Mo2men wrote:Timmy is learning about the war in which much of Europe will be reduced to rubble

A) Timmy is learning about the war in which much of Europe will be reduced to rubble
B) Timmy learned about the war in which much of Europe had been reduced to rubble
C) Timmy had learned about the war in which much of Europe was reduced to rubble
D) Timmy has learned about the war in which much of Europe must have been bee reduced to rubble
E) Timmy learned about the war in which much of Europe was reduced to rubble

According to Manhattan. the OA: E. In B, I argue that the sequence of events is a must. So Why B is wrong?[spoiler][/spoiler]

At 10pm, John had finished dinner.
Conveyed meaning:
John finished dinner BEFORE 10PM, with the result that AT 10PM John HAD FINISHED dinner.

B: the war in which much of Europe had been reduced to rubble
Here, which serves to refer to the war, as follows:
In the war, much of Europe had been reduced to rubble.
Conveyed meaning:
Much of Europe was reduced to rubble BEFORE THE WAR, with result that IN THE WAR much of Europe HAD BEEN REDUCED to rubble.
Not the intended meaning.

The intended meaning is that much of Europe was reduced to rubble not before the war but IN the war, as conveyed by the OA:
the war in which much of Europe was reduced to rubble.

GMATGuruNY wrote:
At 10pm, John had finished dinner.
Conveyed meaning:
John finished dinner BEFORE 10PM, with the result that AT 10PM John HAD FINISHED dinner.

Dear Mitch,

Thanks for your support.

What is difference between the following:

At 10pm, John had finished dinner.
By 10pm, John had finished dinner.

Can we accept the elimination based on the following from Manhattan SC book?

"Do not use the perfect tenses when the simple tenses will do. The GMAT prefers simplicity.
Wrong: Joe LEARNED about an epoch in which dinosaurs HAD WALKED the earth.
Right: Joe LEARNED about an epoch in which dinosaurs WALKED the earth.
In the first example, the Past Perfect had walked is unnecessary. Although the action had walked does take place earlier than the action learned, the earlier action does not have a direct bearing on the context of the later action. The sequence of time does not need to be clarified or emphasized. Thus, the Past Perfect is considered wrong in this context."

Thanks

Mo2men wrote:What is difference between the following:

At 10pm, John had finished dinner.
By 10pm, John had finished dinner.

The red modifier refers to the hours BEFORE THE CLOCK STRUCK 10PM.
At some point during this time period -- perhaps at 8pm, perhaps at 9pm -- John finished dinner.
The exact moment is unknown.
We know only that the process of finishing dinner was completed before the clock struck 10pm.

The blue modifier refers to John's situation WHEN THE CLOCK STRUCK 10PM.
At this moment, John was no longer finishing dinner.

Can we accept the elimination based on the following from Manhattan SC book?

"Do not use the perfect tenses when the simple tenses will do. The GMAT prefers simplicity.
Wrong: Joe LEARNED about an epoch in which dinosaurs HAD WALKED the earth.
Right: Joe LEARNED about an epoch in which dinosaurs WALKED the earth.
In the first example, the Past Perfect had walked is unnecessary. Although the action had walked does take place earlier than the action learned, the earlier action does not have a direct bearing on the context of the later action. The sequence of time does not need to be clarified or emphasized. Thus, the Past Perfect is considered wrong in this context."

Thanks

Looks good.