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Being a United States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutt

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Being a United States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutt

by RBBmba@2014 » Mon Aug 24, 2015 10:31 am

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Being a United States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee has lived in England and Canada, and first came to the United States in 1961 to study at the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

(A) Being a United States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee has

(B) Having been a United States citizen since 1988, she was born in Calcutta in 1940; author Bharati Mukherjee

(C) Born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee became a United States citizen in 1988; she has

(D) Being born in Calcutta in 1940 and having been a United States citizen since 1988, author Bharati Mukherjee

(E) Having been born in Calcutta in 1940 and being a United States citizen since 1988, author Bharati Mukherjee

OA : C
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by RBBmba@2014 » Tue Sep 01, 2015 11:00 am

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@ Verbal Experts - could you please share your analysis and explanation for this SC ?

Thanks in advance!
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by GMATGuruNY » Thu Sep 03, 2015 1:48 am

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RBBmba@2014 wrote:Being a United States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee has lived in England and Canada, and first came to the United States in 1961 to study at the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

(A) Being a United States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee has

(B) Having been a United States citizen since 1988, she was born in Calcutta in 1940; author Bharati Mukherjee

(C) Born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee became a United States citizen in 1988; she has

(D) Being born in Calcutta in 1940 and having been a United States citizen since 1988, author Bharati Mukherjee

(E) Having been born in Calcutta in 1940 and being a United States citizen since 1988, author Bharati Mukherjee
An introductory VERBing modifier serves to express an action or state-of-being that happens AT THE SAME TIME as the action(s) in the following clause.
A and E: being a United States Citizen...author Bharati Mukherjee...first came to the United States.
Here, the modifier in red implies that Bharati was being a United States citizen AT THE SAME TIME as she FIRST CAME to the United States.
This meaning is nonsensical.
Eliminate A and E.

An introductory HAVING modifier serves to express an action or state-of-being that happened BEFORE the action(s) in the following clause.
B and D: having been a United States Citizen...author Bharati Mukherjee...first came to the United States.
Here, the modifier in red implies that Bharati was a United States Citizen BEFORE she FIRST CAME to the United States.
This meaning is nonsensical.
Eliminate B and D.

The correct answer is C.
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by RBBmba@2014 » Sat Sep 05, 2015 10:36 am

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Hi Mitch,
Few quick clarifications required on your above explanation-

1. I guess, instead of A and E, A and D SHOULD be grouped in same category as they BOTH start with Being . Thoughts ?

2. In E, having been born in Calcutta in 1940...author Bharati Mukherjee...first came to the United States -- isn't it OK ? Because I guess, here, the modifier in red implies that Bharati was born in Calcutta in 1940 BEFORE she FIRST CAME to the United States in 1961.

Please clarify.
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by GMATGuruNY » Sun Sep 06, 2015 5:01 am

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RBBmba@2014 wrote:Hi Mitch,
Few quick clarifications required on your above explanation-

1. I guess, instead of A and E, A and D SHOULD be grouped in same category as they BOTH start with Being . Thoughts ?

2. In E, having been born in Calcutta in 1940...author Bharati Mukherjee...first came to the United States -- isn't it OK ? Because I guess, here, the modifier in red implies that Bharati was born in Calcutta in 1940 BEFORE she FIRST CAME to the United States in 1961.

Please clarify.
D: Being born in Calcutta in 1940...
E: Having been born in Calcutta in 1940...
In these options, the words in red can be omitted without any loss of meaning, as illustrated by the OA:
Born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee became a United States citizen in 1988.
In the OA, the intended sequence -- that Bharati was born in Calcutta in 1940 BEFORE she became a US citizen in 1988 -- is crystal clear.
Since the words in red are not needed, eliminate D and E.
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by noiceman » Fri Jun 02, 2017 5:26 pm

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GMATGuruNY wrote:
RBBmba@2014 wrote:Being a United States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee has lived in England and Canada, and first came to the United States in 1961 to study at the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

(A) Being a United States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee has
(B) Having been a United States citizen since 1988, she was born in Calcutta in 1940; author Bharati Mukherjee
(C) Born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee became a United States citizen in 1988; she has
(D) Being born in Calcutta in 1940 and having been a United States citizen since 1988, author Bharati Mukherjee
(E) Having been born in Calcutta in 1940 and being a United States citizen since 1988, author Bharati Mukherjee
An introductory VERBing modifier serves to express an action or state-of-being that happens AT THE SAME TIME as the action(s) in the following clause.
A and E: being a United States Citizen...author Bharati Mukherjee...first came to the United States.
Here, the modifier in red implies that Bharati was being a United States citizen AT THE SAME TIME as she FIRST CAME to the United States.
This meaning is nonsensical.
Eliminate A and E.

An introductory HAVING modifier serves to express an action or state-of-being that happened BEFORE the action(s) in the following clause.
B and D: having been a United States Citizen...author Bharati Mukherjee...first came to the United States.
Here, the modifier in red implies that Bharati was a United States Citizen BEFORE she FIRST CAME to the United States.
This meaning is nonsensical.
Eliminate B and D.

The correct answer is C.
Hi GMATGuruNY,
Thank you for the explanation.
At first I thought "having been a United States citizen since 1988" is OK, because it is reasonable that the author became a US citizen in 1988 and till now. Now I learn from your post that I was wrong because I saw this part separately. The right way is to understand the relationship between modifier "having been a United States citizen since 1988" and the following clause, and to examine the time frame of the whole thing.
Just to make sure, I want to ask you whethe I'm right this time?
Thank you very much.
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by Mo2men » Mon Aug 07, 2017 4:13 pm

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by Mo2men » Mon Aug 07, 2017 4:14 pm

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by Mo2men » Mon Aug 07, 2017 4:15 pm

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GMATGuruNY wrote:
RBBmba@2014 wrote:Being a United States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee has lived in England and Canada, and first came to the United States in 1961 to study at the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

(A) Being a United States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee has

(B) Having been a United States citizen since 1988, she was born in Calcutta in 1940; author Bharati Mukherjee

(C) Born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee became a United States citizen in 1988; she has

(D) Being born in Calcutta in 1940 and having been a United States citizen since 1988, author Bharati Mukherjee

(E) Having been born in Calcutta in 1940 and being a United States citizen since 1988, author Bharati Mukherjee
An introductory VERBing modifier serves to express an action or state-of-being that happens AT THE SAME TIME as the action(s) in the following clause.
A and E: being a United States Citizen...author Bharati Mukherjee...first came to the United States.
Here, the modifier in red implies that Bharati was being a United States citizen AT THE SAME TIME as she FIRST CAME to the United States.
This meaning is nonsensical.
Eliminate A and E.

An introductory HAVING modifier serves to express an action or state-of-being that happened BEFORE the action(s) in the following clause.
B and D: having been a United States Citizen...author Bharati Mukherjee...first came to the United States.
Here, the modifier in red implies that Bharati was a United States Citizen BEFORE she FIRST CAME to the United States.
This meaning is nonsensical.
Eliminate B and D.

The correct answer is C.
Dear Mitch,

1- In the present perfect tense: has/have + past participle. The action began in the past and either continues to the present or is still true in the present or its effect still present. Does the same concept still apply for the modifier presented in Choice B & D "having been a United States Citizen.?? or is it just past tense and the action completed in the past??

2- In choice A, B, D & E, REGARDLESS of the whole sentence, does the modifier "Being..........and having been" or "having been ........and being" lack parallelism?

Thanks in advance for your help
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by GMATGuruNY » Tue Aug 08, 2017 8:01 am

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Mo2men wrote:Dear Mitch,

1- In the present perfect tense: has/have + past participle. The action began in the past and either continues to the present or is still true in the present or its effect still present. Does the same concept still apply for the modifier presented in Choice B & D "having been a United States Citizen.?? or is it just past tense and the action completed in the past??
having + VERBed serves to express an action that is completed before the main action and that somehow affects the main action.
The present moment is affected only if the main action is in the present.
2- In choice A, B, D & E, REGARDLESS of the whole sentence, does the modifier "Being..........and having been" or "having been ........and being" lack parallelism?

Thanks in advance for your help
This line of reasoning can be applied to A, D and E.
B: Having been a United States citizen since 1988, she was born in Calcutta in 1940.
Here, the modifier in red is not connected by and to another modifier, so parallelism is not an issue.
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by Mo2men » Tue Aug 08, 2017 10:11 am

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GMATGuruNY wrote:
having + VERBed serves to express an action that is completed before the main action and that somehow affects the main action.
The present moment is affected only if the main action is in the present.
Can you please illustrate your point with a simple example for above part in blue? Not necessarily a GMAT question.
This line of reasoning can be applied to A, D and E.
B: Having been a United States citizen since 1988, she was born in Calcutta in 1940.
Here, the modifier in red is not connected by and to another modifier, so parallelism is not an issue.
In A , D & E, "Having been .............and being......" are in form of "VERBing modifier" So concepullay they are parallel. How do they lack parallelism? Could you please shed light on the construction?

Thanks in advance for your help.
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by GMATGuruNY » Wed Aug 09, 2017 10:47 am

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Mo2men wrote:
GMATGuruNY wrote:
having + VERBed serves to express an action that is completed before the main action and that somehow affects the main action.
The present moment is affected only if the main action is in the present.
Can you please illustrate your point with a simple example for above part in blue? Not necessarily a GMAT question.
SC21 in the OG12:
Neuroscientists, having amassed a wealth of knowledge over the past twenty years about the brain and its development from birth to adulthood, are now drawing solid conclusions about how the human brain grows and how babies acquire language.
Here, the having-modifier in green expresses a past action (the amassing of knowledge over the past twenty years) that affects a present action and thus the present moment (neuroscientists are NOW drawing solid conclusions).
Having been .............and being......" are in form of "VERBing modifier" So concepullay they are parallel. How do they lack parallelism? Could you please shed light on the construction?

Thanks in advance for your help.
An introductory being-modifier is almost certain to be incorrect.
Incorrect: Being a United States citizen since 1988, author Bharati Mukherjee has lived in England and Canada.
Here, the usage of being adds no meaning.
If we omit being, the complete meaning is conveyed:
A United States citizen since 1988, author Bharati Mukherjee has lived in England and Canada.
Since an introductory being-modifier is almost certain to be incorrect, there is little chance that an introductory having-modifier will be correctly parallel with an introductory being-modifier.
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by harsh8686 » Fri May 24, 2019 10:13 am

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Hi @GMATGuruNY,

I am trying to understand the meaning of "she has lived in England and Canada"

Does it mean that Bharati Mukherjee is still living in England and Canada or does it mean that she used to live in England and Canada but her influence can still be felt?

I am asking this because according to the grammar rule, a present perfect means that either the action is continuing or has still some effect left. I kind of got lost in the last part, usage of "has", and ended up choosing a wrong answer.
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by GMATGuruNY » Fri May 31, 2019 10:10 am

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harsh8686 wrote:Hi @GMATGuruNY,

I am trying to understand the meaning of "she has lived in England and Canada"

Does it mean that Bharati Mukherjee is still living in England and Canada or does it mean that she used to live in England and Canada but her influence can still be felt?

I am asking this because according to the grammar rule, a present perfect means that either the action is continuing or has still some effect left. I kind of got lost in the last part, usage of "has", and ended up choosing a wrong answer.
One purpose of the present perfect -- has/have + VERBed -- is to express a past action that affects the present.
OA: Bharati Mukherjee...has lived in England and Canada.
Conveyed meaning:
At some time in the past, Bharati Mukherjet lived in England and Canada, and this past action somehow affects the present.
The sentence does not need to describe the effect.
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