<p>"a poetic form congenial to Robert Browning was the dramatic [monologue, it let him explore] a character's mind without the simplifications demanded by stage productions. "</p>
<p>A) monologue, it let him explore
B) monologue, which let him explore
C) monologue that lets him explore
D) monologue; letting him explore
E) monologue by letting him do exploration of</p>
<p>[underlined portion]</p>
<p>Answer key says B, but WHY? which "let him", since its talking about the dramatic monologue (singular), shouldn't B NOT be correct because it should be like "which LETS him explore??" </p>
<p>and </p>
<p>[When Marie Curie shared] the 1903 Nobel Prize for Physics [with two other] scientists --- her husband Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel --- she [had been] the first woman [to win] the prize</p>
<p>i don't know why its "C" here,... what does [had been] imply here? (is it not had been because there can't be another "first woman to win the prize"?)... by asking what it implies i mean what does it say about marie curie and her prize winning in terms of time and stuff...</p>
<p>like for example if "she had been eating", doesn't it imply that she was eating but no longer was eating? but then marie curie is STILL the first woman because she can't undo being a first woman... or stop being the first woman to win the prize...</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Since the independent clause is in the perfect tense, the dependent clause must also be perfect. Lets is present; let is perfect.</p></li>
<li><p>“Had been” would mean that she became the first woman to win the prize before she won the prize, which is obviously false. We need the perfect tense again, because it occured at the same time as the independent clause, which is also perfect.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>For #1, independent clause is [a poetic form congenial to Robert Browning was the dramatic monologue], by “perfect” tense do you mean present perfect? meaning that it is still going on, both in the past and now in the present. </p>
<p>I’ll try to make a similar sentence with a perfect independent clause </p>
<p>she has wanted to play the piano since she was a child, so he let her do so. </p>
<p>i hope “has wanted” is perfect present (cuz she still wants to play), so would this sentence be representative of the grammar of the above? </p>
<p>for 1 im not 100% sure, but since it says the form “was” the dramatic monologue (past) it should be “which “let” him explore” (also past). lets would be present</p>
<p>^ yea that’s something else i’m not sure about. </p>
<p>logic pretty much dictates that a [poetic form congenial to Browning was [and still is] the dramatic monologue] cuz Browning doesn’t change. </p>
<p>so is it enough that logic implies that the tense is present perfect? or is there some part of the sentence that tells you the sentence is in present perfect tense.</p>
<p>for 1 I don’t think its in present perfect. there is no “has/have …”. I think its in past, and we have to keep it in past. If it wanted us to keep going with present it would have said the poetic form “is”. since it says “was”, the sentence is in the past tense. </p>
<p>I understand that u think “lets” is appropriate because browning “still uses” the dramatic monologue, but for example, when u look at a piece of writing the narrative is usually in past tense even if the action is taking place “right now”.</p>
<p>^ sorry i don’t really get it. i see how its not present perfect, yet it started in the past and it has to be going on right now… it seems like present perfect right? </p>
<p>if its not perfect tense, then how do you explain the “let”? this is a bit weird because it seems like a very difficult problem but i think the difficulty level was only a 3</p>
<p>haha i think its not that complicated its just straightforward past</p>
<p>e.g. (haha i just made up the sentence but i hope it explains it better)
the teacher “is” nice because she “lets” her students look outside (present)
the teacher “was” nice because she “let” her students look outside (past)</p>
<p>u can’t assume its still happening if the sentence says “was”. If its in the past keep ur answer in the past.</p>
<p>ahhh! i get it. i thought “let” was exclusive to present perfect lol.</p>
<p>that makes so much more sense! so the independent clause is in past tense, therefore the dependent clause must have the verb “let”. i love the example. </p>