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SC (Mgmat Cat)--- somebody please explain.

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guest
 Post subject: SC (Mgmat Cat)--- somebody please explain.
 Post Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 10:30 am 
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

I marked b) but the correct answer is d). Can anyone please explain why "would take" is appropriate here?
thanks in advance.
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goMba
 Post subject: Re: SC (Mgmat Cat)--- somebody please explain.
 Post Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 9:57 am 
I applying a rule that i read somewhere earlier on this forum (correct me in my application though if somebody sees a mistake):

With reference to 1860 the birth of oxford dictionary is a thing of future. And when the future is indicated from the point of view of the past, conditional future tense is preferred. Therefore the conditional future 'would take' alongwith simple past 'was'


Believe me I am not a grammar guy, who knows all such complex rules by heart, but this one somehow stuck with me hence telling you all as well :)
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esledge
 Post subject:
 Post Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 9:06 am 
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ManhattanGMAT Staff


Posts: 901
Location: St. Louis, MO
Quote:
With reference to 1860 the birth of oxford dictionary is a thing of future. And when the future is indicated from the point of view of the past, conditional future tense is preferred. Therefore the conditional future 'would take' alongwith simple past 'was'


Correct, goMba, thanks.

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Emily Sledge
Instructor
ManhattanGMAT
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vietnam01
 Post subject:
 Post Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 10:33 am 
so we can use " although...will do(would do) ..., do (did) " is that right?

pls, explain this rule, help me
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esledge
 Post subject: Re: SC (Mgmat Cat)--- somebody please explain.
 Post Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2009 3:39 pm 
Offline
ManhattanGMAT Staff


Posts: 901
Location: St. Louis, MO
Quote:
so we can use " although...will do(would do) ..., do (did) " is that right?

Yes, we can use "although X would do..., Y did..." = although (conditional future),...(simple past).

Note that this is a relatively uncommon verb pairing on the GMAT. Rather than studying/memorizing this rather exceptional structure, you should probably just make sure you understand why all of the other choices have clear verb errors.

(A) past perfect "had been" not justified without a simple past verb--"would take" is not simple past.
(B) Simple past for both verbs, "took" and "was," incorrectly indicates simultaneous events.
(C) "was being born" incorrectly indicates ongoing action; the birth would have been a single discrete event.
(E) "was about to be born" incorrectly looks to the future for an event that is clearly supposed to be in the past.

_________________
Emily Sledge
Instructor
ManhattanGMAT
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