Although at one time childrens programming had been limited

Question

Although at one time children’s programming had been limited to a few hours a week, now, however, there are at least four cable networks that dedicate themselves entirely to shows produced specifically for children.

could you elaborate a bit more on whats wrong with E?
Thanks

(A) Although at one time children’s programming had been limited to a few hours a week, now, however, there are at least four cable networks that dedicate themselves

(B) With children’s programming having been limited at one time to a few hours a week, now at least four cable networks have dedicated themselves

(C) Once limited to a few hours a week, there are now at least four cable networks with children’s programming that dedicate themselves

(D) Children’s programming was once limited to a few hours a week, but now there are at least four cable networks dedicated

(E) While children’s programming had once been limited to a few hours a week, at least four cable networks are now dedicated

seekmba · Answer

Although at one time children’s programming had been limited to a few hours a week, now, however, there are at least four cable networks that dedicate themselves entirely to shows produced specifically for children.

could you elaborate a bit more on whats wrong with E?
Thanks

A.  Although  at one time children’s programming  had been  limited to a few hours a week, now,  however , there are at least four cable networks that dedicate themselves - no need of 'had been'
B. With children’s programming  having be en limited at one time to a few hours a week, now at least four cable networks have dedicated themselves - 'having been's is almost always wrong in GMAT
C. Once limited to a few hours a week, there are now at least four cable networks with children’s programming that dedicate themselves - awkward
D. Children’s programming  was once limited  to a few hours a week, but  now there are  at least four cable networks dedicated -  CORRECT 
E. While children’s programming  had once been  limited to a few hours a week, at least four cable networks are now dedicated

noboru · Answer

could you elaborate a bit more on whats wrong with E?
Thanks

jalaj79 · Answer

In my view,  had once been  is past perfect, but we need simple past out here. Also, "While children’s programming had once been limited to a few hours a week" is modifying "at least four cable networks" which is wrong.

Experts. Please comment.

utfan2424 · Answer

In an order of events, "there are now at least" is present so the action that took place right before it shoul be simple past tense (that is why D).

manalq8 · Answer

+1 for D... most concise and eliminated the wrong phrased words of dictate themselves

sairam595 · Answer

Can some one explain why the use of Past perfect tense is wrong in option 'E'

IMO - we have two events here

had one been limited - Earlier event
now dedicated - later event

Abhishek009 · Answer

Past perfect tense is used to refer to two events that started and completed in the past. Children’s programming had been limited to a few hours a week = Completed action in the past Now, however, there are at least four cable networks = Refers to present action So Event 1 - Started and completed in the past But Event 2 - Occurred in the present Hence Past Perfect Tense will not be good here.... :-D

sairam595 · Answer

Hi  Abhishek009

Am asking why Past perfect is not correct in option E:

While children’s programming had once been limited to a few hours a week, at least four cable networks are now dedicated
 entirely to shows produced specifically for children.

Earlier event - had one been limited
later event - dedicated

chetan2u · Answer

Hi,
 past perfect is used to show the relation in two PAST events..
Because of the VERB- past perfect- we can know which event happened earlier without any other information..
 
but here-
one has happened in past and the second event is in present...
 In this scenario, we rae already clear which event happened earlier, so we do not require PAST perfect..

Abhishek009 · Answer

chetan2u has explained the issue very well, just thought about sharing a link from Veritas prep to supplement the point Chetan has put forward. Plz go through the link - https://www.gmatclub.com/forum/veritas-prep-resource-links-no-longer-available-399979.html#/2013/08 ... -the-gmat/ Alsxo go through our GMATCLUB discussion of the Perfect Tense issue here - gmat-grammar-book-verbs-96445.html#p742597 gmat-verbs-the-perfect-tense-136462.html Hope this helps !!

sairam595 · Answer

Hi  Abhishek009

Option E-While children’s programming had once been limited to a few hours a week, at least four cable networks  are now dedicated 
entirely to shows produced specifically for children.

My confusion here is regarding tense of the words "are now dedicated" -- does "are now dedicated" represents present/past tense:

I thought it is past tense since the dedication already happened now..please help me where my reasoning going wrong

sayantanc2k · Answer

If we consider that the dedication has already happened, then there are two mistakes in option E:

1. Wrong usage of simple present ( "are now dedicated" should have been "were subsequently dedicated").
2. Generally in absence of a simple past tense in the sentence, usage of past perfect is wrong. In no case can a later past event be expressed in simple present tense. Since the sentence explicitly states "are now dedicated", the expressed meaning is that the dedication happens in the present. (although this may not be the intended meaning).

Rectifying the first error would automatically rectify the second- the correct sentence would be :

While children’s programming had once been limited to a few hours a week, at least four cable networks  were subsequently  dedicated.......

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Here's (E).

E. While children’s programming had once been limited to a few hours a week, at least four cable networks are now dedicated

One issue is the use of the past perfect "had once been limited." Since the time sequence is a past event followed by an event in the present, "are now dedicated," using the past perfect, which is used for indicating that one past event preceded another past event, does not make sense.

Also, the placement of "now" is a little off. Since, in (E), "now" appears just before "dedicated," the contrast expressed by the two clauses in (E) is a bit off. The second clause is focused on what the stations are "now dedicated" to, which focus would make sense if the first clause were specifically about what stations were previously dedicated to, but that's not what the first clause is about. The first clause is a general statement about the past limitation of children's programming.

To show contrast with the statement in the first clause, the second clause should begin with "now," as in "While children's programming was once limited, now, at least ...." That way the entirety of what's described the second clause is understood to be going on now, with the result that the general statement expressed by the first clause would be logically contrasted with a fairly general statement expressed by the second clause.

CrackverbalGMAT · Answer

Option A- The underlined part of the sentence contains two conjunctions- “Although” and “however”, both showing contrast. We should only use either of the two.  Hence incorrect

Option B- “ With children’s programming having been  limited  at one time to a few hours a week ”-  incorrect.

Option C- The modifier “Once limited to a few hours a week”, should be followed by “children’s programming", which is the subject of the modifer. Option C contains a modifier error and is  hence incorrect.

Option D- correctly uses one conjunction- “but”- to connect two clauses. It also maintains the correct tense sequence.

Children’s programming was once  limited to a few hours a week,  but   now there are at least  four cable networks dedicated.

Hence correct.

Option E - The usage of past perfect tense- “had once been limited to” is incorrect.

Let’s understand the usage of past perfect tense- had + main verb

When there are  two actions/events in the past ,  the first of the two actions takes the past perfect form.  
In option C, only one action is in the past- "was once limited to”. The other action- “are now dedicated” is in the present tense. Hence the use of past perfect tense- “had once been limited to” -  is incorrect.

Vishnupriya
CrackVerbal Prep Team

sakshimystic · Answer

Can anyone talk more on illogical meaning children's programming is conveying. Please let me know what meaning is getting conveyed with that.

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

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 although children’s programming was once limited to a few hours a week, now there are at least four cable networks dedicated entirely to shows produced specifically for children.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Modifiers + Tenses + Grammatical Construction + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• In a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun; this is one of the most frequently tested concepts on GMAT sentence correction.
• The simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past. 
• 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".

A:  This answer choice incorrectly uses the past perfect tense verb "had been limited" to refer to an action 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". Further, Option A redundantly uses "however" alongside "Although", rendering it awkward and needlessly wordy. Besides, Option A uses the needlessly wordy phrase "four cable networks that dedicate themselves", leading to further awkwardness and redundancy.

B:  This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "With children’s programming having been limited"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that   because   children’s programming was once limited to a few hours a week, now there are at least four cable networks dedicated entirely to shows produced specifically for children; the intended meaning is that   although   children’s programming was once limited to a few hours a week, now there are at least four cable networks dedicated entirely to shows produced specifically for children. Further, Option B uses the passive construction "have dedicated themselves", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

C:  This answer choice incorrectly uses "Once limited to a few hours a week" to modify the placeholder pronoun "there", producing an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that although children’s programming was once limited to a few hours a week, now there are at least four cable networks dedicated entirely to shows produced specifically for children; remember, in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Further, Option C uses the needlessly wordy phrase "four cable networks...that dedicate themselves", leading to further awkwardness and redundancy.

D:   Correct.  This answer choice uses the clause "Children’s programming was once limited to a few hours a week" and the phrase "but now", avoiding the modifier error seen in Option C and conveying the intended meaning - that   although   children’s programming was once limited to a few hours a week, now there are at least four cable networks dedicated entirely to shows produced specifically for children. Further, Option D correctly uses the simple past tense verb "was once limited" to refer to an action that concluded in the past. Besides, Option D is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

E:  This answer choice incorrectly uses the past perfect tense verb "had once been limited" to refer to an action 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".

Hence, D is the best answer choice.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATNTtugB9fM

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EYnxPUldlA

To understand the concept of "Phrase Comma Subject" and "Subject Comma Phrase" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqgMtdyK2D4

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

egmat · Answer

Hey sakshimystic

Happy to help you with this.

I can understand your surprise and confusion at the term "children's programming". It certainly seems to suggest we're programming children, as we do computers or robots, to do something mindless and sinister, something straight out of a Sci-Fi novel. (LOL!)

But, alas! that's not the case.

This question presents us with the opportunity to learn a broadcasting jargon: "programming". In the broadcasting industry, the word 'programming' means "the planning of which television or radio programmes to broadcast at what time and for whom". (Reference: Meaning 2 @ https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries. ... rogramming)

Accordingly, we have news programming, sports programming, and even children's programming.

Back in the day, before we had dedicated channels for different audiences, children's programmes used to be aired in the morning or the afternoon, when children are usually awake. In other words, children's programming used to be limited to only a few hours in a week and usually at specific times of the day.

I hope this improves your understanding.

Happy Learning!

Abhishek

Although at one time childrens programming had been limited

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

Although at one time childrens programming had been limited

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