BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem
TTP OnDemand GMAT Video Course
Featured Course

Target Test Prep GMAT OnDemand

Scott Woodbury-Stewart’s private virtual classroom — 400 hours of master-class video lessons for the GMAT Focus Edition.

  • 715+ score guarantee — highest in the industry (99th percentile)
  • 52 chapters · 1,500+ lessons · 4,000+ practice questions
  • 400 hours of video · 1,500+ instructor-led HD smartboard lessons
  • 300,000+ students accepted to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Booth & Sloan & more
  • 24/7 live support + weekly Zoom office hours with GMAT instructors
  • TTP AI Assist — 24/7 AI-powered virtual tutor for instant help
  • 1,200+ flashcards + AI-powered study assistant & daily calendar
  • OnDemand, LiveTeach & GMAT Bootcamp formats available
  • Also: GRE, SAT Math & Executive Assessment courses
  • MBA Admissions Consulting now available
  • 🏆 2025 EdTech Breakthrough Award: Test Prep Solution Provider of the Year
  • 200,000+ students served
  • 5-day free trial — $0 to start, no auto-billing, cancel anytime
★★★★★ 5.0 (559 reviews)
130-pt guarantee
$0 to start then $127/mo
Start Free 5-Day Trial Read 559 Reviews →

Since and Present Perfect

Expert replies
Post new topic Locked
Previous Topic Next Topic
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 233
Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2007 3:51 pmFollowed by: 2 members
Location: New York
Thanked: 7 times
by yellowho » Fri Feb 04, 2011 11:07 pm
I've read in multiple sources that "since" signals the use of present-perfect tense. This is not the always a hard rule and there are exceptions. Below is an exception but I don't understand the rule behind this exception:

Since it successfully negotiated payments from insurers with large presence in the local market, FHS started offering digital visits.

1) Here applying the rule the sentence should be "has started." This is wrong. The suggested answer is "had negotiated" and "started." I understand why this is correct (to show sequence of events) but why isn't "negotiated" +"has started" also correct.

2) What is the difference in meaning of the two usage?
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Source: — Sentence Correction |
Legendary Member
Posts: 1337
Joined: Sat Dec 27, 2008 6:29 pmFollowed by: 10 members
Thanked: 127 times

by Night reader » Fri Feb 04, 2011 11:39 pm
yellowho wrote:I've read in multiple sources that "since" signals the use of present-perfect tense. This is not the always a hard rule and there are exceptions. Below is an exception but I don't understand the rule behind this exception:

Since it successfully negotiated payments from insurers with large presence in the local market, FHS started offering digital visits.

1) Here applying the rule the sentence should be "has started." This is wrong. The suggested answer is "had negotiated" and "started." I understand why this is correct (to show sequence of events) but why isn't "negotiated" +"has started" also correct.

2) What is the difference in meaning of the two usage?
since=because here and is used to link the sub-clause which precedes the main clause
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 641
Joined: Wed Jul 22, 2009 3:07 pmFollowed by: 45 members
Location: Madison, WI
Thanked: 162 times
GMAT Score:760

by Jim@Grockit » Mon Feb 07, 2011 12:10 am
Interesting.

"Since" can mean "from the time when" or "because"; because we don't have an indication of time on the negotiation, the (time)Since would make the present perfect awkward in the way it's awkward in Last year he has started exercising; the expectation with the present perfect is that it is recently completed or going right up until the present.
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 233
Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2007 3:51 pmFollowed by: 2 members
Location: New York
Thanked: 7 times

by yellowho » Mon Feb 07, 2011 2:35 am
hmmm. The way I interpreted this is that "from the moment the negotiation finished, FHS started offering and still does". Is that wrong? I don't think its "because."



[quote="Jim@Grockit"]Interesting.

"Since" can mean "from the time when" or "because"; because we don't have an indication of time on the negotiation, the (time)Since would make the present perfect awkward in the way it's awkward in [i]Last year he has started exercising[/i]; the expectation with the present perfect is that it is recently completed or going right up until the present.[/quote]
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Post new topic Locked
• Page 1 of 1