Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros Was Hailed as a Brilliant Satire in the GMAT Sentence Correction

Question: Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros was hailed as a brilliant satire in the inter-war period; furthermore, the play did not seem to impress Jean-Paul Sartre, the acclaimed existentialist philosopher and playwright, who criticized the play for the shallow characterization of its protagonist.

(A) furthermore, the play did not seem to impress
(B) however, the play did not seem to have impressed
(C) however, the play did not seem to impress
(D) furthermore, the play did not seem to have impressed
(E) in addition, the play did not seem to impress

Correct Answer: C
Explanation: The intended core meaning of this sentence is that Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros was hailed as a brilliant satire in the inter-war period. But, in contrast, it did not seem to impress Jean-Paul Sartre.
The present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present. The simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past. We are told that the play was hailed in the clause before semicolon. After semicolon, we are told that Jean-Paul Sartre criticised the play. The appropriate transition word is thus "however", not "furthermore" or "in addition".
However, the play did not seem to impress- Correct. This answer choice uses the phrase “however, the play did not seem to…” Providing the necessary sense of contrast and conveying the intended meaning- that Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros was hailed as a brilliant satire in the inter-war period. But, in contrast, it did not seem to impress Jean-Paul Sartre. Further, it correctly uses the simple past tense verb phrase “did not seem to impress” to refer to an action that concluded in the past.

Let’s take a look at the options.

Option A
Furthermore, the play did not seem to impress- Incorrect. Need something that contrasts the following sentence. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “furthermore, the play did not seem to…” The use of “furthermore” fails to convey the necessary sense of contrast and incorrectly implies that in addition to being hailed as a brilliant satire. Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros did not seem to impress Jean-Paul Sartre. The intended meaning is that Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros was hailed as a brilliant satire in the inter-war period, but in contrast, it did not seem to impress Jean-Paul Sartre.

Option B
However, the play did not seem to have impressed- Incorrect. Seems correct but no. This answer choice incorrectly uses the present perfect tense verb phrase. “did not seem to have impressed” to refer to an action that concluded in the past. The simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past. And the present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is only used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present.

Option D
Furthermore, the play did not seem to have impressed- Incorrect. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “furthermore, the play did not seem to…” The use of “furthermore” fails to convey the necessary sense of contrast and incorrectly implies that in addition to being hailed as a brilliant satire. Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros did not seem to impress Jean-Paul Sartre. The intended meaning is that Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros was hailed as a brilliant satire in the inter-war period. But in contrast, it did not seem to impress Jean-Paul Sartre. Further, it incorrectly uses the present perfect tense verb phrase “did not seem to have impressed” to refer to an action that concluded in the past. The simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past, and the present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is only used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present.

Option E
In addition, the play did not seem to impress- Incorrect. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “in addition, the play did not seem to…” The use of “in addition” fails to convey the necessary sense of contrast. And incorrectly implies that in addition to being hailed as a brilliant satire. Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros did not seem to impress Jean-Paul Sartre. The intended meaning is that Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros was hailed as a brilliant satire in the inter-war period, but in contrast, it did not seem to impress Jean-Paul Sartre.

“Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros was hailed as a brilliant satire in the”- is a GMAT sentence correction question. These sorts of questions come up with grammatical errors in the underlined part of the sentence. The candidates need to select the correct statement given in the options. The GMAT sentence correction section demands good skills in grammar since the candidate has to identify common grammatical errors. GMAT sentence correction is a part of GMAT verbal.

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