A recent court decision has qualified a 1998 ruling that workers cannot be laid off if they have been given reason to believe that their jobs will be safe, provided that their performance remains satisfactory.
(A) if they have been given reason to believe that their jobs will
(B) if they are given reason for believing that their jobs would still
(C) having been given reason for believing that their jobs would
(D) having been given reason to believe their jobs to
(E) given reason to believe that their jobs will still
can someone explain why B is wrong.
Is it correct to use present perfect tense for "given reason"?
A recent court decision has qualified a 1998 ruling_OG
This topic has expert replies
- conquistador
- Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
- Posts: 266
- Joined: Fri Sep 19, 2014 4:00 am
- Thanked: 4 times
- Followed by:1 members
- VivianKerr
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 1035
- Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2010 11:13 am
- Location: Los Angeles, CA
- Thanked: 474 times
- Followed by:365 members
Hi,
The verb "are given" is confusing in terms of Meaning.
Sentence: A decision HAS QUALIFIED a 1998 ruling that workers...if they HAVE BEEN GIVEN reason to believe that their jobs WILL be safe...
The workers want reason to believe their jobs WILL be safe. It's a guarantee. Why would they want reason to believe their jobs WOULD be safe? Also, since we have the work "if" preceding it, we already know this is a hypothetical, so the word "would" is redundant.
Also, notice the choice between the participle "believing" and the infinitive "to believe." When there's a 2nd verb following on the heels of a 1st verb, the GMAT almost always prefers the infinitive form over the participle form.
The answer has to be A.
The verb "are given" is confusing in terms of Meaning.
Sentence: A decision HAS QUALIFIED a 1998 ruling that workers...if they HAVE BEEN GIVEN reason to believe that their jobs WILL be safe...
The workers want reason to believe their jobs WILL be safe. It's a guarantee. Why would they want reason to believe their jobs WOULD be safe? Also, since we have the work "if" preceding it, we already know this is a hypothetical, so the word "would" is redundant.
Also, notice the choice between the participle "believing" and the infinitive "to believe." When there's a 2nd verb following on the heels of a 1st verb, the GMAT almost always prefers the infinitive form over the participle form.
The answer has to be A.
Vivian Kerr
GMAT Rockstar, Tutor
https://www.GMATrockstar.com
https://www.yelp.com/biz/gmat-rockstar-los-angeles
Former Kaplan and Grockit instructor, freelance GMAT content creator, now offering affordable, effective, Skype-tutoring for the GMAT at $150/hr. Contact: [email protected]
Thank you for all the "thanks" and "follows"!
GMAT Rockstar, Tutor
https://www.GMATrockstar.com
https://www.yelp.com/biz/gmat-rockstar-los-angeles
Former Kaplan and Grockit instructor, freelance GMAT content creator, now offering affordable, effective, Skype-tutoring for the GMAT at $150/hr. Contact: [email protected]
Thank you for all the "thanks" and "follows"!
- MartyMurray
- Legendary Member
- Posts: 2131
- Joined: Mon Feb 03, 2014 9:26 am
- Location: https://martymurraycoaching.com/
- Thanked: 955 times
- Followed by:140 members
- GMAT Score:800
The sentence created using B does not make sense.
The court decision says that workers cannot be laid off if something. What is that something?
The sentence created using B basically seems to convey that that something is that they are given reason to believe that their jobs are safe. So let's get this straight. They can't be laid off if AT THE SAME TIME they are given reason to believe that their jobs are safe? That's what the present tense are given conveys, and that does not make sense.
Additionally, B does not make sense because the conditional would is used, but no condition for what would happen is mentioned. In other words, their jobs would still be safe if what? The answer to that question is not provided. If anything the sentence created using B seems to nonsensically convey that the workers cannot be laid off if they are given reason to believe that their jobs would still be safe even though they are being laid off.
What does make sense is, as the sentence created A conveys, that they cannot be laid off if ON AN ONGOING BASIS they have been given reason to believe that their jobs will be safe.
The present participle have been given makes sense, in that what is being conveyed is that on an ongoing basis the workers have been given reason to believe that their jobs will be safe.
So A is the best answer.
The court decision says that workers cannot be laid off if something. What is that something?
The sentence created using B basically seems to convey that that something is that they are given reason to believe that their jobs are safe. So let's get this straight. They can't be laid off if AT THE SAME TIME they are given reason to believe that their jobs are safe? That's what the present tense are given conveys, and that does not make sense.
Additionally, B does not make sense because the conditional would is used, but no condition for what would happen is mentioned. In other words, their jobs would still be safe if what? The answer to that question is not provided. If anything the sentence created using B seems to nonsensically convey that the workers cannot be laid off if they are given reason to believe that their jobs would still be safe even though they are being laid off.
What does make sense is, as the sentence created A conveys, that they cannot be laid off if ON AN ONGOING BASIS they have been given reason to believe that their jobs will be safe.
The present participle have been given makes sense, in that what is being conveyed is that on an ongoing basis the workers have been given reason to believe that their jobs will be safe.
So A is the best answer.
Marty Murray
Perfect Scoring Tutor With Over a Decade of Experience
MartyMurrayCoaching.com
Contact me at [email protected] for a free consultation.
Perfect Scoring Tutor With Over a Decade of Experience
MartyMurrayCoaching.com
Contact me at [email protected] for a free consultation.
GMAT/MBA Expert
- ceilidh.erickson
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 2095
- Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pm
- Thanked: 1443 times
- Followed by:247 members
Additionally, the correct idiomatic expression is "reason to believe" rather than "reason for believing."
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education