Reporting that

This topic has expert replies
User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 181
Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2012 9:36 am
Thanked: 1 times
Followed by:1 members
GMAT Score:620

Reporting that

by heymayank08 » Mon May 14, 2012 7:10 pm
Reporting that one of<< its many problems had been the recent >>extended sales slump in women's apparel,
126
the seven-store retailer said it would start a three-month liquidation sale in all of its stores.
(A) its many problems had been the recent
(B) its many problems has been the recently
(C) its many problems is the recently
(D) their many problems is the recent
(E) their many problems had been the recent


pls explain the whether past perfect or present or have should be used here..wid reasons
thanks...
Source: — Sentence Correction |

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 1248
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2012 2:57 pm
Location: Everywhere
Thanked: 503 times
Followed by:192 members
GMAT Score:780

by Bill@VeritasPrep » Mon May 14, 2012 8:33 pm
B and C use "recently", which changes the meaning of the sentence. In the original, "the recent extended sales slump" means that the entire slump occurred recently, whereas "the recently extended sales slump" means that the slump was recently extended.

D and E use the plural pronoun "their" to refer to "retailer", which is singular. Thus, we are left with A.

We need past perfect because we have a simple past ("retailer said...") in the second half of the sentence. Since the problem occurred before that, we have to use past perfect.
Join Veritas Prep's 2010 Instructor of the Year, Matt Douglas for GMATT Mondays

Visit the Veritas Prep Blog

Try the FREE Veritas Prep Practice Test

Legendary Member
Posts: 2789
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:19 am
Location: Chennai, India
Thanked: 206 times
Followed by:43 members
GMAT Score:640

by GmatKiss » Tue May 15, 2012 2:03 am
GmatKiss wrote:Please take some time to underline the question and edit it before just pasting it from a source!!

Reporting that one of its many problems had been the recent extended sales slump in women's apparel, the seven-store retailer said it would start a three-month liquidation sale in all of its stores.

(A) its many problems had been the recent
(B) its many problems has been the recently
(C) its many problems is the recently
(D) their many problems is the recent
(E) their many problems had been the recent
IMO: A

• Page 1 of 1