VeritasPrepKarishma wrote:
Avinashs87 wrote:
Thanks! While I understand GMAT does not preferring, E made much more sense. Thanks for the clarification.
Here is the thing about "being" - it is an absolutely acceptable word in English language so it is odd to think that a particular institute does not favour it!
The reason many sentences with the word "being" are incorrect is that we often use this word incorrectly in our day-to-day language.
For example,
Being a doctor, he is very well respected.
This is incorrect because he is not "being" a doctor; he "is" a doctor.
But there are correct ways of using ‘being’. Since most students believe that ‘being’ is wrong, don’t trust the GMAC to not use this nugget of information to misdirect the test takers. The correct answers of questions at higher ability are worded in such a way that they make the test takers uncomfortable!
So how is ‘being’ used correctly?
‘Being’ is used to express a temporary state.
The little boy started screaming when he saw his dog being impounded.
‘Being impounded’ is a temporary state and would be over – unlike being a doctor. So the use of being is correct here.
In the original question, the company is not "being" a year ahead. It would be a year ahead in introducing and that won't change.
That said, option (D) "by a year earlier" doesn't work either. The SC is certainly from a non standard source and not worth your time and effort.
Verb+ing structure could have various functions:
1. Present continuous: I am going to school. I am being good.
2. Gerund: I hate going to school. I hate being good.
3. Present participle: I made my father happy, going to school regularly. I made my father happy, being good to the poor.
I cannot see any reason that "go+ing" would be correct in the above 3 cases, but "be+ing" would not be. Only the items 1 and 3 above depicts the sense of "temporary state" for the word "being". Item 2 is a general truth; yet I would consider the statement correct.
The usage of "being" in option E falls under the category 2 above (gerund). Hence probably the usage is grammatically not quite wrong for the same reason that " I hate being good" is not wrong.
Another example:
Being happy is the ultimate objective of living.
Here "being happy" is not a temporary state, but a general truth. Would you consider this sentence wrong then?