Why the ans is option C?
The voluminous personal papers of Thomas Alva Edison reveal that his inventions typically sprang to life not in a flash of inspiration but evolved slowly from previous works.
(A) sprang to life not in a flash of inspiration but evolved slowly
(B) sprang to life not in a flash of inspiration but were slowly evolved
(C) did not spring to life in a flash of inspiration but evolved slowly
(D) did not spring to life in a flash of inspiration but had slowly evolved
(E) did not spring to life in a flash of inspiration but they were slowly evolved
Hi Manoj,
(A) sprang to life not in a flash of inspiration but evolved slowly – The contrast should be between “sprang to life” and “evolved slowly”. In this option, the contrast is between “flash of inspiration” and “evolved slowly”. Hence incorrect
(B) sprang to life not in a flash of inspiration but were slowly evolved – The contrast should be between “sprang to life” and “evolved slowly”. In this option, the contrast is between “flash of inspiration” and “evolved slowly”. Hence incorrect
(C) did not spring to life in a flash of inspiration but evolved slowly – Correct contrast. No other errors in grammar or meaning
(D) did not spring to life in a flash of inspiration but had slowly evolved – “had evolved” is past perfect tense. Past perfect tense is only used when there are 2 past events on the timeline. It is unnecessary here. . Hence incorrect
(E) did not spring to life in a flash of inspiration but they were slowly evolved – “They” is ambiguous since it can refer to both papers and inventions
