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The results of the company’s cost-cutting measures

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The results of the company’s cost-cutting measures

by rx_11 » Sun Nov 07, 2010 9:23 am
The results of the company's cost-cutting measures are evident in its profits, which increased 5 percent during the fi rst 3 months of this year after it fell over the last two years.

(A) which increased 5 percent during the fi rst 3 months of this year after it fell
(B) which had increased 5 percent during the fi rst 3 months of this year after it had fallen
(C) which have increased 5 percent during the fi rst 3 months of this year after falling
(D) with a 5 percent increase during the fi rst 3 months of this year after falling
(E) with a 5 percent increase during the fi rst 3 months of this year after having fallen













OA is C
I have a question about this choice. Why does the answer use PRESENT PERFECT here? I have been taught that the present perfect tense describes an action that occurred at an indefinite time in the past or that began in the past and continues into the present. How does this answer fit this principle?? Hope someone can explain :?
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by frank1 » Sun Nov 07, 2010 6:23 pm
Well i came down to C:
2/3 split which v/s with a
Which clearly describes profit here
B should go as it is
past perfect......past perfect
A and C left
In addition to other reasons,i crossed A becuase of 'it' as well .....all plural so 'it' should be 'they' even to be candidate

In C, i think it has been used in sense that ......'it was falling ...' which is not present.

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by saurabh_maths » Sun Nov 07, 2010 7:43 pm
IMO its shd be A.

B uses past perfect in the both the places which is not required.
C incorretcly implies that profits are still falling
D,E implies that results got a 5% increase.
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by rx_11 » Mon Nov 08, 2010 12:55 am
Can anyone explain why we use PRESENT PERFECT here??
I think the action of 'profit increased" neither happened in an indefinite time in the past, nor began in the past and continues into the present........SOS
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by e-GMAT » Mon Nov 08, 2010 6:11 am
Hi rx_11,

Your definition of present perfect tense is correct. However, one more key aspect needs to be included. Present perfect tense is also used for events that happened sometime in the past but whose effects still continue into the present.

As an example, "The teacher has posted solutions on the board"

In this sentence, the action of actually posting the solutions is completed. However the effect of that action is still on. And that is why present perfect tense is used.

Contrast this with "The teacher posted solutions on the board"
In this sentence, we know the teacher completed the action of posting solutions. But we are not certain whether the effect is still on. That is whether the solutions are still posted or not.

On similar lines,
"profits have increased" in the sentence in question implies that profits increased in the past but the effect is still on. In essence, no other action happened to the profits - they are still in that increased state.

I hope this helps.

For e-GMAT users, this along with other examples has been used to explain the concept of present perfect tenses in the concept titled "Verb Tenses - I".

Regards,

Payal
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by rx_11 » Tue Nov 09, 2010 1:24 am
Hi~e-gmat~How about this question?

Even though Clovis points, spear points with longitudinal grooves chipped onto their faces, have been found all over North America, they are named for the New Mexico site where they were fi rst discovered in 1932.

(A) Even though Clovis points, spear points with longitudinal grooves chipped onto their faces, have been found all over North America, they are named for the New Mexico site where they were fi rst discovered in 1932.
(B) Although named for the New Mexico site where fi rst discovered in 1932, Clovis points are spear points of longitudinal grooves chipped onto their faces and have been found all over North America.
(C) Named for the New Mexico site where they have been fi rst discovered in 1932, Clovis points, spear points of longitudinal grooves chipped onto the faces, have been found all over North America.
(D) Spear points with longitudinal grooves that are chipped onto the faces, Clovis points, even though named for the New Mexico site where fi rst discovered in 1932, but were found all over North America.
(E) While Clovis points are spear points whose faces have longitudinal grooves chipped into them, they have been found all over North America, and named for the New Mexico site where they have been fi rst discovered in 1932.













OA is A
What's wrong with C?? The OE says that Have been first discovered is the wrong tense, since the discovery is a discrete event completed in the past..But I think the effect of this action is still on.. Why we should not use present perfect here?
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by e-GMAT » Tue Nov 09, 2010 4:48 am
Hi rx_11,

From the meaning of the sentence, the action of "were first discovered in 1932" is indeed a DISCRETE event in the past. Notice the phrase "in 1932". This phrase indicates that this action took place at a certain time in the past time frame.

Present perfect tense is considered correct for the action of "found". Essentially the sentence implies the following (only partial meaning shown)
The Clovis Points have been found in all of North America since they were first discovered at a New Mexico site in 1932.

There are multiple actions in this sentence:
1: Clovis points have been found
2: they are named
3: They were first discovered in 1932

So if we sequence these events: We come up with the following chronological sequence:
1: They were first discovered in 1932
2: Clovis points have been found
3: they are named

Thus, the discovery of Clovis points took place in 1932 in Mexico. Once discovered, these points were then found all over North America.

Thus, as you can see there is an action - found - that took place after the action of discovery in a certain location. This also implies that the effect of "discovery" is no longer on since another action on the same object - Clovis points - has already taken place.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

Payal
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by rx_11 » Tue Nov 09, 2010 5:35 am
Thanks very much e-GMAT.

In your opinion, are there any other errors in C except the tense problem??
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by e-GMAT » Tue Nov 09, 2010 7:22 am
Choice C does not communicate the intended contrast in the original choice.

Original Sentence:
  • Even though Clovis points are found all over North America
    they are named for the site where they were first discovered.
The contrast is clearly evident in the original sentence.

Choice C:
Two facts about Clovis points:
  • They are named for the site where they were first discovered
    They have been found all over North America
This choice is worded to state these two statements as independent facts about Clovis points. Hence the intended contrast is not expressed in this sentence.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

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by rx_11 » Tue Nov 09, 2010 10:12 pm
Hi, e-GMAT.

Could you say something more about what is "intended meaning"? Do you mean that we should always keep the original meaning and do not change the meaning as choice A express? But what if the author did not want to express the contrast and he/she just wanted to cite these two statement as independent facts? I mean how can we know about the author's intended meaning??

Moreover, another expert has written something in this post:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/toughest-que ... tml#315339, and he cited that

" I think that people are reaching for something when they say that they will eliminate a choice because it changes the meaning.

Let me be clear - there are not official GMAT questions that are perfect in Grammar and in Logic that can be eliminated because you change the meaning of the sentence.

..........

We can just eliminate a choice if it is illogical."

In this question, C has no grammer error(despite the tense problem) and just changes the original meaning and I think it is also logical. So could you plz clarify it?? Can we change the original meaning logically?
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