In 1860, the Philological Society launched its effort to

Question

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

Thanks,

spriya · Answer

Straight B 
I think first rule of sc is to keep the sentence concise and simple ,B does this !!!

amitdgr · Answer

we don't need  would   here ?

The completion and the birth(or rather start) of the Oxford Dictionary did not take place at the same time !!

Option B puts both the tenses in past and that indicates that the completion and birth happened at the same time

Option A -> one action(birth) happened in the past and the other(completion) happened in the future so we cannot use HAD BEEN

Option C -> was being born -- something can take birth only at a particular instant in time -- being born seems as if the birth continued for a long time

Option E -> Changes the original intent completely. Completion did not take place before the dic was born !!

This leaves us with D..

OA is D ??

mrbgam · Answer

B is very concise.

OA is B.

mejobhoot · Answer

I thought the answer was B. But, I need to clarify why option D is incorrect. Is it because 'would take' is actually a future tense in the past and does not go with the verb 'was born' since the events - (1) birth of the dictionary and (2) project taking 60 yrs - do not occur at the same time???

bigfernhead · Answer

Where did you get your OA? This is an interesting read: https://www.manhattangmat.net.in/forums/ ... -t421.html

amitdgr · Answer

mrbgam,

I can see this is your first post. OA=Official Answer and it is provided by the book/source of the question.

nikhiljain05 · Answer

Can we have the official answer alogn with the source

amitdgr · Answer

I found this question in MGMAT CAT ...... following is  their  explanation ....

The past perfect ("had been born") is used when there are two past actions and we want to indicate which one happened first. In the underlined portion of the sentence, however, the other verb, "would take," is not in the past tense, so we need to use the simple past "was born." (Remember that we always use the most simple tenses allowed; the perfect tenses, and other complicated tenses, are used only when required by the sentence structure.) The second half of the sentence stands in contrast to the first half, in which the simple past "launched" is correctly paired with the past perfect "had seen."

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

(B) This choice changes both the first and second verbs to simple past ("took" and "was born," respectively). In this circumstance, we have two events that took place at different times in the past, which requires use of the past perfect to indicate which event happened first. The dictionary's "birth" obviously happens before its completion, so correct usage would be that the "Dictionary had been born."

(C) The present participle "being" is used with the progressive tense to indicate a continuing or ongoing action. Logically, however, the Dictionary's start must have been at a single point in time, rather than over the course of the book's development.

(D)  CORRECT . This choice correctly uses the simple past "was born." A more complicated past tense is not required because the other verb "would take," is not in the past tense.

(E) This choice incorrectly adopts the construction "was about to be born," which conflicts with the non-underlined portion of the sentence. The first half of the sentence indicates that the project was "launched" in 1860 in the past tense, making any reference to the book being "about to be born" at some future point in time incorrect.

ritula · Answer

I a more confused now. doesnt "would take" mean somthing which will happen in future?

nikhiljain05 · Answer

Thanks Amit i think this explainations gives some clarity..

stallone · Answer

thanks for the MGMAT post  amitdgr

travern · Answer

"although" here indicates clearly that birth and completion of dictionary are not the same events. they are at a difference of 60 years. So technically, the same simple past tense can't be used for both. So D is the answer

In 1860, the Philological Society launched its effort to

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