ceilidh.erickson wrote:Actually, you're not wrong. The difference is one of implication.But has been (Present Perfect)wont work here because of the word yesterday,thats what Manhattan SC says.Present perfect needs to have today in the time frame right?

If you say:
The editor of our local newspaper, who had earned much acclaim in her long career(Past perfect), was awarded(Simple past) a Pulitzer yesterday.
It's implying that her career is already over, and it was over before she received the award. This is the sort of sentence you might read in an obituary.

If you say:
The editor of our local newspaper, who has earned much acclaim in her long career, has been awarded a Pulitzer yesterday.
It implies that the career is ongoing, but the award is a completed action. This probably makes a bit more sense if the award was "yesterday" - it's more likely that her career is still going on. The "has been awarded" is implying that the effect of the award is ongoing. It would be equally correct to say "was awarded" here.

That said, the GMAT will never make you choose between two sentences like these. How would we know if her career is still going on?? There would have to be very clear meaning signals in the rest of the sentence for them to ask something like that.

ceilidh.erickson wrote:Actually, you're not wrong. The difference is one of implication.

If you say:
The editor of our local newspaper, who had earned much acclaim in her long career(Past perfect), was awarded(Simple past) a Pulitzer yesterday.
It's implying that her career is already over, and it was over before she received the award. This is the sort of sentence you might read in an obituary.

If you say:
The editor of our local newspaper, who has earned much acclaim in her long career, has been awarded a Pulitzer yesterday.
It implies that the career is ongoing, but the award is a completed action. This probably makes a bit more sense if the award was "yesterday" - it's more likely that her career is still going on. The "has been awarded" is implying that the effect of the award is ongoing. It would be equally correct to say "was awarded" here.

That said, the GMAT will never make you choose between two sentences like these. How would we know if her career is still going on?? There would have to be very clear meaning signals in the rest of the sentence for them to ask something like that.

ceilidh.erickson wrote:

Present perfect needs to have today in the time frame right?

It doesn't have to literally use the word "today." It just has to imply that the action would also be in effect today.

Consider #39 from the OG Verbal Supplement, 2nd ed. The correct answer is:

"A recent study has found that within the past few years, many doctors have elected to retire early rather than face
the threats of lawsuits and the rising costs of malpractice insurance."

The key here is "within the past few years," implying that the action is ongoing.

ceilidh.erickson wrote:Present perfect can be used to describe anything that started in the past and is ongoing, or anything whose effect is ongoing.

If I say: "I have been to Italy," it doesn't mean that I'm still going there. It means that I went there in the past, but I remember the trip, so the effect is still with me.

In your example, the effect of the award could still be ongoing.

ceilidh.erickson wrote:You're right - that does seem to be a contradiction. That's why I think your original assessment that "was awarded the Pulitzer" was better than "has been awarded."

With verb tenses in English, though, there is often not just one right answer. There are often times that you could say essentially the same thing several different ways. The biggest question to ask yourself is - are there meaning differences?