In a fugue, what distinguishes the real answer from the tonal answer?

• A. The real answer modulates to the dominant while the tonal answer stays in the home key.
• B. The real answer transposes exactly to the dominant key; the tonal answer is transposed loosely with harmonic adjustments.
• C. The real answer uses retrograde form; the tonal answer uses inversion.
• D. The real answer introduces a counter-subject; the tonal answer presents only the subject.

Answer: (B)

In a fugue, when a second voice enters with the subject in the dominant key, the difference between a real answer and a tonal answer hinges on exactness vs harmonic fit. The real answer transposes the subject exactly to the dominant key, preserving the intervallic pattern and melodic contour as it appears in the original. The tonal answer, while still moving to the dominant area, is adjusted to fit the harmony of the dominant chord—notes and intervals may be altered to align with V and its leading-tone relationships, so the line echoes the subject but isn’t a literal copy.

That’s why this is the best choice: it captures the precise, undisturbed transposition of the real answer versus the adjusted, harmony-driven approach of the tonal answer. The other ideas don’t describe the core distinction—real vs tonal—so they don’t fit how fugue entries are typically handled.