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SC verb tense problem...e-gmat

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SC verb tense problem...e-gmat

by rommysingh » Sat Sep 12, 2015 6:33 am
Question text

Since none of the major airlines finalized the deal of Bombardier CSeries airplanes, the investors, who had hoped to see such a deal, pushed Bombardier's shares down 33 cents to $4.41 in midday trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

A. finalized the deal of Bombardier CSeries airplanes, the investors, who had hoped to see such a deal,
B. have finalized the deal of Bombardier CSeries airplanes, the investors, who had hoped to see such a deal,

Why isn't option B correct as Since word implies action is continued
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by MartyMurray » Sat Sep 12, 2015 11:00 pm
rommysingh wrote:Why isn't option B correct as Since word implies action is continued
The word since can be used in multiple ways.

One way to use since is to define a time period, as is done in the example below.

Since John started running regularly, he has lost weight continuously.

The time period started when John started running and continues currently. So using the present perfect form that includes has makes sense here.

The other use of the word since is as a synonym for because, and that is how it is used in the sentence in the question being discussed here. We could use because instead, to create this.

Because none of the major airlines finalized the deal of Bombardier CSeries airplanes

Because since is not being used to define a time period in this case, the use of since does not have any bearing on the verb tense to be used.

While I have heard that the word "since" is not used in official GMAT questions, I still find what is being discussed here highlights something key for getting GMAT SC questions right. You need to be careful that any rule or concept you are seeking to apply truly applies to what is going on in the sentence of the question. Often people will simply break an SC sentence into pieces and seek to apply rules to those pieces without really considering the sentence in its entirety, and their SC hit rates suffer as a result.

In handling this SC question, for instance, if one were to read the entire sentence, figuring out its meaning, even if one were not totally clear about the two uses of the word "since", probably one would be able to figure out that the since at the beginning of the sentence is not being used to define a time period and so the use of since is not a clue that the present perfect, or have form, is required.
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by nikhilgmat31 » Fri Sep 18, 2015 10:26 pm
rommysingh wrote:Question text

Since none of the major airlines finalized the deal of Bombardier CSeries airplanes, the investors, who had hoped to see such a deal, pushed Bombardier's shares down 33 cents to $4.41 in midday trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

A. finalized the deal of Bombardier CSeries airplanes, the investors, who had hoped to see such a deal,
B. have finalized the deal of Bombardier CSeries airplanes, the investors, who had hoped to see such a deal,

Why isn't option B correct as Since word implies action is continued
Please post the full question
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