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doubt SC

by aditya8062 » Wed Nov 19, 2014 1:45 am

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When Nigeria achieved full independence in 1960, they had already established a federal political structure consisting of three regions based on the three major population clusters that were in its borders.

(A) they had already established a federal political structure consisting of three regions based on the three major population clusters that were in
(B) they already had established a federal political structure consisting of three regions that was based on the three major population clusters inside
(C) they already had established a federal political structure that consisted of three regions based on the three major population clusters in
(D) it had already established a federal political structure that consisted of three regions based on the three major population clusters within
(E) it already had established a federal political structure consisting of three regions being based on the three major population clusters it had within

my concern: out of D and E, i can eliminate E on reasons such as "being"; however, i want to understand that how is the construction "it had already established" different, if at all, from the construction "it already had established"
ALSO is there any other reason, apart from the one already mentioned, to accept D and reject E
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by GMATGuruNY » Fri Nov 21, 2014 7:41 am

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aditya8062 wrote:my concern: out of D and E, i can eliminate E on reasons such as "being"; however, i want to understand that how is the construction "it had already established" different, if at all, from the construction "it already had established"
ALSO is there any other reason, apart from the one already mentioned, to accept D and reject E
Answer choice D does not seem viable.

D: It had already established a federal political structure that consisted of three regions.
Here, the combination of the past perfect (had established) and the simple past (consisted) with regard to a single event (the establishment of a federal structure) does not make sense.
The implication is that an action further in the past (had established) was performed with regard to an action in the more recent past (consisted).
This sequence is illogical.

What is the source of this SC?

E: it already had established
Here, a short adverb (already) is placed immediately BEFORE a helping verb (had).
While this construction is not incorrect, a short adverb modifying a helping verb on the GMAT is generally placed immediately AFTER the helping verb.
The following examples are all taken from OAs in the OG12:
are IN EFFECT told
it would IN THE PAST have conceded
have NEVER been sighted
can HARDLY be said
can CONSTANTLY change
have RECENTLY discovered
were EVENTUALLY exhibited
were FIRST aired
can QUICKLY analyze
would LATER make
are CLOSELY related
has ALREADY stimulated
is WIDELY accepted.
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by aditya8062 » Fri Nov 21, 2014 8:23 am

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What is the source of this SC?
Good Day Guru .firstly thanks for your reply
this question is from the collection of problems which are from gmat prep . here is the link: https://gmat.kaomanfen.com/question/632hch.html
D: It had already established a federal political structure that consisted of three regions.
Here, the combination of the past perfect (had established) and the simple past (consisted) with regard to a single event (the establishment of a federal structure) does not make sense.
The implication is that an action further in the past (had established) was performed with regard to an action in the more recent past (consisted).
This sequence is illogical.
Guru , i feel that the PAST PERFECT construction "it had already established a federal political structure" seems to form a time line with the PAST CONSTRUCTION "When Nigeria achieved full independence in 1960" .

ALSO the construction "THAT CONSISTED..." in the construction "it had already established a federal political structure that consisted of three regions based on the three major population clusters within" IS A MODIFIER and NOT VERB. kindly tell me if my reasoning is faulty

thanks and regards
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by GMATGuruNY » Fri Nov 21, 2014 9:19 am

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aditya8062 wrote:
What is the source of this SC?
Good Day Guru .firstly thanks for your reply
this question is from the collection of problems which are from gmat prep . here is the link: https://gmat.kaomanfen.com/question/632hch.html
When an obscure website claims that a question is from GMATPrep, be skeptical.
Many sites claim to post official problems that are in fact not so.
D: It had already established a federal political structure that consisted of three regions.
Here, the combination of the past perfect (had established) and the simple past (consisted) with regard to a single event (the establishment of a federal structure) does not make sense.
The implication is that an action further in the past (had established) was performed with regard to an action in the more recent past (consisted).
This sequence is illogical.
Guru , i feel that the PAST PERFECT construction "it had already established a federal political structure" seems to form a time line with the PAST CONSTRUCTION "When Nigeria achieved full independence in 1960" .
When Nigeria achieved independence, it had already established a political structure.
Conveyed meaning:
At a specific past moment (when Nigeria achieved independence), an action further in the past had already been completed (Nigeria had already established a political structure).
This sequence is logical.
ALSO the construction "THAT CONSISTED..." in the construction "it had already established a federal political structure that consisted of three regions based on the three major population clusters within" IS A MODIFIER and NOT VERB. kindly tell me if my reasoning is faulty

thanks and regards
It had already established a federal political structure that consisted of three regions.
Here, that serves to introduce a relative CLAUSE.
By definition, a clause must contain a verb.
The verb in the that-clause -- consisted -- is in the simple past tense.
The implication is that an action further in the past (had established) is performed with regard to an action in the more recent past (consisted).
This sequence seems illogical.
To ensure a clear sequence of events, a past perfect clause on the GMAT generally will not include any other verbs.
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Re: doubt SC

by musunna » Sun Apr 05, 2020 10:23 pm

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D: It had already established a federal political structure that consisted of three regions.
Here, the combination of the past perfect (had established) and the simple past (consisted) with regard to a single event (the establishment of a federal structure) does not make sense.
The implication is that an action further in the past (had established) was performed with regard to an action in the more recent past (consisted).
This sequence is illogical.
Option D shows as correct answer in other forums too. Will we assume that 'a clear sequence of events for past perfect clause' is not always mandatory to be correct in GMAT?
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