When asked about the observations of his early experiments, the renown

Question

When asked about the observations of his early experiments, the renowned developmental psychologist Jean Piaget stated that  the young subjects actively analyzed their surroundings and in this way create their own knowledge of the  intricacies of the world.

(A) the young subjects actively analyzed their surroundings and in this way create their own knowledge of the

(B) the young subjects actively analyzed their surroundings, thus creating their own knowledge of the

(C) to create their own knowledge, the young subjects actively analyzed their surroundings and the

(D) the young subjects actively analyze their surroundings and in this way created their own knowledge of the

(E) the young subjects actively analyzed their surroundings and in this way created their own knowledge of the

Bunuel · Accepted Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

When asked about the observations of his early experiments, the renowned developmental psychologist Jean Piaget stated that  the young subjects actively analyzed their surroundings and in this way create their own knowledge of the  intricacies of the world.

(A) the young subjects actively analyzed their surroundings and in this way create their own knowledge of the

This answer choice is grammatically incorrect. In Reported Speech, when the reporting verb is in the Past tense (stated), the following conjugated verbs should also be in the Past. However,  create  is in the Present.

What helps us identify this question as a Reported Speech question as well as identify the mistake is the following Stop Sign:

Reported Speech with a reporting verb in Past tense

(B) the young subjects actively analyzed their surroundings, thus creating their own knowledge of the

This answer choice is both grammatically correct and concise.

In Reported Speech, when the reporting verb is in the Past tense ( stated ), the following conjugated verbs should also be in the Past. The mistake in the original sentence is that the conjugated verb  create  is not in the Past. This answer choice corrects this mistake by replacing it with the unconjugated verb  creating .

Stylistically, replacing the phrase  and in this way create  with the shorter phrase  thus creating  produces a more concise sentence, that is, a sentence that expresses the same meaning in fewer words.

(C) to create their own knowledge, the young subjects actively analyzed their surroundings and the

While this answer choice corrects the original Reported Speech mistake and is grammatically correct, it changes the meaning of the original sentence. In the original sentence, the children analyzed their surroundings only whereas in this answer choice they analyzed their surroundings and the intricacies of the world.

The lesson to be learned here is that when you check an answer choice, always read through the entire original sentence.

The lesson to be learned here is that when you check an answer choice, always read through the entire original sentence.

(D) the young subjects actively analyze their surroundings and in this way created their own knowledge of the

This answer choice repeats the original mistake. In Reported Speech, when the reporting verb is in the Past tense ( stated ), all of the following conjugated verbs should also be in the Past. However,  analyze  is in the Present.

What helps us identify this question as a Reported Speech question as well as identify the mistake is the following Stop Sign:

Reported Speech with a reporting verb in Past tense

(E) the young subjects actively analyzed their surroundings and in this way created their own knowledge of the

While this answer choice corrects the original Reported Speech mistake and is grammatically correct, it changes the meaning of the original sentence. In the original sentence, the children analyzed their surroundings only whereas in this answer choice they analyzed their surroundings and the intricacies of the world.

The lesson to be learned here is that when you check an answer choice, always read through the entire original sentence.

sivatx2 · Answer

When asked about the observations of his early experiments, the renowned developmental psychologist Jean Piaget stated that the young subjects actively analyzed their surroundings and in this way create their own knowledge of the intricacies of the world.

(A) the young subjects actively analyzed their surroundings and in this way  create  their own knowledge of the 
  Based on the tone of the author of the sentence, the conjugated(third) verb, 'create' should also be in the past tense, when the first verb, 'stated' is in the past tense. Only the second verb, 'analyzed' is in past tense. Eliminate

(B) the young subjects actively  analyzed  their surroundings,  thus creating  their own knowledge of the 
  Either the sentence need to follow the verb conjugation or can replace with -ing verb, 'creating' and make it not conjugated. This answer choice corrects this error by using the -ing verb 'creating'. Also, 'thus creating' makes the sentence concise. 
Hence the answer choice is B.

(C) to create their own knowledge, the young subjects actively  analyzed their surroundings and the  
  This changes the intended meaning of the original sentence, though grammatically correct. They are not analyzing the intricacies of the world( but create knowledge of the intricacies), based on the original sentence. Eliminate

(D) the young subjects actively  analyze  their surroundings and  in this way  created their own knowledge of the 
  Based on the tone of the author of the sentence, the conjugated(second) verb, 'analyze' should also be in the past tense, when the first verb, 'stated' is in the past tense. Only the third verb, 'created' is in past tense. Also, "in this way" is long and awkward in style. Eliminate

(E) the young subjects actively analyzed their surroundings and  in this way  created their own knowledge of the 
  This makes it grammatically correct, but with the usage of "in this way" the sentence is not concise, as it is long and awkward. Eliminate

thelonghalloween · Answer

There is a clear issue of parallelism. The verbs need to be parallel if joined by a conjunction 'and' This eliminates A, D
C alters the meaning of sentence. Eliminate 
Between B and E, C is more concise plus the action of 'analyzed' led to 'created their own knowledge' -- so these actions are sequential and not in parallel. So eliminate E and the  correct option is B

Sushovan93 · Answer

In option B, isn't the "thus" and "creating" redundant?

When asked about the observations of his early experiments, the renown

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

When asked about the observations of his early experiments, the renown

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