate that infinity can be studied with rigorous precision.

(A) even the giants in the field, like Leonard Euler and Karl Gauss, were
(B) not even the giants in the field, such as Leonard Euler and Karl Gauss, were
(C) not the giants in the field, like Leonard Euler and Karl Gauss, was
(D) even the giants in the field, such as Leonard Euler and Karl Gauss, were
(E) not even the giants in the field, such as Leonard Euler and Karl Gauss, was

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rohanbullseyeaim · Answer

And D since no serious mathematician is a negative, not even ( another negative) changes the meaning and such as to introduce examples is a better sentence structure.

Any views on the reasoning ?

winterschool · Answer

I think, "no serious mathematician" is singular, so verb should be singular

Jobyabraham · Answer

(A)  even the giants in the field , like Leonard Euler and Karl Gauss,  were

(B)  not even the giants in the field , such as Leonard Euler and Karl Gauss,  were 
(C)  not the giants in the field , like Leonard Euler and Karl Gauss,  was 
(D)  even the giants in the field , such as Leonard Euler and Karl Gauss, were
(E)  not even the giants in the field , such as Leonard Euler and Karl Gauss,  was

Bunuel · Answer

Magoosh Official Explanation

Split #1:  the subject, “no serious mathematician“, is singular. Thus, it demands a singular verb, “was“. Choices (A) & (B) & (D) make the mistake of using “were“, so these are incorrect.

Split #2:  listing examples. For a list of examples, the GMAT disapproves of “like“, and prefers “such as“. The choices that use “like Leonard Euler and Karl Gauss” are incorrect. Choices (A) & (C) make this mistake.

Split #3a:  logic mistake. After the comma after “no serious mathematician“, we need to repeat the negative. Choices (A) & (D) don’t do that.

Split #3b:  a subtle logic mistake involving the word “even“. If we say, “no serious mathematicians anywhere in the world, not giants such as Euler and Gauss“, then something is funny —- the phrase “serious mathematicians anywhere in the world” sounds like a large inclusive category, but “giants such as Euler and Gauss” sounds like a smaller elite group. Without the word “even“, we are equating these two groups, and something is awkward and not right about this. Including the word “even” resolves this problem: it clearly distinguishes the larger, more inclusive category, from the special case elite group. The correct answer needs to include the word “even“. This is another problem with answer choice (C).

The only possible answer is (E).

Until the time of Cantors work on set theory in the 1870s, no serious

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Until the time of Cantors work on set theory in the 1870s, no serious

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