verb form and adverbs of time

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Chinn_asama: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 77; Joined: Sat Jun 02, 2012 7:14 pm; Thanked: 1 times

by Chinn_asama » Wed Feb 20, 2013 11:52 pm

Hi there

Is the sentence " Why such immportant things ARE not discussed earlier is a puzzle " correct? Since the adverb refers to past, is 'were' more appropriate here?

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Wed Feb 20, 2013 11:52 pm

Kasia@EconomistGMAT: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 646; Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 7:08 amFollowed by: 143 members; Thanked: 322 times

by Kasia@EconomistGMAT » Thu Feb 21, 2013 5:46 am

Both forms "are" and "were" could be used in this sentence. "Are" is more appropriate, if the sentence refers to a certain routine, a pattern that is repeated. "Earlier" would then refer to an earlier stage in the pattern. "Were" is better, if the sentence refers to something that happened only once at a known point in the past.

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