bounce87 wrote:President Obama got to know about the killings in Siberia during the chiefs of staff meeting at the Pentagon.
A) President Obama got to know about the killings in Siberia during the chiefs of staff meeting at the Pentagon.
B) President Obama in Siberia during the chiefs of staff meeting at the Pentagon got to know about the killings.
C) Getting to know about the killings in Siberia, President Obama, during the chiefs of staff meeting at the Pentagon.
D) During the chiefs of staff meeting at the Pentagon, President Obama got to know about the killings in Siberia.
E) At the Pentagon, President Obama got to know about the killings in Siberia during the chiefs of staff meeting.
Source: e-gmat
Can you please explain why A is wrong?
What is wrong with the placement of the prepositional phrase "during the chiefs of staff meeting"?

This is a pretty terrible example of an SC practice question. For one, no one says "chiefs of staff meeting." That is not the correct phrase in American English (which, for better or worse, is what the GMAT tests). We would saying "during a meeting with his chief of staff" (always singular) or "during a meeting with senior advisors," etc.

For another, "got to know" is both too colloquial and not properly used here. You "get to know" a person or a city you've spent time in; you don't "get to know about" an issue. It should say "he learned about," "he was briefed on," etc.

I would strongly recommend not studying SC from any sources that have such a poor command of idiomatic American English - especially anyone whose own first language is not English. This will likely cement incorrect ideas about what's tested on the GMAT, and what's correct/incorrect.