Last visit was: 20 Nov 2025, 06:04 It is currently 20 Nov 2025, 06:04
Home
GMAT
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Rewards
Chat
My Profile
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
Back to Forum
Create Topic
User avatar
ApplicantX
User avatar
Joined: 28 Sep 2017
Last visit: 11 Nov 2025
Posts: 87
Own Kudos:
89
 [11]
Given Kudos: 54
Location: India
Concentration: General Management
Schools: Stern '20 (A) Darden '20 (S) NUS '20 ISB '19 (II) Schulich Sept 18 Intake (S)
GMAT 1: 740 Q49 V42
GPA: 3.92
Schools: Stern '20 (A) Darden '20 (S) NUS '20 ISB '19 (II) Schulich Sept 18 Intake (S)
GMAT 1: 740 Q49 V42
Posts: 87
Kudos: 89
 [11]
Because of the multi-party system in the Netherlands, no single Updated on: 29 Sep 2017, 09:15
Originally posted by ApplicantX on 28 Sep 2017, 17:03.
Last edited by ApplicantX on 29 Sep 2017, 09:15, edited 1 time in total.
Kudos
Add Kudos
11
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
00:00
Start Timer
Pause Timer
Resume Timer
Show Answer
Hide
Show
History
A
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!

Difficulty:

35% (medium)

Question Stats:

65% (01:13) correct 35% (01:28) wrong based on 532 sessions

History

Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Because of the multi-party system in the Netherlands, no single party has held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets had to be formed.

(A) has held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets had to be formed.

(B) had held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets were to be formed.

(C) held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets had been formed.

(D) held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets being formed.

(E) was holding a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets were formed.



Source : Jamboree
ShowHide Answer
Official Answer
A
User avatar
ApplicantX
User avatar
Joined: 28 Sep 2017
Last visit: 11 Nov 2025
Posts: 87
Own Kudos:
89
Given Kudos: 54
Location: India
Concentration: General Management
Schools: Stern '20 (A) Darden '20 (S) NUS '20 ISB '19 (II) Schulich Sept 18 Intake (S)
GMAT 1: 740 Q49 V42
GPA: 3.92
Schools: Stern '20 (A) Darden '20 (S) NUS '20 ISB '19 (II) Schulich Sept 18 Intake (S)
GMAT 1: 740 Q49 V42
Posts: 87
Kudos: 89
Because of the multi-party system in the Netherlands, no single 28 Sep 2017, 18:05
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Can someone explain why B was rejected.
User avatar
ApplicantX
User avatar
Joined: 28 Sep 2017
Last visit: 11 Nov 2025
Posts: 87
Own Kudos:
89
Given Kudos: 54
Location: India
Concentration: General Management
Schools: Stern '20 (A) Darden '20 (S) NUS '20 ISB '19 (II) Schulich Sept 18 Intake (S)
GMAT 1: 740 Q49 V42
GPA: 3.92
Schools: Stern '20 (A) Darden '20 (S) NUS '20 ISB '19 (II) Schulich Sept 18 Intake (S)
GMAT 1: 740 Q49 V42
Posts: 87
Kudos: 89
Because of the multi-party system in the Netherlands, no single 28 Sep 2017, 18:06
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
B - There is a tense mismatch between ‘had held’ and ‘were to be’.
Is this the issue?
avatar
ng2
avatar
Joined: 03 Jul 2017
Last visit: 28 Sep 2017
Posts: 23
Own Kudos:
13
 [2]
Given Kudos: 13
Location: India
Concentration: Operations, Leadership
Schools: AIM Manila '20 Booth '20 Carey '20 ISB'22
GMAT 1: 700 Q48 V42
GPA: 3.85
WE:Operations (Consumer Electronics)
Schools: AIM Manila '20 Booth '20 Carey '20 ISB'22
GMAT 1: 700 Q48 V42
Posts: 23
Kudos: 13
 [2]
Because of the multi-party system in the Netherlands, no single 28 Sep 2017, 18:10
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Concepts tested: Tenses
A – correct.
B - There is a tense mismatch between ‘had held’ and ‘were to be’. Exactly as you said.
C - Tense mismatch between ‘held’ and ‘had been’
D - The past tense ‘held’ is incorrectly paired with the participle ‘being’.
E - There is a mismatch between ‘was holding’ and ‘were formed’.
User avatar
ydmuley
User avatar
Retired Moderator
Joined: 19 Mar 2014
Last visit: 01 Dec 2019
Posts: 809
Own Kudos:
910
 [1]
Given Kudos: 199
Location: India
Concentration: Finance, Entrepreneurship
Schools: Haas '20 HBS '20 CBS '20 Wharton '20 Stanford '20 Kellogg '20
GPA: 3.5
Schools: Haas '20 HBS '20 CBS '20 Wharton '20 Stanford '20 Kellogg '20
Posts: 809
Kudos: 910
 [1]
Because of the multi-party system in the Netherlands, no single 28 Sep 2017, 21:19
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
cubs
Because of the multi-party system in the Netherlands, no single party has held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets had to be formed.

(A) has held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets had to be formed.

(B) had held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets were to be formed.

(C) held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets had been formed.

(D) held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets being formed.

(E) was holding a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets were formed.
Show more

Hello cubs - Please let me know if this helps to clarify your doubt.

Let's first try to understand what is the author trying to say:

Because of XYZ reason ==> No Single Party has held a majority in the parliament.

From the above sentence, we need a Present Perfect Tense - Because no one has held majority since 19th century, furthermore as this is the only event which was highlighted we cannot use past perfect tense. Also, the use of simple past tense and past continues tense is incorrect over here.

(A) has held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets had to be formed. ==> Correct Tense and meaning

(B) had held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets were to be formed. ==> Usage of "had" is incorrect as there is only one event here.

(C) held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets had been formed. ==> Use of Simpe Past "held" is incorrect

(D) held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets being formed. ==> ==> Use of Simpe Past "held" is incorrect and "being formed" alters the meaning

(E) was holding a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets were formed. ==>Use of past continuous tense is incorrect.

Hence - A
User avatar
sunny91
User avatar
Joined: 05 Dec 2014
Last visit: 04 May 2020
Posts: 176
Own Kudos:
64
Given Kudos: 289
Location: India
Schools: AIM Manila '20 Fisher '19 Rotman '20 Sauder '20 Schulich Jan 18 Intake Queen's 19 Ivey '19 Kelley '20 IIM-A"19 ESSEC '20 Insead Sept'18 Ross '20 IIMU PGPX
GMAT 1: 660 Q49 V31
GPA: 3.54
Schools: AIM Manila '20 Fisher '19 Rotman '20 Sauder '20 Schulich Jan 18 Intake Queen's 19 Ivey '19 Kelley '20 IIM-A"19 ESSEC '20 Insead Sept'18 Ross '20 IIMU PGPX
GMAT 1: 660 Q49 V31
Posts: 176
Kudos: 64
Because of the multi-party system in the Netherlands, no single 20 Jan 2018, 07:45
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
[quote="cubs"]Because of the multi-party system in the Netherlands, no single party has held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets had to be formed.

(A) has held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets had to be formed.

(B) had held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets were to be formed.

(C) held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets had been formed.

(D) held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets being formed.

(E) was holding a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets were formed.


chetan2u, Broall aisle,
Sir, can u kindly help me on the above. We have since, so a present perfect ( has held) makes sense. Also, we have a time indicator, so past perfect can work fine. But my only objection with the OA is why do we have the underlined part as coalition cabinets had to be formed.
If the structure would be- coalition cabinets had been formed-->this makes sense. Or coalition cabinets have been formed--> this makes sense.
Had to be formed means are we referring to a past event or a possibility of a future event (unlikely). I am not able to get the meaning.
User avatar
chetan2u
User avatar
GMAT Expert
Joined: 02 Aug 2009
Last visit: 15 Nov 2025
Posts: 11,238
Own Kudos:
43,709
 [3]
Given Kudos: 335
Status:Math and DI Expert
Location: India
Concentration: Human Resources, General Management
GMAT Focus 1: 735 Q90 V89 DI81
Products:
My Reviews
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT Focus 1: 735 Q90 V89 DI81
Posts: 11,238
Kudos: 43,709
 [3]
Because of the multi-party system in the Netherlands, no single 20 Jan 2018, 10:15
3
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
sunny91
cubs
Because of the multi-party system in the Netherlands, no single party has held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets had to be formed.

(A) has held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets had to be formed.

(B) had held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets were to be formed.

(C) held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets had been formed.

(D) held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets being formed.

(E) was holding a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets were formed.


chetan2u, Broall aisle,
Sir, can u kindly help me on the above. We have since, so a present perfect ( has held) makes sense. Also, we have a time indicator, so past perfect can work fine. But my only objection with the OA is why do we have the underlined part as coalition cabinets had to be formed.
If the structure would be- coalition cabinets had been formed-->this makes sense. Or coalition cabinets have been formed--> this makes sense.
Had to be formed means are we referring to a past event or a possibility of a future event (unlikely). I am not able to get the meaning.
Show more

Hi..

It is a random sentence picked up by som e source and a question has been made on it. This is the most dangerous thing about institute forming SC questions..

Only reason for A to be correct is HAS HELD..
but 'coalition cabinets had to be formed' itself is incomplete.. WHEN?

it should be " .... has to be formed every time."
User avatar
sunny91
User avatar
Joined: 05 Dec 2014
Last visit: 04 May 2020
Posts: 176
Own Kudos:
64
Given Kudos: 289
Location: India
Schools: AIM Manila '20 Fisher '19 Rotman '20 Sauder '20 Schulich Jan 18 Intake Queen's 19 Ivey '19 Kelley '20 IIM-A"19 ESSEC '20 Insead Sept'18 Ross '20 IIMU PGPX
GMAT 1: 660 Q49 V31
GPA: 3.54
Schools: AIM Manila '20 Fisher '19 Rotman '20 Sauder '20 Schulich Jan 18 Intake Queen's 19 Ivey '19 Kelley '20 IIM-A"19 ESSEC '20 Insead Sept'18 Ross '20 IIMU PGPX
GMAT 1: 660 Q49 V31
Posts: 176
Kudos: 64
Because of the multi-party system in the Netherlands, no single 20 Jan 2018, 10:47
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
chetan2u
sunny91
cubs
Because of the multi-party system in the Netherlands, no single party has held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets had to be formed.

(A) has held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets had to be formed.

(B) had held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets were to be formed.

(C) held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets had been formed.

(D) held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets being formed.

(E) was holding a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets were formed.


chetan2u, Broall aisle,
Sir, can u kindly help me on the above. We have since, so a present perfect ( has held) makes sense. Also, we have a time indicator, so past perfect can work fine. But my only objection with the OA is why do we have the underlined part as coalition cabinets had to be formed.
If the structure would be- coalition cabinets had been formed-->this makes sense. Or coalition cabinets have been formed--> this makes sense.
Had to be formed means are we referring to a past event or a possibility of a future event (unlikely). I am not able to get the meaning.

Hi..

It is a random sentence picked up by som e source and a question has been made on it. This is the most dangerous thing about institute forming SC questions..

Only reason for A to be correct is HAS HELD..
but 'coalition cabinets had to be formed' itself is incomplete.. WHEN?

it should be " .... has to be formed every time."
Show more

Thanks Chetan2u, a lot.
avatar
skidstorm
avatar
Joined: 23 Jan 2018
Last visit: 02 Jun 2018
Posts: 18
Own Kudos:
12
Given Kudos: 44
Location: United States
Concentration: Marketing, Nonprofit
GPA: 3.7
WE:Marketing (Advertising and PR)
Posts: 18
Kudos: 12
Because of the multi-party system in the Netherlands, no single 17 Mar 2018, 11:00
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
SANAM (some, any, none = no, all, more/ most) depends on the context and the logic. Normally, if the noun is plural, verbb is plural, and if noun is singular, verb is singular.
I eliminate the wrong options based on " since the 19th century".
avatar
Jairoandres
avatar
Joined: 09 Jul 2019
Last visit: 09 Dec 2019
Posts: 4
Own Kudos:
2
Given Kudos: 41
Posts: 4
Kudos: 2
Because of the multi-party system in the Netherlands, no single 24 Nov 2019, 08:09
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
I only took the usage of "Has" with the continuity "since". It neither be "was" nor "Had"
User avatar
Sumi1010
User avatar
Joined: 21 Aug 2018
Last visit: 19 Jan 2025
Posts: 300
Own Kudos:
696
Given Kudos: 20
Location: India
Posts: 300
Kudos: 696
Because of the multi-party system in the Netherlands, no single 05 Oct 2020, 06:55
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
I agree with OA. It says two things (separated by AND i.e. two different information).

Because of the multi-party system in the Netherlands, no single party has held a majority in parliament since the 19th century. ---- "since the 19th century .. till today"
AND
Because of the multi-party system in the Netherlands,coalition cabinets had to be formed.

However, I just want to know the difference between : "had to be formed" and "were to be formed".
User avatar
hrishi760
User avatar
Joined: 03 Mar 2021
Last visit: 14 Jul 2021
Posts: 5
Given Kudos: 1,120
Posts: 5
Kudos: 0
Because of the multi-party system in the Netherlands, no single 03 Apr 2021, 03:22
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Why is B wrong? We can use "had" for a preceding event right?
User avatar
EducationAisle
User avatar
Joined: 27 Mar 2010
Last visit: 20 Nov 2025
Posts: 3,891
Own Kudos:
3,579
 [3]
Given Kudos: 159
Location: India
Schools: ISB
GPA: 3.31
Expert
Expert reply
Schools: ISB
Posts: 3,891
Kudos: 3,579
 [3]
Because of the multi-party system in the Netherlands, no single 03 Apr 2021, 04:54
3
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
hrishi760
Why is B wrong? We can use "had" for a preceding event right?
Show more
Hi hrishi760, the word had can be used in at least following two ways:

(i) To depict simple past. For example: I had a car one year back.

(ii) To depict past perfect. For example: I had finished my breakfast, when my friend came to my house.

In the sentence under consideration, the usage is, as illustrated in (ii) above.

You can watch our video on Past Perfect.

By the way, am not too impressed with the OA of option A. I would prefer the following:

(A-1) has held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets have had to be formed.
User avatar
VerbalBot
User avatar
Non-Human User
Joined: 01 Oct 2013
Last visit: 04 Jan 2021
Posts: 18,833
Own Kudos:
986
Posts: 18,833
Kudos: 986
Because of the multi-party system in the Netherlands, no single 28 Aug 2023, 21:25
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
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.
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7443 posts
GMATNinjaTwo
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
231 posts
miag
189 posts