Originally presented in a two-act format with spoken dialogue, Smetana’s opera The Bartered Bride was not immediately successful, although gaining popularity after numerous revisions.
(A) successful, although gaining popularity after numerous revisions
(B) successful; although gaining in popularity after numerous revisions
(C) successful, although it had gained popularity after numerous revisions
(D) successful, although it did gain popularity after numerous revisions
(E) successful, although they gained popularity after numerous revisions
Scroll down for the answer.
Answer: D
-ING vs. Verb, Semicolon, Verb Tense, Pronoun Agreement
As a rule, a statement begun by a conjunction (although) is a clause and therefore must contain a verb rather than an –ING word. That eliminates (A) and (B). (C) is incorrect because the past perfect (had gained) should only be used to describe an action that came before a second action, and here that tense is used to describe an action that came after a previous action. (Action 1: The Bartered Bride was not immediately popular. Action 2: It became popular after numerous revisions.) (E) is incorrect because The Bartered Bride is singular whereas they is plural. In fact, there is no plural noun to which they could refer. That leaves (D), which correctly provides a verb (did) and makes the tense of the underlined portion consistent with the tense of the rest of the sentence.
