NEW HERE? LEARN MORE
closeclose
Last visit was: 24 Apr 2024, 11:51 It is currently 24 Apr 2024, 11:51
Decision Tracker
My Rewards
New posts
New comers' posts

Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel

The manager of regional sales spoke with distributors about the late

SORT BY:
Date
Kudos
Tags:
Find Similar Topics 
Show Tags
Hide Tags
User avatar
gmattokyo
Manager
Manager
Joined: 18 Aug 2009
Posts: 214
Own Kudos [?]: 1622 [40]
Given Kudos: 9
Send PM
The manager of regional sales spoke with distributors about the late [#permalink] New post   Updated on: 16 Jan 2019, 04:31
6
Kudos
34
Bookmarks
00:00
A
B
C
D
E

Difficulty:

65% (hard)

Question Stats:

51% (01:29) correct 49% (01:38) wrong based on 1462 sessions
Hide Show timer Statistics
The manager of regional sales spoke with distributors about the late shipment and, after a lengthy and somewhat heated discussion, the freight fee was subsequently reduced.


A. spoke with the distributors about the late shipment and, after a lengthy and somewhat heated discussion, the freight fee was subsequently reduced

B. spoke to the distributors about the late shipment and, after a lengthy and somewhat heated discussion, the freight fee was subsequently reduced

C. had spoken with the distributors about the late shipment and, after a lengthy and somewhat heated discussion, the freight fee was subsequently reduced

D. spoke with the distributors regarding the late shipment and, after a lengthy and somewhat heated discussion, the freight fee was subsequently reduced

E. spoke to the distributors with regards to the late shipment and, after a lengthy and somewhat heated discussion, the freight fee was subsequently reduced


Show Spoiler
Sharing some SCs from a recent mock test (thought that u may or may not get the same q when you take the same mock and that it'd be a good practice for all... ). Please post some explanation with the answers.

Attachment:
clubPlaceholder.JPG
clubPlaceholder.JPG [ 55.56 KiB | Viewed 20583 times ]
ShowHide Answer
Official Answer
B

Originally posted by gmattokyo on 31 Oct 2009, 23:19.
Last edited by Bunuel on 16 Jan 2019, 04:31, edited 1 time in total.
Renamed the topic and edited the question.
Most Helpful Reply
User avatar
B
SaraiGMAT
Tutor
Joined: 25 May 2010
Posts: 123
Own Kudos [?]: 2984 [15]
Given Kudos: 0
Send PM
Re: The manager of regional sales spoke with distributors about the late [#permalink] New post   14 Jun 2010, 10:30
12
Kudos
3
Bookmarks
Expert Reply
Hi again,

So a note on tenses....

To figure out the tense you need, you must look for the time modifier for the given verb, i.e., a description of when that action takes place. Any time modifier that indicates a specific point in time in the past indicates the past simple.

Thus words like in, on, at, ago, last, and when, since they point to specific points, indicate the past simple.

Ex. I studied dance when I was 5.

The past perfect is used not just to indicate that one action happened before another, but to indicate that one action happened in the deep past relative to a point in time in the past.

Ex. I had studied dance for many years before deciding to become a basketball player.
avatar
speeddeamon
Intern
Intern
Joined: 22 Jun 2009
Posts: 27
Own Kudos [?]: 75 [15]
Given Kudos: 3
Concentration: Entrepreneurship, Marketing
Schools:Wharton, Kellogg, Duke (Health care management)
 Q48  V47 GMAT 2: 680  Q49  V34
GPA: 78
Send PM
Re: The manager of regional sales spoke with distributors about the late [#permalink] New post   03 Nov 2009, 08:28
10
Kudos
5
Bookmarks
engel wrote:
Just a doubt, I thought 'spoke with' and 'talk to' are correct idioms .

Is is not always the case ?



'Spoke with' means have a conversation. 'Spoke to' means the other party is just listening (no two way conversation) and it is also used in american english to mean an unfriendly conversation. Both are correct idioms.

But since the context here is unfriendly conversation (heated discussion), 'spoke to' is more appropriate.
General Discussion
User avatar
GMAT TIGER
VP
VP
Joined: 29 Aug 2007
Posts: 1021
Own Kudos [?]: 1726 [2]
Given Kudos: 19
Send PM
Re: The manager of regional sales spoke with distributors about the late [#permalink] New post   01 Nov 2009, 13:25
2
Kudos
B. "spoke to" is better than "spoke with".
Both acts should be in past tense as both happened at the same time.
avatar
engel
Intern
Intern
Joined: 06 Sep 2009
Posts: 9
Own Kudos [?]: 2 [0]
Given Kudos: 9
Location: Mumbai
Concentration: General
Send PM
Re: The manager of regional sales spoke with distributors about the late [#permalink] New post   03 Nov 2009, 01:24
Just a doubt, I thought 'spoke with' and 'talk to' are correct idioms .

Is is not always the case ?
User avatar
ykaiim
Director
Director
Joined: 25 Aug 2007
Posts: 520
Own Kudos [?]: 5422 [2]
Given Kudos: 40
WE 1: 3.5 yrs IT
WE 2: 2.5 yrs Retail chain
Send PM
Re: The manager of regional sales spoke with distributors about the late [#permalink] New post   20 May 2010, 23:55
1
Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Another point:
1. ...spoke to the distributors about the late shipment... - Correct style
User avatar
yogeshagarwala
Manager
Manager
Joined: 19 Feb 2010
Posts: 58
Own Kudos [?]: 47 [3]
Given Kudos: 6
Send PM
Re: The manager of regional sales spoke with distributors about the late [#permalink] New post   14 Jun 2010, 02:55
2
Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Ya you are right. even if you go by MG MAT SC it says that if the order of events are clear without use of Past perfect (like by when, after, later etc) then its OK to use simple past and skip away with PP. However one cannot elliminate an option based on only this. A sentence with PP and also with 'after' can be a right option if no other option is shorter and more concise and ya grammatically correct.
User avatar
Acc3ss
Intern
Intern
Joined: 28 Jul 2009
Posts: 44
Own Kudos [?]: 92 [3]
Given Kudos: 12
Send PM
Re: The manager of regional sales spoke with distributors about the late [#permalink] New post   27 Jun 2010, 02:58
3
Kudos
I have 1 concern with this question .. please clarify ..

Here a discussion takes place, so shouldn't it be 'spoke with' and not 'spoke to' ?
User avatar
B
SaraiGMAT
Tutor
Joined: 25 May 2010
Posts: 123
Own Kudos [?]: 2984 [0]
Given Kudos: 0
Send PM
Re: The manager of regional sales spoke with distributors about the late [#permalink] New post   27 Jun 2010, 05:03
Expert Reply
Only the idiom "spoke to", but, because this SC problem tests almost no grammar and only idioms, it's atypical of the GMAT SC.
User avatar
L
daagh
GMAT Club Legend
GMAT Club Legend
Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Status: enjoying
Posts: 5265
Own Kudos [?]: 42103 [5]
Given Kudos: 422
Location: India
WE:Education (Education)
Send PM
Re: The manager of regional sales spoke with distributors about the late [#permalink] New post   01 Sep 2011, 21:12
5
Kudos
Expert Reply
IMO: Speak to or speak with do not indicate friendliness or unfriendliness. Speak to can be unilateral, in which case, the audience may not be taking part. It may just be a sermon. On the other hand, Speak with certainly involves speaking by the opposite side. Then only it becomes a conversation. In this context, the text indicates it is also a heated discussion with distributors and hence it may mean lot of speaking with lots of people. So speak with is more appropriate contextually.
User avatar
S
lakshya14
Senior Manager
Senior Manager
Joined: 31 Jan 2019
Posts: 368
Own Kudos [?]: 43 [0]
Given Kudos: 530
Send PM
Re: The manager of regional sales spoke with distributors about the late [#permalink] New post   24 Aug 2020, 16:21
Why in (C), had is wrong, as speaking to the manager happened first, and then the fee was reduced?
avatar
B
Punitharv
Intern
Intern
Joined: 23 Aug 2020
Posts: 4
Own Kudos [?]: 1 [1]
Given Kudos: 8
Send PM
The manager of regional sales spoke with distributors about the late [#permalink] New post   24 Aug 2020, 17:30
1
Bookmarks
What's the difference between the usage of "about to" Vs "regarding"? Are there any certain situations when one is preferreable over other?

bb Bunuel
User avatar
G
Pankaj0901
Senior Manager
Senior Manager
Joined: 18 Dec 2018
Posts: 425
Own Kudos [?]: 43 [0]
Given Kudos: 738
Location: India
WE:Account Management (Hospitality and Tourism)
Send PM
Re: The manager of regional sales spoke with distributors about the late [#permalink] New post   24 Oct 2020, 01:52
There seems to be three things being tested here:
1. past perfect Vs simple past- usage is clear in the sentence
2. spoke to Vs spoke with
3. regarding Vs about
However, points 2 and 3 are still not clear. Can someone please elaborate on the point 3 specifically?
avatar
B
gward
Intern
Intern
Joined: 10 Jan 2018
Posts: 2
Own Kudos [?]: 0 [0]
Given Kudos: 18
Send PM
Re: The manager of regional sales spoke with distributors about the late [#permalink] New post   25 Oct 2020, 15:22
I find the official answer and explanation to be a bit confusing.

Since the discussion, we are told, was heated and lengthy, aren’t we able to confirm that this was a two-way discussion?

Since a regional manager was speaking with a distributor, I assume their relationship is dictated by a partnership or agreement, which, to me, further indicates that they spoke with each other, and not one to another.

If it was a two-way discussion between two people in the same business, shouldn’t the proper answer be choice (A)?

Is there a clear-cut rule that describes the usage between the two?

Posted from my mobile device
avatar
B
francis142857
Intern
Intern
Joined: 01 Apr 2021
Posts: 1
Own Kudos [?]: 0 [0]
Given Kudos: 9
Send PM
Re: The manager of regional sales spoke with distributors about the late [#permalink] New post   21 Apr 2021, 09:35
Since "after a lengthy and somewhat heated discussion, the freight fee was subsequently reduced" are the same in all choices, why it's included in the underlined part??? what's the point here? I had to spend extra 20 seconds to figure it out.
User avatar
S
NirupaD
Manager
Manager
Joined: 15 Oct 2019
Posts: 69
Own Kudos [?]: 42 [0]
Given Kudos: 81
Send PM
Reviews Badge
The manager of regional sales spoke with distributors about the late [#permalink] New post   08 May 2022, 06:41
Not a quality question. What is the source?
User avatar
VerbalBot
Non-Human User
Joined: 01 Oct 2013
Posts: 17213
Own Kudos [?]: 848 [0]
Given Kudos: 0
Send PM
Re: The manager of regional sales spoke with distributors about the late [#permalink] New post   14 Jun 2023, 20:02
Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.
GMAT Club Bot
gmatclubot
Re: The manager of regional sales spoke with distributors about the late [#permalink]
14 Jun 2023, 20:02
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
6919 posts
GMATNinjaTwo
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
238 posts

Powered by phpBB © phpBB Group | Emoji artwork provided by EmojiOne
Main navigation
GMAT Resources
Partners
MBA Resources
www.gmac.com|www.mba.com | | GMAT Club Rules | Terms and Conditions