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bonsrik
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Announcing that one of its key successes had been the recent 05 Oct 2014, 19:17
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A --> Correct-
its key successes had been the recent

As there has been a chronological dependency between "well-received beta launch" and "the Internet startup claim".So Past perfect "its key successes had been the recent" is Perfect.Secondly the next dependent sentence starts with a Simple past "the Internet startup claimed" which is grammatically correct.Also usage of Adjective "recent" is correct for the noun clause "well-received beta launch".

B
its key successes has been the recently
Incorrect usage of tense (present perfect) and adverb "recently" doesn't fit in.
C
its key successes is the recently
Incorrect usage of tense (present continuous) and adverb "recently" doesn't fit in.
D
their key successes is the recent
Incorrect pronoun "their" for noun "Internet startup".Also wrong usage of tense (Simple present).
E
their key successes had been the recent
Incorrect pronoun "their" for noun "Internet startup".
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Announcing that one of its key successes had been the recent 06 Oct 2014, 12:17
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I chose A because it uses the past perfect (had) instead of the present perfect (has). This isn't a continuing action. However, it is an action from the past that occurred before another past action (the start-up's claim).

I eliminated D/E because of the plural "their."

I eliminated C because of the use of present tense.

I didn't like the adverb "recently" in B and thought it was incorrect.
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Announcing that one of its key successes had been the recent 23 May 2015, 23:15
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Tense is clear from the tone of sentence (Past tense) and two events are occurring (both past events ) use Past perfect .... thus A .

other way ...elimination .... Pronoun it's --> company ...so their is wrong usage ...elliminate d nd e ....
new recent/recently ....clearly recent refer to event so its correct ...

only opt which is left is A ....so A is the answer ;)
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Announcing that one of its key successes had been the recent 24 Aug 2015, 16:28
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so adverb can not modify an adjective ? like the recently arrived passenger?
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Announcing that one of its key successes had been the recent 31 Aug 2015, 23:37
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Onell
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Announcing that one of its key successes had been the recent well-received beta launch, the Internet start-up claimed it would introduce several new products to the web community during the next quarter.

A: its key successes had been the recent
B: its key successes has been the recently
C: its key successes is the recently
D: their key successes is the recent
E: their key successes had been the recent


between past perfect and present perfect , what should be preferred here ?

I will go with B.
well-received is an adjective and should be modified by adverb. I think this sentence looks good with both past perfect and present perfect .(jus a slight change in meaning)
Show more

But recently well-received means it was well-received just recently and (all of a sudden) it became its key successs?? I think A is correct. The start-up launched a new thing in recent time, it became succesfull and hence key success.
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Announcing that one of its key successes had been the recent 04 Jan 2016, 09:39
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Since the main clause is in past tense, its verb-ing modifier should also be in past tense.
So either A or E . All other options are out because they are all present tense
now , the non-underline part of the clause says ' the Internet startup claimed it would '
So E is out because it says-'their'
Ans is A
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Announcing that one of its key successes had been the recent Updated on: 06 Mar 2016, 09:51
Originally posted by KarishmaParmar on 06 Mar 2016, 03:37.
Last edited by KarishmaParmar on 06 Mar 2016, 09:51, edited 1 time in total.
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gmatbull
Announcing that one of its key successes had been the recent well-received beta launch, the Internet startup claimed it would introduce several new products to the web community during the next quarter.

A: its key successes had been the recent
B: its key successes has been the recently
C: its key successes is the recently
D: their key successes is the recent
E: their key successes had been the recent

Show more


D and E are incorrect for their use of "their" and B and C are incorrect for using "recently" Only A is left.

That said, I am having a tough time putting the right tense to use in the SC questions. Had been, has been, is/was ; I just can not pick the right one when the difference is not obvious.

Any advice? Any blog/resource suggestions?

Thanks.
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Announcing that one of its key successes had been the recent 06 Mar 2016, 07:37
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KarishmaParmar
gmatbull
Announcing that one of its key successes had been the recent well-received beta launch, the Internet startup claimed it would introduce several new products to the web community during the next quarter.

A: its key successes had been the recent
B: its key successes has been the recently
C: its key successes is the recently
D: their key successes is the recent
E: their key successes had been the recent

Show Spoiler
D and E are out for using plural "their"
Between A, B, and C;

I am having a tough time putting the right tense to use in the SC questions. Had been, has been, is/was ; I just can not pick the right one when the difference is not obvious.

Any advice? Any blog/resource suggestions?

Thanks.
Show more

Though not an expert would like to share my views -

Quote:
Announcing that one of its key successes had been the recent well-received beta launch, the Internet startup claimed it would introduce several new products to the web community during the next quarter.
Show more

Check carefully there is a clear timeline as follows -
Attachment:
beta launch.png
beta launch.png [ 10.64 KiB | Viewed 3753 times ]

Now again go through the sentence to know the timeline better

Claimed = Past Tense
Would = Future of Past Tense

Meaning wise Beta Lauch preeceds announcement of plan for introduction of new products to the web community.

Hence past perfect Tense ( had been must be correct here).
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Announcing that one of its key successes had been the recent 21 Aug 2016, 09:04
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VeritasPrepKarishma
gmatbull
Announcing that one of its key successes had been the recent well-received beta launch, the Internet startup claimed it would introduce several new products to the web community during the next quarter.

A: ...
B: its key successes has been the recently
C: its key successes is the recently
D: their key successes is the recent
E: their key successes had been the recent

D and E are out for using plural "their"
Between A, B, and C;

hirendhanak: I am assuming that you are also looking for the difference between A, B and C.

The key point here is that we will use past perfect in this sentence: one of its key successes had been not has been or is.
The reason is that 'beta launch is an event that took place and was a success before the Internet start up announced it'. The verb 'claimed' shows you that it happened in the past, hence an event further in the past will need to use past perfect.
To review, we use past perfect tense when 2 events take place in the past but one takes place before the other. Here, beta launch became a success before the company claimed it would introduce several new products. So it uses past perfect.

'recent well-received beta launch' is correct. Here recent and well-received form a pair of cumulative adjectives.

There are two types of adjectives: Cumulative and Co-ordinate

Cumulative adjectives - An adjective is “cumulative” when it occurs in a pair or series with other adjectives of different descriptive categories, the adjectives building upon each other and together modifying the noun.
e.g. a big old shaggy dog
big - size
old - age
shaggy - quality

Co-ordinate adjectives - An adjective used in a pair or series with other adjectives within its own descriptive category to describe the same noun. Coordinate adjectives are separated by commas.

I am always impressed by your honest, insightful remarks.

honest - quality
insightful - quality
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Great explanation! Thank you!!

Just curious - Is there a difference between

a big old shaggy dog

and

a shaggy old big dog

??
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Announcing that one of its key successes had been the recent 21 Aug 2016, 20:57
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manhasnoname


Great explanation! Thank you!!

Just curious - Is there a difference between

a big old shaggy dog

and

a shaggy old big dog

??
Show more

Adjectives have a natural order. Check here: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar ... ives-order
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Announcing that one of its key successes had been the recent 14 Dec 2016, 16:02
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A is the correct and best among all with proper tense , adjective usage
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Announcing that one of its key successes had been the recent 09 Mar 2017, 04:06
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To eliminate B...

..successes (plural) has/is -- incorrect.

Also this happened BEFORE the company "claimed"(simple past tense).

So "had been"(past perfect) is required.--> A
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Announcing that one of its key successes had been the recent 16 Nov 2017, 17:50
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although this question has no reliable source (I even doubt this question is self-made), the question contains an important pattern in gmat. Test takers must know the pattern.
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Announcing that one of its key successes had been the recent 11 Mar 2019, 11:02
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Both options with ‘their’ are wrong, as ‘Internet startup’ is singular. Since past perfect has to be used here, A is the right answer.
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Announcing that one of its key successes had been the recent 01 Aug 2021, 10:20
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(A) its key successes had been the recent
This provides the perfect meaning anf the tenses are also perfect

(B) its key successes has been the recently
has been isn't the right usage

(C) its key successes is the recently
is isn't the right term to be applied due to which the timeline is distorted

(D) their key successes is the recent
their isn't the right term which in turn distorts the meaning

(E) their key successes had been the recent
Similar reasoning as D

Hence IMO A
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Announcing that one of its key successes had been the recent 16 Dec 2022, 13:28
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