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by cracktheverbal » Mon Apr 04, 2011 7:43 am
Hi everybody,
This is a good question testing some concepts of sc in one question and I have little issue in two choices as I am gonna write:
Some buildings that were destroyed and heavily damaged in the earthquake last year were constructed in violation of the city's building code.

(A) Some buildings that were destroyed and heavily damaged in the earthquake last year were

(B) Some buildings that were destroyed or heavily damaged in the earthquake last year had been

(C) Some buildings that the earthquake destroyed and heavily damaged last year have been

(D) Last year the earthquake destroyed or heavily damaged some buildings that have been

(E) Last year some of the buildings that were destroyed or heavily damaged in the earth quake had been
OA: B

I narrowed down to choices B and D BUT from here can an expert come and explain why B is correct??? I know that ''past perfect'' usage here is perfect here because first logically earthquake happens and then the act of damaging or destroying occurs BUT b/w choices B and D I want to be cleared by an expert. Thanks a lot in advance.
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by Target2009 » Mon Apr 04, 2011 7:49 am
IMO B. I think U have rite answer not sure what else you looking for.
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by AIM GMAT » Mon Apr 04, 2011 8:06 am
I narrowed down to choices B and D BUT from here can an expert come and explain why B is correct??? I know that ''past perfect'' usage here is perfect here because first logically earthquake happens and then the act of damaging or destroying occurs BUT b/w choices B and D I want to be cleared by an expert. Thanks a lot in advance.
B is past perfect and D is present perfect .
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by Misnomer » Mon Apr 04, 2011 8:54 am
Apart from the "past perfect" concept, i guess that some logical thinking is also required to figure out this one. Consider D first: If inferred properly, it sounds like the earthquake specifically destroyed SOME OF the buildings that were constructed in violation of the code. Now coming to B: This says that some of the buildings that WERE DESTROYED BY the earthquake had been constructed(earlier) in violation of the code.

Sounds confusing..but tht is the best i could do in articulating my response.wish tht helps.
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by atulmangal » Mon Apr 04, 2011 9:42 am
Why Op E is INCORRECT...can anyone suggest...use of tense if fine...and i don't know..may be m missing something to point out...please explain??

Thanks
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by AIM GMAT » Mon Apr 04, 2011 9:47 am
atulmangal wrote:Why Op E is INCORRECT...can anyone suggest...use of tense if fine...and i don't know..may be m missing something to point out...please explain??

Thanks
(B) Some buildings that were destroyed or heavily damaged in the earthquake last year had been


(E) Last year some of the buildings that were destroyed or heavily damaged in the earth quake had been


Its just that the sentence construction of B is preferrable over that of E .
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by atulmangal » Mon Apr 04, 2011 10:54 am
AIM GMAT wrote:
atulmangal wrote:Why Op E is INCORRECT...can anyone suggest...use of tense if fine...and i don't know..may be m missing something to point out...please explain??

Thanks
(B) Some buildings that were destroyed or heavily damaged in the earthquake last year had been


(E) Last year some of the buildings that were destroyed or heavily damaged in the earth quake had been


Its just that the sentence construction of B is preferrable over that of E .
If i'm getting correctly is this because in both choices main verb is HAD BEEN but in Op E, Buildings is the object of prepositional phrase of and less clear than Op B where its properly acting as a main subject????
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by force5 » Mon Apr 04, 2011 12:35 pm
yes i go with B. Any explanation of E?
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by GMATGuruNY » Mon Apr 04, 2011 1:58 pm
cracktheverbal wrote:Hi everybody,
This is a good question testing some concepts of sc in one question and I have little issue in two choices as I am gonna write:
Some buildings that were destroyed and heavily damaged in the earthquake last year were constructed in violation of the city's building code.

(A) Some buildings that were destroyed and heavily damaged in the earthquake last year were

(B) Some buildings that were destroyed or heavily damaged in the earthquake last year had been

(C) Some buildings that the earthquake destroyed and heavily damaged last year have been

(D) Last year the earthquake destroyed or heavily damaged some buildings that have been

(E) Last year some of the buildings that were destroyed or heavily damaged in the earth quake had been
OA: B

I narrowed down to choices B and D BUT from here can an expert come and explain why B is correct??? I know that ''past perfect'' usage here is perfect here because first logically earthquake happens and then the act of damaging or destroying occurs BUT b/w choices B and D I want to be cleared by an expert. Thanks a lot in advance.
In A, the repetition of the simple past tense in buildings that were destroyed...were constructed implies -- incorrectly -- that the two actions (were destroyed and were constructed) happened at the same time. Eliminate A.

In C and D, the present perfect tense have been constructed implies -- incorrectly -- that the construction in violation of the building code took place after the buildings were destroyed. Eliminate C and D.

In E, it is unclear what is being modified by last year: destroyed or damaged, had been constructed, or all of these verbs. Eliminate E.

The correct answer is B.
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by mk101 » Tue Apr 05, 2011 4:51 pm
atulmangal wrote:Why Op E is INCORRECT...can anyone suggest...use of tense if fine...and i don't know..may be m missing something to point out...please explain??

Thanks
Option E gives the impression that the earthquake may have occured earlier than last year .. Option B rectifies this error by stating that earthquake occured last year.
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