Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
Sameer wrote:
Reporting that one of its many problems had been the recent extended sales slump in women's apparel, the seven-store retailer said it would start a three-month liquidation sale in all of its stores.
(A) its many problems had been the recent
(B) its many problems has been the recently
(C) its many problems is the recently
(D) their many problems is the recent
(E) their many problems had been the recent
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of the crucial part of this sentence is that one of the retailer's many problems had been the recent and extended sales slump in women's apparel.
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Tenses + Pronouns + Modifiers• 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 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.
• The simple present tense is used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature.
A: Correct. This answer choice correctly refers to the singular noun "retailer" with the singular pronoun "it". Further, Option A uses the phrase "recent extended sales slump"; the use of the adjective "recent" modifies the noun "sales slump", conveying the intended meaning - that the sales slump in women's apparel took place in the recent past and extended over a long period of time. Additionally, Option A correctly uses the past perfect tense verb "had been" to refer to the earlier of two actions that took place in the past -- the recent extended sales slump in women's apparel being one of the retailer's many problems and the retailer saying that it would start a three-month liquidation sale in all of its stores.
B: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "recently extended sales slump"; the use of the adverb "recently" modifies the adjective "extended", incorrectly implying that the sales slump in women's apparel was extended by someone in the recent past; the intended meaning is that the sales slump in women's apparel took place in the recent past and extended over a long period of time. Further, Option B incorrectly uses the present perfect tense verb "has been" to refer to the earlier of two actions that took place in the past -- the recent extended sales slump in women's apparel being one of the retailer's many problems and the retailer saying that it would start a three-month liquidation sale in all of its stores; please remember, 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", 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.
C: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "recently extended sales slump"; the use of the adverb "recently" modifies the adjective "extended", incorrectly implying that the sales slump in women's apparel was extended by someone in the recent past; the intended meaning is that the sales slump in women's apparel took place in the recent past and extended over a long period of time. Further, Option C incorrectly uses the simple present tense verb "is" to refer to the earlier of two actions that took place in the past -- the recent extended sales slump in women's apparel being one of the retailer's many problems and the retailer saying that it would start a three-month liquidation sale in all of its stores; please remember, 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", and the simple present tense is used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature.
D: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun "seven-store retailer" with the plural pronoun "their"; please note that in this context, "seven-store" is an adjective modifying "retailer" to convey that the singular retailer consists of seven stores. Further, Option D incorrectly uses the simple present tense verb "is" to refer to the earlier of two actions that took place in the past -- the recent extended sales slump in women's apparel being one of the retailer's many problems and the retailer saying that it would start a three-month liquidation sale in all of its stores; please remember, 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", and the simple present tense is used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature.
E: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun "seven-store retailer" with the plural pronoun "their"; please note that in this context, "seven-store" is an adjective modifying "retailer" to convey that the singular retailer consists of seven stores.
Hence, A is the best answer choice.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):
To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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