anujtripathi2006 wrote:In my opinion A is the correct answer.

I gave it a thought trying to be not pissed for a moment, and I think the action that is allowed
is dumping the phosphates and it is in my opinion independent of the amount it had been restricted to or perhaps even left unregulated once.
i.e.

..reduced the amount of phosphates (that) municipalities are allowed to dump to the GL.

second case where the noun is the noun clause in whole: the amount of phosphates (that) municipalities had been allowed to dump to GL... here amount really matters

given all the above and that GMAT goes for the simplest concise and clear answer I'd say that choice D is more appropriate. It has less words with a clear meaning.

BTW my first choice was A as most of you chose.

Hey, rather than writing post here & to wait for sometime to get response, we should get together to a chat room everyday to share our thoughts.

anujtripathi2006 wrote:Hey, rather than writing post here & to wait for sometime to get response, we should get together to a chat room everyday to share our thoughts.

I agree anuj however we all live in different time-zones.

anujtripathi2006 wrote:Hey, rather than writing post here & to wait for sometime to get response, we should get together to a chat room everyday to share our thoughts.

u already have PM option..so u can use that ...

reopening the thread ,
in sentences like this one how one can interpret the correct sequence .
Here we are having two school of thoughts.
On test day how to handle these kind of confusing sequences....
pls help

IMO -- D

I belive the event is still going on .. and hence "D" would be the right choice.

MOST IMPORTANT, irrespective of the WHt 1000SC says.. it is wise to follow the OG and in OG the answer is "D"... For me the debate ends there..

lunarpower wrote:i'm not technically supposed to comment on problems from 1000sc or OG (both of which are banned sources over at our home MGMAT forum), but at least i will state, for the record, that the original post contains an incorrect "OA".

1000sc is a notoriously unreliable source. trust it at your own risk.

the correct oa is noted by other posters further down the line.[/b]

With due respect to Ron, I want to ask, why is OG is banned at MGMAT forum? I can understand 1000sc being unreliable, but OG is an official source for questions. I wonder why is it banned?

A 1972 agreement between Canada and the United States reduced the amount of phosphates that municipalities had been allowed to dump into the Great Lakes.
(A) reduced the amount of phosphates that municipalities had been allowed to dump
(B) reduced the phosphate amount that municipalities had been dumping
(C) reduces the phosphate amount municipalities have been allowed to dump
(D) reduced the amount of phosphates that municipalities are allowed to dump
(E) reduces the amount of phosphates allowed for dumping by municipalities

'D' is incorrect.

'A' is correct. The sentence talks about two actions that happened in the past.

Action 1: amount of phosphates that municipalities allowed to dump
Action 2: Reduction, through agreement, in amount of phosphates that municipalities allowed to dump

The first action in the past will contain 'had', which is action:1 in this case.

Hence, 'A' - correct answer

kishore0912 wrote:A 1972 agreement between Canada and the United States reduced the amount of phosphates that municipalities had been allowed to dump into the Great Lakes.
(A) reduced the amount of phosphates that municipalities had been allowed to dump
(B) reduced the phosphate amount that municipalities had been dumping
(C) reduces the phosphate amount municipalities have been allowed to dump
(D) reduced the amount of phosphates that municipalities are allowed to dump
(E) reduces the amount of phosphates allowed for dumping by municipalities

'D' is incorrect.

'A' is correct. The sentence talks about two actions that happened in the past.

Action 1: amount of phosphates that municipalities allowed to dump
Action 2: Reduction, through agreement, in amount of phosphates that municipalities allowed to dump

The first action in the past will contain 'had', which is action:1 in this case.

Hence, 'A' - correct answer

i do respect ur analysis kishore0912 but i think answer is D refer [ OG 12th edition Q 74 ]

Stuart Kovinsky wrote:The Act is an ongoing, living document - it doesn't apply retroactively, it's always in effect.

If we were to use the verb "had been allowed", then we'd only be speaking about what they were allowed to do in the past. By using "are allowed", we recognize that the Act continues to govern what people are allowed to do today.

IMO with option D as discussed above...

Though I got it right the first time as option D felt right but was unsure...