QN 74 - OG 12th ed (perfect past vs simple past)

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gurpreetsingh.1982: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 36; Joined: Wed Mar 16, 2011 6:00 am; Thanked: 2 times

by gurpreetsingh.1982 » Thu Apr 05, 2012 9:30 pm

Good day everyone,

In the below question (qn 74 from OG 12th ed), the answer to this question is D. the methodology used is that the agreement extends till present day, hence "are allowed" should be used instead of "had been allowed".
However, what I would like to know is 1. how this assumption (that the agreement extends till present day) is derived, and
2. why can't I use A to be my answer? "had been allowed" is in the perfect past, which contrasts with "reduced" that's in the simple past

QUOTE

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

UNQUOTE

Thanks!
Gurpreet

Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Thu Apr 05, 2012 9:30 pm

Bill@VeritasPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1248; Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2012 2:57 pmFollowed by: 192 members; Location: Everywhere; Thanked: 503 times; GMAT Score:780

by Bill@VeritasPrep » Thu Apr 05, 2012 9:43 pm

The agreement can only reduce the amount of phosphates being dumped going forward; it can't reduce them in the past. Thus, we can use present tense ("are allowed"), but past perfect ("had been allowed") doesn't work with the meaning of the sentence.

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scholardream: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 83; Joined: Fri May 06, 2011 9:08 am; Thanked: 5 times; GMAT Score:610

by scholardream » Fri Apr 06, 2012 8:12 am

Hi Bill,
I am not clear with the explanation of " Thus, we can use present tense ("are allowed"), but past perfect ("had been allowed") doesn't work with the meaning of the sentence. "
I thought the action of dumping the waste into the Great Lakes happened before the agreement. So, the action was happening and stopped by the time agreement was reached. Is it right ?

Bill@VeritasPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1248; Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2012 2:57 pmFollowed by: 192 members; Location: Everywhere; Thanked: 503 times; GMAT Score:780

by Bill@VeritasPrep » Fri Apr 06, 2012 8:31 am

If we think about the events on a timeline, we have:

Past-------(dumping occurs)-------1972: reduction happens---------------Present

Right away, we can get rid of C and E for using the present tense "reduces" for an event that happened in 1972. A, B, and D all used "reduced" correctly.

A and B both use past perfect (A uses "had been allowed" and B uses "had been dumping"). What happened before the reduction agreement is actually irrelevant; it has already occurred, and the agreement can't affect that. Rather, the reduction affects the amount of phosphates dumped in 1972 and beyond, so we need a tense that reflects that.

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gurpreetsingh.1982: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 36; Joined: Wed Mar 16, 2011 6:00 am; Thanked: 2 times

by gurpreetsingh.1982 » Sat Apr 07, 2012 11:43 pm

Hi Bill,

Fair enough. If we have to make a decision (between A,B and D) based on the assumption that the 1972 agreement would continue till today, then D would be the choice that makes logical sense here.

The perspective that I had was that this sentence was describing what happened since the past (when dumping occurred) till 1972 (when reduction happened) only. Had not taken consideration for the period of time from 1972 till present, which would have helped me answer the question correctly.

I guess it's a matter of interpreting this question. Thanks for your help, will keep a look-out when dealing with other questions like this.

Gurpreet

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