Native American burial sites dating back 5000 years indicate that the residents of Maine at that time were part of a widespread culture of Algonquian-speaking people.
(A) were part of a widespread culture of Algonquian-speaking people
(B) had been part of a widespread culture of people who were Algonquian-speaking
(C) were people who were part of a widespread culture that was Algonquian-speaking
(D) had been people who were part of a widespread culture that was Algonquian-speaking
(E) were a people which had been part of a widespread，Algonquian-speaking culture
[spoiler]As per OG E is incorrect because Were and had been are inconsistent for tenses;which is not the proper pronoun for people-wordy and imprecise.
Please explain me how were and had been is inconsistent..is it general rule [/spoiler]
5-Day Free Trial
5-day free, full-access trial TTP
Available with Beat the GMAT members only code
MORE DETAILS
OG 10- Native american burial sites
This topic has expert replies
-
glorydefined
- Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
- Posts: 43
- Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2009 9:54 am
- Thanked: 2 times
This is an old one but I am confused about the same thing. The explanation for Option E says that it is incorrect because Were and had been are inconsistent tenses. Aren't the past perfect and the simple past supposed to go together?singhag wrote:Native American burial sites dating back 5000 years indicate that the residents of Maine at that time were part of a widespread culture of Algonquian-speaking people.
(A) were part of a widespread culture of Algonquian-speaking people
(B) had been part of a widespread culture of people who were Algonquian-speaking
(C) were people who were part of a widespread culture that was Algonquian-speaking
(D) had been people who were part of a widespread culture that was Algonquian-speaking
(E) were a people which had been part of a widespread，Algonquian-speaking culture
[spoiler]As per OG E is incorrect because Were and had been are inconsistent for tenses;which is not the proper pronoun for people-wordy and imprecise.
Please explain me how were and had been is inconsistent..is it general rule [/spoiler]
-
tanviet
- Legendary Member
- Posts: 1404
- Joined: Tue May 20, 2008 6:55 pm
- Thanked: 18 times
- Followed by:2 members
had done in e is wrong because there is no sequece here. "were"can not logically in sequence with "had done"
remember, had done is used to show a sequence. if you want to use had done, you have to find/see a sequence.
remember, had done is used to show a sequence. if you want to use had done, you have to find/see a sequence.
GMAT/MBA Expert
-
ceilidh.erickson
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 2095
- Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pm
- Thanked: 1443 times
- Followed by:247 members
"Were" is the simple past tense - we use it for anything that was generally true in the past, or that happened at one specific past moment.
"Had been" is the past perfect - we use it to indicate what happened before some other past tense event:
The teacher worried about the student who had been absent the entire month. The being absent happened before the worrying.
We can use the simple past and the present perfect together in a sentence if the meaning requires that two things happen at different time periods. In this sentence, though, "they were a people" and "[they] had been part of a ... culture" should not be happening at different time periods, so we should not use two different verb tenses.
In fact, we don't need to use two different verbs at all. "They were a people who were..." would be redundant. The most logical and concise way to phrase this is "they were part of..."
"Had been" is the past perfect - we use it to indicate what happened before some other past tense event:
The teacher worried about the student who had been absent the entire month. The being absent happened before the worrying.
We can use the simple past and the present perfect together in a sentence if the meaning requires that two things happen at different time periods. In this sentence, though, "they were a people" and "[they] had been part of a ... culture" should not be happening at different time periods, so we should not use two different verb tenses.
In fact, we don't need to use two different verbs at all. "They were a people who were..." would be redundant. The most logical and concise way to phrase this is "they were part of..."
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
-
viveksingh222
- Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
- Posts: 39
- Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2012 4:15 am
- Thanked: 1 times
It is quiet simple to rule out E just remove the fluff..
then read the sentence you will find some thing like this
Residents were a people..
Thank You,
Vivek.
then read the sentence you will find some thing like this
Residents were a people..
Thank You,
Vivek.
As per the discussion here, OA is A.glorydefined wrote:let me knw if the OA is A
My take..
Native American burial sites dating back 5000 years indicate that the residents of Maine at that time were part of a widespread culture of Algonquian-speaking people.
(A) were part of a widespread culture of Algonquian-speaking people
(B) had been part of a widespread culture of people who were Algonquian-speaking //There is no past event which "had been" should be compared with.
(C) were people who were part of a widespread culture that was Algonquian-speaking //Culture can not speak english
(D) had been people who were part of a widespread culture that was Algonquian-speaking //Same as B
(E) were a people which had been part of a widespread，Algonquian-speaking culture // A People is not right
