The widely accepted big-bang theory holds that the universe began in a

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that according to the big-bang theory, the universe began during an explosive instant 10 to 20 billion years ago and has been expanding ever since.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Tenses + Parallelism + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• Any elements linked by a conjunction (“and” in this sentence) must be parallel.
• The simple present continuous tense is used to refer to actions that are currently ongoing and continuous in nature.
• The simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past.
• Past perfect continuous tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had/have been") is used when a sentence contains two actions in past and one action is in greater past as well as continuous in nature; the helping verb "had been" is used with the action that is in the greater past and continuous in nature.
• The past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past".
• The present perfect continuous tense (marked by "has/have been") is the correct tense to refer to actions that started in past and continue into the present.
• The present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present.

A: Correct. This answer choice uses the clause "the universe began in an explosive instant...and has been expanding", conveying the intended meaning - that the beginning of the universe took place during an explosive instant in time. Further, Option A correctly uses the simple past tense verb "began" to refer to an action that concluded in the past. Moreover, Option A correctly uses the present perfect continuous tense verb "has been expanding" to refer to an action that began in the past and continues into the present. Additionally, Option A maintains parallelism between the active verbs "began" and "has been expanding". Besides, Option A is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

B: This answer choice incorrectly uses the past perfect continuous tense verb "had been expanding" to refer to an action that began in the past and continues into the present; please remember, the present perfect continuous tense (marked by "has/have been") is the correct tense to refer to actions that started in past and continue into the present, and the past perfect continuous tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had/have been") is used when a sentence contains two actions in past and one action is in greater past as well as continuous in nature; the helping verb "had been" is used with the action that is in the greater past and continuous in nature. Further, Option B incorrectly uses the past perfect tense verb to refer to the sole action in the sentence that concluded in the past; remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past, and the past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past".

C: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the clause "the beginning of the universe was an explosive instant...that has expanded"; the construction of this clause illogically suggests that the beginning of the universe was, itself, an explosive instant in time; the intended meaning is that the beginning of the universe took place during an explosive instant in time. Further, Option C incorrectly uses the present perfect tense verb "has expanded" to refer to an action that began in the past and continues into the present; remember, the present perfect continuous tense (marked by "has/have been") is the correct tense to refer to actions that started in past and continue into the present, and the present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present.

D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "to have been an explosive instant...that is expanding"; the construction of this phrase illogically suggests that the beginning of the universe was, itself, an explosive instant in time; the intended meaning is that the beginning of the universe took place during an explosive instant in time. Further, Option D incorrectly uses the simple present continuous tense verb "is expanding" to refer to an action that began into the past and continues into the present; please remember, the present perfect continuous tense (marked by "has/have been") is the correct tense to refer to actions that started in past and continue into the present, and the simple present continuous tense is used to refer to actions that are currently ongoing and continuous in nature. Additionally, Option D uses the passive voice construction "to have been an explosive instant", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

E: This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism between the infinitive verb form "to have begun" and the active verb "has been expanding"; please remember, any elements linked by a conjunction ("and" in this sentence) must be parallel. Further, Option E uses the passive voice construction "to have begun", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

Hence, A is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Perfect Continuous Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



To understand the concept of "Past Perfect Tense" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



To understand the concept of "Present Perfect Tense" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team

The widely accepted big bang theory holds that the universe began in an explosive instant ten to twenty billion years ago and has been expanding ever since.

(A) that the universe began in an explosive instant ten to twenty billion years ago and has been expanding

(B) that the universe had begun in an explosive instant ten to twenty billion years ago and had been expanding

(C) that the beginning of the universe was an explosive instant ten to twenty billion years ago that has expanded

(D) the beginning of the universe to have been an explosive instant ten to twenty billion years agothat is expanding

(E) the universe to have begun in an explosive instant ten to twenty billion years ago and has been expanding

The above (Opt A) is correct. 2 of the wrong options used the relative pronoun "that":
"... that the beginning of the universe was an explosive instant 10-20 billion years ago that has expanded"
"...the beginning of the universe to have been an explosive instant 10 to 20 billion years ago that is expanding"
In the first wrong choice above, the OG says that describes "instant" (which is illogical) but in the second, the OG says "that" refers to "beginning". Why does "that" refer to different things and when how can we tell to what it is referring? (I have tons of problems with "that"!)

Thanks!

The widely accepted big bang theory holds that the universe began in an explosive instant ten to twenty billion years ago and has been expanding ever since.

(A) that the universe began in an explosive instant ten to twenty billion years ago and has been expanding
"That" is appropriate. "Began" and "has been" are the correct tense in parallelism. Contender

(B) that the universe had begun in an explosive instant ten to twenty billion years ago and had been expanding
"That" is appropriate. "had been expanding" changes meaning. It means to say that it is no longer expanding. Eliminate

(C) that the beginning of the universe was an explosive instant ten to twenty billion years ago that has expanded
"That the beginning" is OK. but the "was an explosive instant.." seems to modify universe and not the beginning. Eliminate.

(D) the beginning of the universe to have been an explosive instant ten to twenty billion years agothat is expanding
"That" is missing for "the beginning". "Billion years ago that..." seems to be modified by "is expanding". Eliminate

(E) the universe to have begun in an explosive instant ten to twenty billion years ago and has been expanding
"That" is missing for "the universe". Wrong parallelism. "to have begun" Vs "Has been expanding". Eliminate

Hi, hope you're doing great

I agree that the best answer is the A because it express the intended meaning of the sentence.

But, the clause *and has been expanding ever since* is an independent clause, and hence we need a subject such as "it" in order to refer to the universe?

Thanks for your kind help

Bests

Hi, This is an OG question-

The widely accepted big bang theory holds that the universe began in an explosive instant ten to twenty billion years ago and has been expanding ever since.

My analysis:

The above sentence sounds correct, however I am trying to answer the parallelism requirement in my mind.

big bang theory holds that
the universe began in an explosive instant AND
(the universe) has been expanding ever since.
For idiom X and Y, X and Y need not be parallel to each other? If No, Can 2 parallel constructions be in 2 different tenses? (began & has been expanding, in this case)

What am I missing in this analysis? I look forward to your response.

Thanks!

Sreeram

In general you do not need both parts of the parallelism to be of the same tense. It is enough that both parts are actually conjugated verbs.

In this case, the universe is the subject to both conjugated verbs. You do not need to repeat the subject. You broke it down just fine.

Hi Sreeram,

Thanks for posting your query here.

It is absolutely okay for parallel verbs to be in different tenses. The only thing that matters is that the subject of both the verbs should be the same.

Remember that verb tenses show the time at which the action took place. It is possible that the same subject performs two actions that take place at different times. For example: Mary finished her finals yesterday and is graduating next week.

I hope this helps!

Regards,
Meghna

The widely accepted big bang theory holds that the
universe began in an explosive instant ten to twenty
billion years ago and has been expanding ever since.

In the e- gmat application file -1, a similar question is asked. and it is told that if "since" is there in the sentence ,"past/present perfect" is correct choice. However, in the question above , the present perfect continuous tense is used. I do understand that meaning of sentence intends a continuous action, however, "ever since" also tells us that action is started in past and continues in present. this is perfect case for present perfect tense. then why presnt perfect is not correct answer choice.
Also clarify whether the present perfect as well as present perfect continious are both right forms of tense that should be used in sentence like the one above.

When an action starts in the past and continues until now, it is definitely not a proper context to use the past perfect tense. The past perfect tense is used when an action happens before another action in the past. For example:
When I came to the station, me friends HAD already DEPARTED.

From what I understand the present perfect tense cannot be used to refer to an action that started in the past and 'continues' into the present. We must use the present perfect continuous tense in such cases. The present perfect, AFAIK, refers to completed actions that were completed at an unspecific time in the past. If the time is specified then we need to go with the simple past tense.

Hi Abhijit,

Thanks for posting your query here.

The present perfect tense is used to refer to an action that is complete, while the present perfect continuous tense is used to refer to an action that is not yet complete.

For example:

1. She has written a book.
2. She has been writing a book.

The first means that she has finished writing the book, and the second means that she is still writing the book.

In this question, the meaning is not that the universe has finished expanding, but that it is still expanding. So, we need the present perfect continuous tense.

Both forms of tense are correct and should be used in accordance with the intended meaning of the sentence.

I hope this helps to clarify your doubt!

Regards,
Meghna

Like most of my strategies for RC, I approach this SC question with "what is the intended meaning of the statement?" Clearly, the author is trying to explain what some theory says about something related to the universe. If you take a "meaning" approach, you need to make some assumptions, in this case about the subject at hand: properties of the universe.

A) began properly modifies "the universe" and "AND has been" properly modifies "the universe", if we understand the intended meaning, we know that the author wants to tell us that the universe is, in fact, STILL expanding. Thus, "the universe" is properly modified.

B) An initial assesment cannot rule out that "had begun" correctly modifies "the universe", but as we read further we notice that "AND had been expanding" inproperly modifies the universe such that the meaning now is "whatever happened THEN is not happening NOW". As we are using a "meanings" strategy, and we know that what this option implies is NOT the intended meaning of the sentence, we know that this option is wrong.

C) "beginning of" modifies "the universe" in such a way that it focuses the sentence around the universe's specific point of inception. Have this in mind as you read the rest of the sentence. "that has expanded" wrongly omits AND, thus "that has expanded" modifies "an explosive instant" and NOT "the universe", and clearly this goes against the intended meaning of the sentence. Also, "that has expanded" uses past tense in the wrong way anyway, given the intent of the sentence. All in all, C) specifically focuses on the inception of the universe and explains an explosion that is related to the inception, this is not the intended meaning of the author.

D) The usage of "to have been" makes it seem as if the beginning of the universe actually was an explosive instant.. This is not the intended meaning of the author. The universe began in an explosive instant but the beginning in itself was NOT an explosive instant. Also, the option once again omits "AND", thus "is expanding" modifies instant and not universe.. This is wrong according to the intended meaning of the author.

E) "to have begun" is not the correct way to modify "the universe", since universe is singular and not plural. If we're going to use such an expression, we use "HAD begun". So this answer choice is faulty from a gramatical point of view and not necessarily a "meanings" POV.

The widely accepted big-bang theory holds that the universe began in an explosive instant 10 to 20 billion years ago and has been expanding ever since.
A. that the universe began in an explosive instant 10 to 20 billion years ago and has been expanding
B. that the universe had begun in an explosive instant 10 to 20 billion years ago and had been expanding
C. that the beginning of the universe was an explosive instant 10 to 20 billion years ago that has expanded
D. the beginning of the universe to have been an explosive instant 10 to 20 billion years ago that is expanding
E. the universe to have begun in an explosive instant 10 to 20 billion years ago and has been expanding

Intended meaning:
Big bang started some time in distance past and universe expansion is still continue...
A. correctly demonstrates the meaning.
B.had been expanding...means expansion is over...Incorrect.
C.has expanded...means expansion is over...Incorrect.
D.illogically suggests that beginning is expanding, not the universe....Incorrect.
E.have begun and has been expanding are not parallel....Incorrect.

I appreciate inputs on the below query.

The widely accepted big bang theory holds that the universe began in an explosive instant ten to twenty billion years ago and has been expanding ever since.
(D)the beginning of the universe to have been an explosive instant ten to twenty billion years ago that is expanding
I have a question regarding the option D.

Can a "that" modifier modify the noun inside a prepositional phrase? Because, if that's is true then that modifies explosive instant.
As per my knowledge , i haven't come across any rule which says it cant.

According to OE "illogically suggests that beginning is expanding, not the universe". So as per OE , the modified entity here is "beginning.

Regards.

Hi JarvisR,

Thanks for posting your doubt.

Yes, a relative pronoun modifier can very well modify a noun in a prepositional phrase, and this construction is way too common in official sentences.

Well, in choice D, "that" may refer to "an explosive instant" as well. But both the modifications lead to illogical meaning.

Hope this helps.
Thanks.
SJ

Lets draw the time line. at last ever since is given. means it is still going on. so ' has been expending' will be correct. B,C and D eliminate.


A. that the universe began in an explosive instant 10 to 20 billion years ago and has been expanding - correct.
B. that the universe had begun in an explosive instant 10 to 20 billion years ago and had been expanding - means expending stopped wrong
C. that the beginning of the universe was an explosive instant 10 to 20 billion years ago that has expanded - means one time expended, wrong
D. the beginning of the universe to have been an explosive instant 10 to 20 billion years ago that is expanding wrong
E. the universe to have begun in an explosive instant 10 to 20 billion years ago and has been expanding. very wrong sentence .holds the universe ??

The Universe is still expanding = YES

So the correct tense form will be "is/has" +"Expanding"

B,C, are out. Both uses wrong tense. had been expanding & has expanded

A,D,E remaining.

D is out because it says "explosive instant that is expanding"....wrong the universe is expanding. "That " is incorrectly modifying "explosive instant" rather than "universe". D also has passive voice. Not preferred when you can use a concise active voice.

E is out because of passive voice. Past participle "to have begun" can be avoided .
Option A remains which is perfect and error free