Interest rates on mortgages have declined steadily during the first six months of this year but virtually remained unchanged during the next three months.
(A) have declined steadily during the first six months of this year but virtually remained unchanged
(B) declined steadily during the first six months of this year but virtually remain unchanged
(C) steadily declined during the first six months of this year but remain virtually unchanged
(D) declined steadily during the first six months of this but have remained virtually unchanging’
(E) declined steadily during the first six months of this year but have remained virtually unchanged

I guess u meant present perfect for the second part. Anyhow, how do u know that "next three months" indicates "ends now"....shudn't all the parts be in the past.

Of the given choices, only (E) makes sense.

Simple Present will be wrong here because:
"Interest rates remain unchaged" : seems like we are trying to establsih an universal truth.

I dont think its so much a present perfect Issue as it is a "word modifier" issue.

You cannot simply say "A" is wrong because it uses "have declined". Present perfect isnt just used to show that an event started in the past and continues to date.

You can also use it to show "completion" of an event. The way to determine whether to use present perfect or simple past is to look at the adverb accompanying the verb.

In this case "during the first six months dont tell us anything".

e.g: I have done my homework.

I'm using present perfect to show the completion of the event. The same logic can be applied to "A".

I think "virtually" should modify unchanged and not remain. Therefore A, B are eliminated.

C is wrong because of "steadily declined". It should be declined steadily. Modifier issue again.

Between D, E the AC D is wrong because of "unchanging".

Therefore the AC is E.

Although the simple-past Vs persent perfect rule brings you to the same AC i dont think you can figure out why "simple past" should be used for the "first sixx months" and present perfect be used for the "next three months".

The time marker "during the first six months" and "during the next three months" doesnt explicitly tell you whether you need simple past or present perfect. A case could be made for both simple past & present perfect for the "first six months" and "next three months".


If some of the SC Gurus chime in that would be much appreciated. I think it would benefit everyone if we reached genernal consensus on this important "tense" Vs modifier issue in this question

I was under the same impression as you were.....Take a look at the following thread:

http://www.gmatclub.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=15416

I posted a similiar question. See HongHu's response.

I dont agree. Using adverb like this only changes the emphasis on the meaning of the sentence.

Regarding Present Tense Issue: What do you think about this sentence? Dont you think that Present Perfect will convey it more precisely?

Interest rates on mortgages remain virtually unchanged during the (next) three months.

My bad read remainED instead of remain in Option B.

E has be correct and is the given OA.

Saurabh Malpani

Regarding the position of adverb as per jpv's comment, adverbs are rather flexible. They can be located before or after the verb/adjective they intend to modify. Read the "position of adverb" here: http://cctc.commnet.edu/grammar/adverbs.htm

I agree with gmataquaguy's elimination of A,B and D.
However, C is not eliminated because of the adverb position as shown in the above link. Instead, it should be because of verb tense structure. The whole sentence starts in the past perfect tense and suddenly reverts to the present tense and this is unwarranted. E is best.
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Best Regards,

Paul

There is no specific rule but you have to keep it as simple as possible according to the context.
C goes from simple past to present and this a breach of grammar as far as logic is concerned in this excerpt. Nothing warrants this transition and keep verb tenses parallel.
E goes from simple past to present perfect and this is fine. Why? Because remember that present perfect is very much linked to the past: It describes an ongoing or completed action which started in the past. Do not be misled by the fact that the verb tense says "present" perfect. It really has more to do with the past tense than the present one.
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Best Regards,

Paul

Hmmm, I did not see this... Please guys, let's be nice to each other and not say hurtful comments which may offend one another. I respect both of you and believe that you are both valued members of gmatclub and let's learn from each other in a constructive way. Thank you.
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Best Regards,

Paul