Tense Sequencing

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Tense Sequencing

by yellowho » Fri Feb 04, 2011 10:54 pm
Can someone analyze how they were able to eliminate choices for this question:

More specifically why is A wrong and B right.

Doesn't B suggest that it might no longer be true that DC is arranged...
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by Night reader » Fri Feb 04, 2011 11:45 pm
yellowho wrote:Can someone analyze how they were able to eliminate choices for this question:

More specifically why is A wrong and B right.

Doesn't B suggest that it might no longer be true that DC is arranged...
a series of almanacs could not provide in the past - even it's being linked to the present too, as the Codex is arranged in present. Codex and a series ... are considered as the whole here

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by Geva@EconomistGMAT » Mon Feb 07, 2011 4:18 am
yellowho wrote:Can someone analyze how they were able to eliminate choices for this question:

More specifically why is A wrong and B right.

Doesn't B suggest that it might no longer be true that DC is arranged...
Yellowho, I guess the point is that we do not know whether the codex still exists or not without the context, so both B and C are possible.
If the codex no longer exists, it is quite ok, (preferable even) to use the past tense. To see this, just tack on "which no longer exists" after the Dresden code, and suddenly the B makes sense.
However, if we assume that the code still exists, then C is the right one, as the sentence attempts to convey a general truth, for which we generally use present simple. (think "the earth rotates around its axis")
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