Explain the use of Past Perfect in the non-underlined part

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by aditya8062 » Wed May 07, 2014 6:12 am
Less than 35 years after the release of African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, Brazil, their descendents, popular known as killer bees had migrated as far north as Southern Texas.

A. Less than 35 years after the release of African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, Brazil,

B. In less than 35 years since releasing African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, Brazil,

C. In less than the 35 years since African honeybees had been released outside Sao Paulo, Brazil,

D. It took less than 35 years from the release of African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, Brazil, when

E. It took less than 35 years after the time that African honeybees were released outside Sao Paulo, Brazil, and then
Last edited by aditya8062 on Wed May 07, 2014 10:47 am, edited 1 time in total.

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by GMATGuruNY » Wed May 07, 2014 9:40 am
Less than 35 years after the release of African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, their descendants had migrated.

TIMELINE:
----release of the honeybees----migration of their descendants----a moment less than 35 years after the release----exactly 35 years after the release----

The migration was completed BEFORE the moment in red.
Thus, at that moment -- less than 35 years after the release of African honeybees outside Sao Paulo -- their descendants HAD MIGRATED.
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by [email protected] » Wed May 07, 2014 8:52 pm
Hey Guru,
Why is option D wrong?

Regards,
Mukherjee

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by GMATGuruNY » Thu May 08, 2014 3:21 am
Less than 35 years after the release of African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, Brazil, their descendants, popularly known as killer bees, had migrated as far north as southern Texas.

(A) Less than 35 years after the release of African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, Brazil,
(B) In less than 35 years since releasing African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, Brazil,
(C) In less than the 35 years since African honeybees had been released outside Sao Paulo, Brazil,
(D) It took less than 35 years from the release of African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, Brazil, when
(E) It took less than the 35 years after the time that African honeybees were released outside Sao Paulo, Brazil, and then
B: Since RELEASING African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, THEIR DESCENDANTS...
The implication here is that THEIR DESCENDANTS were responsible for RELEASING African honeybees outside Sao Paolo.
Not the intended meaning.
Eliminate B.

C: 35 years since African honeybees HAD BEEN RELEASED
If the release of the bees took place on January 1, 1900, then on January 1, 1950, the bees already HAD BEEN RELEASED.
Thus, 35 years since African Honeybees HAD BEEN RELEASED could imply January 1, 1950 + 35 years = January 1, 1985.
Not the intended timeline.
The intended meaning is that the the migration took place LESS THAN 35 YEARS after the release -- sometime BEFORE January 1, 1935.
Eliminate C.

D and E: It took less than 35 years.
Here, it lacks a clear referent.
Eliminate D and E.

The correct answer is A.

In D and E, it seems to be serving as an EXPLETIVE.
An expletive is a placeholder pronoun whose purpose is to DELAY THE SUBJECT.
On the GMAT, the delayed subject typically will be an infinitive phrase or a that-clause.

IT is easy TO LIKE MARY.
Here, it is standing in for to like Mary.
Conveyed meaning:
TO LIKE MARY is easy.

IT was not until last year THAT JOHN BEGAN STUDYING.
Here, it is standing in for that John began studying.
Conveyed meaning:
THAT JOHN BEGAN STUDYING was not until last year.

In D and E, the referent for it is unclear.
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by RBBmba@2014 » Sun Jun 21, 2015 1:52 am
GMATGuruNY wrote:
Less than 35 years after the release of African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, Brazil, their descendants, popularly known as killer bees, had migrated as far north as southern Texas.

(A) Less than 35 years after the release of African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, Brazil,
(B) In less than 35 years since releasing African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, Brazil,
(C) In less than the 35 years since African honeybees had been released outside Sao Paulo, Brazil,
(D) It took less than 35 years from the release of African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, Brazil, when
(E) It took less than the 35 years after the time that African honeybees were released outside Sao Paulo, Brazil, and then
B: Since RELEASING African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, THEIR DESCENDANTS...
The implication here is that THEIR DESCENDANTS were responsible for RELEASING African honeybees outside Sao Paolo.
Not the intended meaning.
Eliminate B.
GMATGuruNY- Didn't get your explanation clear here. Could you please help me understand this ?

Also, isn't the the construction Since RELEASING African honeybees AWKWARD ? I think, SINCE can't be followed ONLY by VERB-ing or GERUND.

Correct me please if wrong!

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by GMATGuruNY » Sun Jun 21, 2015 2:11 am
RBBmba@2014 wrote:
B: Since RELEASING African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, THEIR DESCENDANTS...
The implication here is that THEIR DESCENDANTS were responsible for RELEASING African honeybees outside Sao Paolo.
Not the intended meaning.
Eliminate B.
GMATGuruNY- Didn't get your explanation clear here. Could you please help me understand this ?


Generally, the agent of an introductory VERBing modifier must be the SUBJECT of the following clause.

SC73 in the OG for Verbal:
After SUFFERING $2 billion in losses and 25,000 layoffs, THE NATION'S SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY appears to have made a long-awaited recovery.
Here, the agent of suffering (an introductory VERBing modifier) is the nation's semiconductor industry (the subject of the following clause).
Conveyed meaning:
THE NATION'S SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY was SUFFERING $2 billion in losses.

B: Since RELEASING African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, THEIR DESCENDANTS...
Here, the agent of releasing (an introductory VERBing modifier) seems to be their descendants (the subject of the following clause).
Conveyed meaning:
THEIR DESCENDANTS were RELEASING African honeybees.
This meaning is nonsensical.
Also, isn't the the construction Since RELEASING African honeybees AWKWARD ? I think, SINCE can't be followed ONLY by VERB-ing or GERUND.
This reasoning is valid: since + VERBing is not a viable construction on the GMAT.
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by RBBmba@2014 » Sun Jun 21, 2015 2:12 am
GMATGuruNY wrote:
Less than 35 years after the release of African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, Brazil, their descendants, popularly known as killer bees, had migrated as far north as southern Texas.

(A) Less than 35 years after the release of African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, Brazil,
(B) In less than 35 years since releasing African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, Brazil,
(C) In less than the 35 years since African honeybees had been released outside Sao Paulo, Brazil,
(D) It took less than 35 years from the release of African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, Brazil, when
(E) It took less than the 35 years after the time that African honeybees were released outside Sao Paulo, Brazil, and then
C: 35 years since African honeybees HAD BEEN RELEASED
If the release of the bees took place on January 1, 1900, then on January 1, 1950, the bees already HAD BEEN RELEASED.
Thus, 35 years since African Honeybees HAD BEEN RELEASED could imply January 1, 1950 + 35 years = January 1, 1985.

Not the intended timeline.
The intended meaning is that the the migration took place LESS THAN 35 YEARS after the release -- sometime BEFORE January 1, 1935.
Eliminate C.
In the above quote, couldn't understand ONLY the RED part - the LOGIC behind the CALCULATIONS. Please help!

Also, in C, I think two PAST PERFECT don't make sense in this particular context. Right ?

As for the OA: Less than 35 years after the release of African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, Brazil - it's a NOUN + Noun Modifier construction modifying the following clause,I guess. And the big NOUN Phrase is in RED while the Noun Modifier (here, a prepositional phrase) is in GREEN. Right ?

Correct me please if wrong!

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by GMATGuruNY » Sun Jun 21, 2015 2:31 am
RBBmba@2014 wrote:
GMATGuruNY wrote: C: 35 years since African honeybees HAD BEEN RELEASED
If the release of the bees took place on January 1, 1900, then on January 1, 1950, the bees already HAD BEEN RELEASED.
Thus, 35 years since African Honeybees HAD BEEN RELEASED could imply January 1, 1950 + 35 years = January 1, 1985.

Not the intended timeline.
The intended meaning is that the the migration took place LESS THAN 35 YEARS after the release -- sometime BEFORE January 1, 1935.
Eliminate C.
In the above quote, couldn't understand ONLY the RED part - the LOGIC behind the CALCULATIONS. Please help!
Do not worry about understanding the calculations.
The reason for your confusion is that the construction in C -- since + SUBJECT + PAST PERFECT -- does not convey a logical meaning.
Keep it simple:
On the GMAT, since + SUBJECT + PAST PERFECT is not a valid construction.
Also, in C, I think two PAST PERFECT don't make sense in this particular context. Right ?
Correct.
As for the OA: Less than 35 years after the release of African honeybees outside Sao Paulo, Brazil - it's a NOUN + Noun Modifier construction modifying the following clause,I guess. And the big NOUN Phrase is in RED while the Noun Modifier (here, a prepositional phrase) is in GREEN. Right ?

Correct me please if wrong!
Less than 35 years after the release, their descendants had migrated.
Here, the modifier in red is an ADVERB serving to modify the VERB in the following clause (had migrated).
WHEN had their descendants migrated?
LESS THEN 35 YEARS AFTER THE RELEASE.
The implication is that at some moment less than 35 years after the release, the migration had already been completed.
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by RBBmba@2014 » Mon Jun 22, 2015 7:20 am
GMATGuruNY wrote: Keep it simple:
On the GMAT, since + SUBJECT + PAST PERFECT is not a valid construction.
This is PERFECT.Thanks GMATGuruNY!
On the GMAT, SINCE is used with PRESENT PERFECT MOSTLY. Right ?

But apart from this particular use, what are the OTHER VALID usages of SINCE on GMAT - could you please shed some light on this aspect ?
GMATGuruNY wrote: Less than 35 years after the release, their descendants had migrated.
Here, the modifier in red is an ADVERB serving to modify the VERB in the following clause (had migrated).
WHEN had their descendants migrated?
LESS THAN 35 YEARS AFTER THE RELEASE.
The implication is that at some moment less than 35 years after the release, the migration had already been completed.
Thanks for clarifying. But won't the SC be better if it were -- [IN] Less than 35 years after the release, their descendants had migrated.

Isn't the preposition IN MISSING here ?

Please share your thoughts.

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by RBBmba@2014 » Sat Jun 27, 2015 12:56 pm
@ GMATGuruNY - any thoughts on the above concerns ?

Looking forward to hear from you. Much thanks in advance!

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by RBBmba@2014 » Wed Jul 08, 2015 2:25 am
RBBmba@2014 wrote:
GMATGuruNY wrote: Keep it simple:
On the GMAT, since + SUBJECT + PAST PERFECT is not a valid construction.
This is PERFECT.Thanks GMATGuruNY!
On the GMAT, SINCE is used with PRESENT PERFECT MOSTLY. Right ?

But apart from this particular use, what are the OTHER VALID usages of SINCE on GMAT - could you please shed some light on this aspect ?
GMATGuruNY wrote: Less than 35 years after the release, their descendants had migrated.
Here, the modifier in red is an ADVERB serving to modify the VERB in the following clause (had migrated).
WHEN had their descendants migrated?
LESS THAN 35 YEARS AFTER THE RELEASE.
The implication is that at some moment less than 35 years after the release, the migration had already been completed.
Thanks for clarifying. But won't the SC be better if it were -- [IN] Less than 35 years after the release, their descendants had migrated.

Isn't the preposition IN MISSING here ?

Could you please share your thoughts ?
Hi GMATGuruNY - any feedback on my above questions Sir ?

Much thanks in advance!

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by GMATGuruNY » Wed Jul 08, 2015 3:59 am
RBBmba@2014 wrote:
GMATGuruNY wrote: Keep it simple:
On the GMAT, since + SUBJECT + PAST PERFECT is not a valid construction.
This is PERFECT.Thanks GMATGuruNY!
On the GMAT, SINCE is used with PRESENT PERFECT MOSTLY. Right ?

But apart from this particular use, what are the OTHER VALID usages of SINCE on GMAT - could you please shed some light on this aspect ?
GMATGuruNY wrote: Less than 35 years after the release, their descendants had migrated.
Here, the modifier in red is an ADVERB serving to modify the VERB in the following clause (had migrated).
WHEN had their descendants migrated?
LESS THAN 35 YEARS AFTER THE RELEASE.
The implication is that at some moment less than 35 years after the release, the migration had already been completed.
Thanks for clarifying. But won't the SC be better if it were -- [IN] Less than 35 years after the release, their descendants had migrated.

Isn't the preposition IN MISSING here ?

Please share your thoughts.
IN less than 35 years = HOW MUCH TIME was required for the migration to be completed.
Conveyed meaning:
It took less than 35 years for the migration to be completed.
Less than 35 years after the release = WHEN the migration had been completed.
Conveyed meaning:
At a past moment less than 35 years after the release, the migration had already been completed.
The OA intends to convey the latter meaning.
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by RBBmba@2014 » Wed Jul 08, 2015 5:51 am
RBBmba@2014 wrote:
GMATGuruNY wrote: Keep it simple:
On the GMAT, since + SUBJECT + PAST PERFECT is not a valid construction.
This is PERFECT.Thanks GMATGuruNY!
On the GMAT, SINCE is used with PRESENT PERFECT MOSTLY. Right ?

But apart from this particular use, what are the OTHER VALID usages of SINCE on GMAT - could you please shed some light on this aspect ?
@ GMATGuruNY - can you please shed some light on the above ?

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by DavidG@VeritasPrep » Wed Jul 08, 2015 7:13 am
But apart from this particular use, what are the OTHER VALID usages of SINCE on GMAT - could you please shed some light on this aspect ?
Are you asking for sample OA's that include 'since?' Or are you asking if 'since' could be used in a fundamentally different way than the above example?
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