Simple past or present perfect for "recent" event.

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At a recent conference, the Transit Authority has stated that the provisions in the clean air act fail to promote mass transit as an alternative to private transportation.

A)has stated that the provision in the Clean Air Act fail
b)stated that the provisions of the Clean Air Act fail
c)has stated that the provisions of the clean air act will fail
d) stated that the provisions in the Clean Air Act are a failure
e)has stated the provisions in the Clean Air Act failed


My doubt is "At a recent conference" -> Simple past or present perfect tense?

Whenever i see "Recent", i am confused whether to go for simple past(event over) or present perfect (even just got over)?.

How do u decide b/w using these two tenses?.

This question is from a Kaplan Test.

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by heshamelaziry » Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:47 pm
Between b and c, I will pick B. C indicates a future occurrence, but this not supported any where in the sentence; many times the test makers' put a strong indicator of events that will happen in the future.

Also, Recently, implies a specific time in the past, here it means"was not too long ago". So, we use simple past.

Also, "have" is used for an action that is still happening or for an action that took place at an unspecified time in the past, finished, but still has an ongoing effect.

Here the chairman words do not qualify for any of the conditions.
this is from my experience in SC.
Last edited by heshamelaziry on Sat Oct 17, 2009 10:49 am, edited 3 times in total.

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by Shawshank » Sat Oct 17, 2009 10:13 am
IMO -- B
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by ikruz » Sat Oct 17, 2009 8:09 pm
heshamelaziry wrote:Between b and c, I will pick B. C indicates a future occurrence, but this not supported any where in the sentence; many times the test makers' put a strong indicator of events that will happen in the future.

Also, Recently, implies a specific time in the past, here it means"was not too long ago". So, we use simple past.

Also, "have" is used for an action that is still happening or for an action that took place at an unspecified time in the past, finished, but still has an ongoing effect.

Here the chairman words do not qualify for any of the conditions.
this is from my experience in SC.
Thanks heshamelaziry.

The OA is indeed B)