Question: Socrates could have fled from Athens after he was sentenced to death, but he refused to do it.
(A) Socrates could have fled from Athens after he was sentenced to death, but he refused to do it.
(B) After he was sentenced to death, Socrates might have fled from Athens, but he refused to do it.
(C) After he was sentenced to death, Socrates could have fled from Athens, but he refused to do so.
(D) Refusing to flee from Athens, Socrates could have done so after he was sentenced to death.
(E) Socrates could have fled from Athens but refused to after he was sentenced to death.
Correct Answer: (C)
Explanation: The intended meaning of the sentence is that Socrates could have left Athens after being given the death penalty, but he chose not to.
The concepts used here to correct the sentence are,
- Subject-Verb Agreement
- Modifiers
- Meaning
When used in the underlined portion of the question, the correct answer will completely convey the intended meaning without any grammatical or other errors. Let us look at each option individually to find the best answer.
Option – C : Correct
"So" is an adverb, and the appropriate modification verb is "fled." This sentence is in the correct order and follows grammar rules. Therefore this option is the right answer.
Option – A : Incorrect
A Noun is ambiguous in this sentence. It may indicate a death or a runaway. Therefore this option is ruled out.
Option – B : Incorrect
In this sentence, the word "might have" is misused. Whether or not he could have escaped is uncertain. The message is distorted and there is a noun ambiguity. Therefore this option is ruled out.
Option – D : Incorrect
The tenses used here are inappropriate, and the order of the events is also incorrect. This results in improper grammatical construction. Therefore this option is ruled out.
Option – E : Incorrect
In this sentence, the absence of the proper verb changes the meaning. There has to be a proper usage of verbs to make a sentence perfect. Therefore this option is ruled out.
From the explanations given above, it is clear that the third option is the right choice.
“Socrates could have fled from Athens after he was sentenced to death” - is a GMAT sentence correction question. These types of questions contain grammatical errors in the underlined sentence and we have to choose the correct statement from the options. GMAT sentence correction is a part of GMAT verbal.
Suggested GMAT Sentence Correction Samples
- Joan of Arc, a young Frenchwoman who claimed to be divinely inspired, turned the tide of English victories GMAT Sentence Correction
- It ought to be her with whom you share your secrets, not me GMAT Sentence Correction
- The word vixen is a female fox GMAT Sentence Correction
- Among the world's famous volcanic mountains are Mount Vesuvius in Italy, which erupted in 1944 GMAT Sentence Correction
- Chinese public buildings erected under a construction code of the Sung dynasty GMAT Sentence
- The first trenches that were cut into a 500-acre site at Tell Hamoukar, Syria, have yielded strong evidence GMAT Sentence Correction
- A study of children of divorced parents found that ten years after the parents' divorce, children who GMAT Sentence Correction
- It will not be possible to implicate melting sea ice in the coastal flooding that many global warming models GMAT Sentence Correction
- A site once used as an observatory by the Anasazi, ancient pueblo dwellers of New Mexico GMAT Sentence Correction
- Whereas a ramjet generally cannot achieve high speeds without the initial assistance of a rocket GMAT Sentence Correction
- Many of the earliest known images of Hindu deities in India date from the time of the Kushan empire GMAT Sentence Correction
- Excavators at the Indus Valley site of Harappa in eastern Pakistan say the discovery of inscribed shards dating to circa 2800–2600 B.C GMAT Sentence Correction
- The Commerce Department reported that the nation's economy grew at a brisk annual pace of 3.7 percent GMAT Sentence Correction
- Dinosaur tracks show them walking with their feet directly under their bodies, like mammals and birds GMAT Sentence Correction
- Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in hot, humid climates GMAT Sentence Correction
- While the stock market was bouncing back from its 2002 low, U.S. families are still reeling from the recent recession GMAT Sentence Correction
- The recent global boom in the market price for scrap steel and aluminum leads to a sudden rise in the theft GMAT Sentence Correction
- With government funding for the arts dwindling, even major orchestras would feel the pressure of trying GMAT Sentence Correction
- Rust can deteriorate a steel pipe to such an extent that it will snap easily, as though it was a twig GMAT Sentence Correction
- Sound can travel through water for enormous distances GMAT Sentence Correction
- The valley of Oymyakon in central Siberia is Earth's coldest inhabited region GMAT Sentence Correction
- Tilling means preparation of the soil to plant the seeds GMAT Sentence Correction
- Belgrade is widely known as the capital city of Serbia, but it is also one of the oldest cities in Europe GMAT Sentence Correction
- A conjunction is used to connect words and sentences together GMAT Sentence Correction
- Developed by Pennsylvania's Palatine Germans about 1750, they made Conestoga wagons with high wheels GMAT Sentence Correction
- Building on civilizations that preceded them in coastal Peru, the Mochica developed their own elaborate society GMAT Sentence Correction
- Scientists have recently found evidence that black holes—regions of space in which matter is so concentrated GMAT Sentence Correction
- Almost like clones in their similarity to one another, the cheetah species’ homogeneity GMAT Sentence Correction
- In 1995 Richard Stallman, a well-known critic of the patent system GMAT Sentence Correction
- Heating-oil prices are expected to be higher this year than last because refiners are paying about $5 a barrel GMAT Sentence Correction
- While it Costs About the Same to Run Nuclear Plants as Other Types of Power Plants, It is the Fixed GMAT Sentence Correction
- Most of the country’s biggest daily newspapers had lower circulation in the six months from GMAT Sentence Correction
- Marconi’s conception of the radio was as a substitute for the telephone, a tool for private conversation GMAT Sentence Correction
- Unlike the buildings in Mesopotamian cities, which were arranged haphazardly GMAT Sentence Correction
- Created in 1945 to reduce poverty and stabilize foreign currency markets GMAT Sentence Correction
- November is traditionally the strongest month for sales of light trucks GMAT Sentence Correction
- According to scholars, the earliest writing was probably not a direct rendering of speech GMAT Sentence Correction
- Seldom more than 40 feet wide and 12 feet deep, but it ran 363 miles across the rugged wilderness of upstate New York GMAT Sentence Correction
- Despite the increasing number of women graduating from law school and passing bar examinations GMAT Sentence Correction
- The Supreme Court has ruled that public universities may collect student activity fees even with students' objections GMAT Sentence Correction
- In 1923, the Supreme Court declared a minimum wage for women and children in the District of Columbia GMAT Sentence Correction
- As an actress and, more importantly, as a teacher of acting, Stella Adler was one of the most influential artists in the American theater GMAT Sentence Correction
- Fossils of the Arm of a Sloth Found in Puerto Rico in 1991, and Dated at 34 Million Years Old, Made it the Earliest known Mammal of the Greater Antilles Island GMAT Sentence Correction
- Like the grassy fields and old pastures that the upland sandpiper needs for feeding and nesting when it returns in May after wintering in the Argentine Pampas GMAT Sentence Correction
- Starfish, With Anywhere from Five to Eight arms, Have a Strong Regenerative Ability It GMAT Sentence Correction
- In ancient Thailand, much of the local artisans' creative energy was expended for the creation of Buddha images GMAT Sentence Correction
- Nobody knows exactly how many languages there are in the world, partly because of the difficulty of distinguishing GMAT Sentence Correction
- Reporting that One of its Many Problems had been the Recent Extended GMAT Sentence Correction
- Not trusting themselves to choose wisely among the wide array of investment opportunities on the market GMAT Sentence Correction
- According to recent studies comparing the nutritional value of meat GMAT Sentence Correction