MGMAT SC Exercise

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schumi_gmat: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 377; Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2008 9:30 amFollowed by: 2 members; Thanked: 15 times

by schumi_gmat » Sat Dec 20, 2008 12:40 pm

1. The driver took the people who had been waiting for a ride

This is from MGMAT exercises.

My question is, what is wrong with waiting for a ride?

According to MGMAT, there is change in meaning. Can anyone please explain?

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Sat Dec 20, 2008 12:40 pm

logitech: Legendary Member; Posts: 2134; Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2008 11:26 pmFollowed by: 25 members; Thanked: 237 times; GMAT Score:730

Re: MGMAT SC Exercise

by logitech » Sat Dec 20, 2008 3:15 pm

schumi_gmat wrote:1. The driver took the people who had been waiting for a ride

This is from MGMAT exercises.

My question is, what is wrong with waiting for a ride?

According to MGMAT, there is change in meaning. Can anyone please explain?

The first sentence with the past perfect tense construction implies that the waiting BEGAN before the driver showed up.

Meanwhile, people waiting for a ride eliminites the time stamp and changes to the meaning in a way that reader can think driver's taking the people and waiting happened at the same time in the past and people were not waiting before the driver showed up.

I might be wrong, but just wanted to give it a shot!

LGTCH
---------------------
"DON'T LET ANYONE STEAL YOUR DREAM!"

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tritrantran: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 62; Joined: Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:20 am

Re: MGMAT SC Exercise

by tritrantran » Sat Dec 20, 2008 3:36 pm

schumi_gmat wrote:1. The driver took the people who had been waiting for a ride

This is from MGMAT exercises.

My question is, what is wrong with waiting for a ride?

According to MGMAT, there is change in meaning. Can anyone please explain?

Is it because this sentence is not clear? "Who" could refer to the driver or the people waiting.

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iwg770: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 13; Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 8:12 am; GMAT Score:670

by iwg770 » Sun Dec 21, 2008 10:40 am

Can you post the complete question?

1. The driver took the people who had been waiting for a ride

This sentence uses past perfect continuous tense 'had been waiting'

We use the Past Perfect Continuous to show that something started in the past and continued up until another time in the past. "For five minutes" and "for two weeks" can both be durations which can be used with the Past Perfect Continuous.

Same sentence when written in simple past continuous

The driver took the people who were waiting for a ride

This sentence emphasizes that people were waiting for the ride till the exact moment when driver arrived and took them.

Past perfect continuous:

The driver took the people who had been waiting for a ride

This sentence says that people were waiting for a period of time, It is possible that they are waiting when driver arrived OR that they had finished waiting before driver arrived. So time interval that they waited is not confirm.

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umaa: Legendary Member; Posts: 727; Joined: Sun Jun 08, 2008 9:32 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 8 times

by umaa » Sun Dec 21, 2008 10:13 pm

1. The driver took the people who had been waiting for a ride

but it says, the driver took the people. So, the driver picked up the people who had been waiting. I think this is a correct one. More explanation pls.[/b]

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vivek.kapoor83: Legendary Member; Posts: 833; Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 1:56 am; Thanked: 13 times

by vivek.kapoor83 » Mon Dec 22, 2008 8:19 am

past perfect is used when one action gets completed in past and another action follow that but 1st action has to end before second action begins.

So, acc to this rule.
Obvisouly, ppl must be waiting and then driver came.
It cant happen that the wait was over and then he showed up.

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schumi_gmat: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 377; Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2008 9:30 amFollowed by: 2 members; Thanked: 15 times

by schumi_gmat » Mon Dec 22, 2008 5:59 pm

Thanks folks.I understood the error.

Umaa,

They have explained is as follows -
1. People had been waiting. i.e people waiting started in the past and then kept waiting till the bus came. But their wait should have been over after the bus came.

Since we are using past perfect continuous, it looks like even if bus has come the people are still waiting. hence simple past must bt used here.

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umaa: Legendary Member; Posts: 727; Joined: Sun Jun 08, 2008 9:32 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 8 times

by umaa » Mon Dec 22, 2008 7:35 pm

Got it.. thx..

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