[Grammar] It __ that the falling of an apple to the ground

[tahasozgen]

It __ that the falling of an apple to the ground helped the great mathematician and scientist Sir Isaac Newton __ out the laws of gravity.

A) had been said / to work
B) is said / work
C) is said / working
D) says / works
E) was said / worked

My answer is C. Key depicts B. As everybody knows, when Sir Newton was working on the gravity, the apple felt into his head, so ing form is more appropriate I think. Why C is wrong? Thanks in advance.

 

[jutfrank]

Re: A Question About Passive & Causatives -3

The correct answer B) makes use of the verb construction: help somebody do something

It is not right (as with your answer) to say *help somebody doing something

 

[jutfrank]

Re: A Question About Passive & Causatives -3

By the way, the apple fell onto his head.

 

[GoesStation]

Re: A Question About Passive & Causatives -3

Ask "Why is C wrong?" When asking questions, you always have to invert the subject and the verb.

 

[emsr2d2]

I have changed your thread title. Please don't keep using "A Question about Passive & Causatives" even with a new number each time. It really doesn't help us to identify individual threads later on.
Titles must include some/all of the words you are actually asking us about.

 

[Tdol]

As everybody knows, when Sir Newton was working on the gravity, the apple felt into his head, so ing form is more appropriate I think.

If you are looking at this as a process over time, didn't the apple give him an instant answer? However, the correct answer has to be a verb form that can come after helped.

 

[tahasozgen]

Yes, the apple give him an answer, but if you think from the Newton's perspective, he was working on the idea of gravity. Working on idea of gravity is a process so to my conclusion, it should be ing form of the verb.

 

[GoesStation]

Simplify to clarify: It is said that an apple helped Isaac work out the laws of gravity.

"Working" is not possible there.

 

[Rover_KE]

It's always puzzled me why Newton was credited with this discovery.

Surely the earliest human beings - let alone renowned scientists - noticed that objects unattached to anything else fell down - not up.

 

[jutfrank]

It's not that Newton was the first to notice that things fall, it's that he came up with a reason why they fall.