A 1972 agreement between Canada and the United States reduced the amount of phosphates that municipalities had been allowed to dump into the Great Lakes.
A.
B.reduced the phosphate amount that municipalities had been dumping
C.reduces the phosphate amount municipalities have been allowed to dump
D.reduced the amount of phosphates that municipalities are allowed to dump
E.reduces the amount of phosphates allowed for dumping by municipalities[/u]
OG 11 #62
This topic has expert replies
- rahulakacyrus
- Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
- Posts: 89
- Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 12:24 am
- Location: Indore, India
- Thanked: 3 times
-
- Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
- Posts: 73
- Joined: Wed Jan 28, 2009 9:00 am
- Thanked: 6 times
- GMAT Score:680
The word 'allowed' cannot be removed from the correct answer, because there is a difference between, what is allowed amount and what is currently being dumped. That leaves us with A, C and D.
'A' can be removed - it uses 'Had Been' and here it's not required as we are not differentiating between 2 past situations.
I think 'C' can be removed because of the use of 'reduces'....it should be 'reduced', as we are talking about an agreement of 1972.
D sounds good to me.
'A' can be removed - it uses 'Had Been' and here it's not required as we are not differentiating between 2 past situations.
I think 'C' can be removed because of the use of 'reduces'....it should be 'reduced', as we are talking about an agreement of 1972.
D sounds good to me.
-
- Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
- Posts: 73
- Joined: Wed Jan 28, 2009 9:00 am
- Thanked: 6 times
- GMAT Score:680
"reduced the phosphate amount that municipalities had been/were dumping" gives an ambiguity.
The term 'reduced' is referring to what? The amount of phosphate that were already dumped, or the amount of phosphate that are currently being dumped?
If we rephrase the two sentences,
A will look like - Municipalities had been allowed to dump a specific amount of phosphate into the lake - A 1972 agreement between Canada and the United States reduced this amount.
D will look like - Municipalities are allowed to dump a specific amount phosphate into the lake - A 1972 agreement between Canada and the United States reduced this amount.
The past perfect in A mean to say, the municipalities are not allowed to dump phosphate now!! Hence I think D is more correct.
The term 'reduced' is referring to what? The amount of phosphate that were already dumped, or the amount of phosphate that are currently being dumped?
If we rephrase the two sentences,
A will look like - Municipalities had been allowed to dump a specific amount of phosphate into the lake - A 1972 agreement between Canada and the United States reduced this amount.
D will look like - Municipalities are allowed to dump a specific amount phosphate into the lake - A 1972 agreement between Canada and the United States reduced this amount.
The past perfect in A mean to say, the municipalities are not allowed to dump phosphate now!! Hence I think D is more correct.
- rahulakacyrus
- Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
- Posts: 89
- Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 12:24 am
- Location: Indore, India
- Thanked: 3 times
People, the answer in the OG is D.
The agreement was made in 1972, however it still continues.
We are not comparing the two different times, but what has happened after this agreement!
The agreement was made in 1972, however it still continues.
We are not comparing the two different times, but what has happened after this agreement!
Rahul Madan (Cyrus)
-
- Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
- Posts: 31
- Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2010 8:15 am
I would like this forum re-opened with experts advice.
I ended up with A and D, and eventually succumbed to choosing A for the reason that had been should have been used because we are talking about an event before "the 1972 agreement reduced the amount..."
Please shed some light. Thanks.
I ended up with A and D, and eventually succumbed to choosing A for the reason that had been should have been used because we are talking about an event before "the 1972 agreement reduced the amount..."
Please shed some light. Thanks.
You just have one event here. But you need two events to use the past perfect (had been). You have to use past tense at the beginning because of (1972) and present tense because the agreement is still true. Thus D wins.rahulakacyrus wrote:A 1972 agreement between Canada and the United States reduced the amount of phosphates that municipalities had been allowed to dump into the Great Lakes.
A.
B.reduced the phosphate amount that municipalities had been dumping
C.reduces the phosphate amount municipalities have been allowed to dump
D.reduced the amount of phosphates that municipalities are allowed to dump
E.reduces the amount of phosphates allowed for dumping by municipalities[/u]
For further reading https://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/og-sc-62-t580.html. I hope I could help.