V04-38

bunnel
i thought
due to presence of 'Before the subprime crisis weakened '
had been and 'was' both seem ok here grammatically
but was is a more preferred scenario if we have a option
am i right??

Note that we do not always use the Past Perfect for earlier actions. In general, you should use Past Perfect only to clarify or emphasize a sequence of past events. The earlier event should somehow have a bearing on the context of the later event. Moreover, if the sequence is already obvious, we often do not need Past Perfect.

Right: Antonio DROVE to the store and BOUGHT some ice cream.

We already know that drove happened before bought. A sequence of verbs with the same subject does not require Past Perfect. Rather, use the Simple Past for all the verbs.

Clauses linked by and or but do not require the Past Perfect as a general rule.

Right: Laura LOCKED the deadbolt before she LEFT for work.

Likewise, we already know that locked happens before left because of the word before. The words before
and after indicate the sequence of events clearly and emphatically enough to make the use of the Past
Perfect unnecessary.

Similarly in the current sentence, the order is indicated by before and had been is a strict NO-NO.

Before the subprime crisis weakened the housing market, America, with its state of the art infrastructure and with multiple job opportunities for expats, was one of the most popular destinations for foreign investment.

The reference for the above material is in MGMAT SC.

Brent had never been to an opera before last night. (specified time in the past)

The above sentence should also then use past simple, not past perfect?

I am very disappointed by the quality of the SC questions, their inconsistent answer choices decision points and their explanations. For example in your expert post, you blatantly contradict yourself, giving an example in the beginning that uses "had been" with "before". Later on, you give the reader a warning to not use "had been" with "before". While I've done the whole group of 700+ SC questions, I felt more confused then before. You don't seem to have a clear understanding of the rules involved in SC, and as a result you cannot apply them in a consistent fashion. Your set of SC questions needs serious rethinking. I will not recommend anyone to study after the GMAT Club SCs.

I am not sure whether I understood your concern correctly. I do not see any issue with this question (or the OA / OE). Using past perfect along with words such as "before" and "after" is considered redundant. For this reason E is the correct answer. The same has been explained (correctly) in OE. Could you elaborate why you consider that there is a problem with this question?

P.S.: Questionable examples were cited in a subsequent post, seemingly an oversight. But conceptually both experts point at the same concept, which the subject question tests - Thus I do not see why you would consider the OA or OE confusing. The question is absolutely alright. (I have removed those two examples.)

Hi Bunuel,

this question needs some serious rethinking, as per egmat course (which I have completed) the using past perfect tense with "before" or "after" is optional it is not redudant as some person marked here.

This question needs some rethinking or the explanation.

I think this is a high-quality question and I don't agree with the explanation. The past perfect tense does not make the option incorrect. Both past perfect tense and past tense can be used even if the sentence conveys the intended meaning either by using before or after.

I think this is a high-quality question and the explanation isn't clear enough, please elaborate. because of "before",which makes it clear to realise time order, do we have to opt for E in place of A, but how can we decide which one is true in other questions? is there any obvious way to understand it is neccessary to deploy past perfect?

Why is "had been" wrong in this sentence?

Before the introduction of butterscotch flavor, chocolate had been my favorite ice-cream flavor. But, after the store started stocking butterscotch, this has now become my new favorite flavor.

What is wrong in this example? Isn't this similar to the question?

'Had been' is redundant because the sentence starts with 'Before'.

Yes, I've done the egmat course as well which clearly states that using past perfect along with a sequence marker is NOT REDUNDANT. egmat There seems to be a conflict here.

I would disagree with this analogy. In this case, the time of the action is defined (it happened right before she left) and the sentence describes single action. on the other hand, the problem says that before the crises, maybe from the beginning of time (time is not difined) ...

I think past perfect must be used here, otherwise it would not be gramatically correct.

analogy would be: before crises, Laura had never been in the US. You can not say "Laura never was in the US".

Posted from my mobile device

Hi all, daagh

I am comparing this question with the one posted below where past perfect is preferable choice even when sequence is clear.

the-idea-that-earth-was-a-ball-of-expanding-mass-never-drew-102260. Am I missing any here?.

The idea that earth was a ball of expanding mass never drew any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts transformed the indifference into one of interest, though the concept of drift itself was ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift.

(A) was a ball of expanding mass never drew any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts transformed the indifference into one of interest , though the concept of drift itself was ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift

(B) is a ball of expanding mass had never drawn any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts transformed the indifference into one of interest, though the concept of drift itself was ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift

(C) was a ball of expanding mass did never draw any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts has transformed the indifference into one of interest, though the concept of drift itself has been ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift

(D) was a ball of expanding mass never drew any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts transformed this apathetic indifference into one of interest, though the concept of drift itself was ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift

(E) is a ball of expanding mass had never drawn any takers until the well documented phenomenon of continental drifts transformed the indifference into one of interest, though the concept of drift itself had been ignored until physicists produced compelling evidence to prove the occurrence of drift

I agree with you that it is optional; Optional means one has the choice either to use it or leave it. It doesn’t mean one should not do it. I chose to use it, because the past perfect renders the sequence explicit while not using it may leave it implicit. In addition, there are a number of instances in official GMAT in which the past perfect in spite of the presence sequence - markers is still used.
Please look at the following example

She was less successful after she had emigrated to New York compared to her native Germany, photographer Lotte Jacobi nevertheless earned a small group of discerning admirers, and her photographs were eventually exhibited in prestigious galleries across the United States.

A) She was less successful after she had emigrated to New York compared to

B) Being less successful after she had emigrated to New York as compared to

C) Less successful after she emigrated to New York than she had been in

D) Although she was less successful after emigrating to New York when compared to

E) She had been less successful after emigrating to New York than in

Ans : C. The sequence marker ‘ after’ is very much there in C; still the OA uses the past perfect ‘had been’.
There are many more such instances. So, I thought it would be crystal clear to use the past perfect.
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-bb

I think this is a high-quality question and I agree with explanation.