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eyunni
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In 1860, the Philological Society launched its effort to 15 Dec 2007, 13:42
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In 1860, the Philological Society launched its effort to create a dictionary more comprehensive than the world had ever seen; although the project would take more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary had been born.

(A) would take more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary had been

(B) took more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was

(C) would take more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was being

(D) would take more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was

(E) took more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was about to be

Please explain your answers.
Source MGMAT.



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eschn3am
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In 1860, the Philological Society launched its effort to 15 Dec 2007, 14:08
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I'm thinking A. Ill try to explain my reasoning if this is the correct answer.
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ashkrs
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In 1860, the Philological Society launched its effort to 15 Dec 2007, 15:19
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eyunni
In 1860, the Philological Society launched its effort to create a dictionary more comprehensive than the world had ever seen; although the project would take more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary had been born.

(A) would take more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary had been

(B) took more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was

(C) would take more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was being

(D) would take more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was

(E) took more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was about to be

Please explain your answers.
Source MGMAT.
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would or took . I think "took" is correct . B
tough to explain this one.
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In 1860, the Philological Society launched its effort to 15 Dec 2007, 15:33
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i dont think "had been" is necessary, so i ruled out A.

But btwn B and D, im stuck because i dont know whether 'took' is better than 'would take'
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In 1860, the Philological Society launched its effort to 15 Dec 2007, 20:07
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eyunni
In 1860, the Philological Society launched its effort to create a dictionary more comprehensive than the world had ever seen; although the project would take more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary had been born.

(A) would take more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary had been
(B) took more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was
(C) would take more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was being
(D) would take more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was
(E) took more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was about to be

Please explain your answers.
Source MGMAT.
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B. It is between B and E but B should be better than E.
Would in ACD doesnot sound good.
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GK_Gmat
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In 1860, the Philological Society launched its effort to 16 Dec 2007, 01:17
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eyunni
In 1860, the Philological Society launched its effort to create a dictionary more comprehensive than the world had ever seen; although the project would take more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary had been born.

(A) would take more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary had been

(B) took more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was

(C) would take more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was being

(D) would take more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was

(E) took more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was about to be

Please explain your answers.
Source MGMAT.
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I pick D.

B is wrong because 'took' which is in the simple past requires 'had been born' to convey a past action that took place before another past action.
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rw6183
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In 1860, the Philological Society launched its effort to 16 Dec 2007, 10:28
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what's the OA for this?

Personally, I think its a showdown between B and D!
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eyunni
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GK_Gmat
eyunni
In 1860, the Philological Society launched its effort to create a dictionary more comprehensive than the world had ever seen; although the project would take more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary had been born.

(A) would take more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary had been

(B) took more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was

(C) would take more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was being

(D) would take more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was

(E) took more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was about to be

Please explain your answers.
Source MGMAT.

I pick D.

B is wrong because 'took' which is in the simple past requires 'had been born' to convey a past action that took place before another past action.
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GK_Gmat, Are you a native speaker? You got that one right. OA is D. But can you/anyone provide a more detailed explanation?



Archived Topic
Hi there,
This topic has been closed and archived due to inactivity or violation of community quality standards. No more replies are possible here.
Where to now? Join ongoing discussions on thousands of quality questions in our Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Forum
Still interested in this question? Check out the "Best Topics" block above for a better discussion on this exact question, as well as several more related questions.
Thank you for understanding, and happy exploring!
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