Being a United States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutta in 1940,

Question

Being a United States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee has  lived in England and Canada, and first came to the United States in 1961 to study at the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

(A) Being a United States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee has

(B) Having been a United States citizen since 1988, she was born in Calcutta in 1940; author Bharati Mukherjee

(C) Born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee became a United States citizen in 1988; she has

(D) Being born in Calcutta in 1940 and having been a United States citizen since 1988, author Bharati Mukherjee

(E) Having been born in Calcutta in 1940 and being a United States citizen since 1988, author Bharati Mukherjee

egmat · Accepted Answer

Hi All,

Being a United States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee has  lived in England and Canada, and first came to the United States in 1961 to study at the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

https://e-gmat.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Meaning-icon-final.png

• Author Bharati Mukherjee was born in Calcutta in 1940.
• She first came to the US in 1961 to study at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.
• She became the US citizen in 1988.
• She has also lived in England and Canada.

https://e-gmat.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Grammar.png

Error Analysis:

• The opening verb-ing modifier connects the author being a US citizen and being born in 1940 to her living in England and Canada, illogically implying that because she is a US citizen and because she was born in 1940, she lived in Eng and Canada and she first came to US to study in 1961. Modifier error.
o Being a singer and not being an actress, Jennifer Lopez shot to instant fame.
o Even though the OG sentence is grammatically correct, it’s not logical. So when we read a sentence, we should make sure it communicates logical meaning.

POE:

Choice A:  Being a United States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee has:  Incorrect  for the reason stated above.

Choice B:  Having been a United States citizen since 1988, she was born in Calcutta in 1940; author Bharati Mukherjee:  Incorrect.  
a. “having been…” now suggests that the author got over with being the US citizen since 1988 and then she took birth in 1940. This is absolutely illogical.
b. The first IC has just the pronoun “she”. The antecedent is actually introduced in the second IC.

Choice C:  Born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee became a United States citizen in 1988; she has:  Correct.  The opening modifier correctly modifies the author. The IC after semicolon correctly gives additional information as to which other countries she has stayed in.

Choice D:  Being born in Calcutta in 1940 and having been a United States citizen since 1988, author Bharati Mukherjee:  Incorrect.  Same modifier error as in A.

Choice E:  Having been born in Calcutta in 1940 and being a United States citizen since 1988, author Bharati Mukherjee:  Incorrect.  Same modifier error as in A.

Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha

x2suresh · Answer

First, I chose D . I chose C after reading the below explanation.

I found the following explantion from another forum..When I saw this question first time. I was skeptical about the usage of present perfect in option C "has lived in England and Canda" that could mean that she is living in England and Canada. Then I searched around and got this from info from a Manhattan Staff

"That is an interesting question. You are correct that the present perfect is used to discuss an event that began at some point in the past and continues to the present moment. Although I understand your interpretation that this "event" is where the author lived, the intention of the sentence is to use the entire life of the author as the "event."

For example, in my life I have lived in Boston, Atlanta, Colorado, and California. This does not mean, however, that I still live in each of these places. As my life is an ongoing event, the present perfect is an appropriate verb tense."

daagh · Answer

C for the simple reason it avoids the GMAT-untouchables such as -  being, having been, being born, and having been born  -and also for expressing things in clear terms. In addition, the wrong choices exhibit no logical sense of chronology

CrackverbalGMAT · Answer

Being a United States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee has  lived in England and Canada, and first came to the United States in 1961 to study at the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

(A) Being a United States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee has
It is not because she was a United States citizen since 1988 and was born in Calcutta that she lived in England and Canada. Hence it is incorrect to say - “Being a US citizen and born in Calcutta, Bharati has lived in England and Canada”.  Eliminate .

(B) Having been a United States citizen since 1988, she was born in Calcutta in 1940; author Bharati Mukherjee

Having been a US citizen has no connection with her being born in Calcutta. Also, she was not a US citizen first and then born in Calcutta.  Eliminate .

(C) Born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee became a United States citizen in 1988; she has

Correct .

(D) Being born in Calcutta in 1940 and having been a United States citizen since 1988, author Bharati Mukherjee
Same as A and B.  Eliminate

(E) Having been born in Calcutta in 1940 and being a United States citizen since 1988, author Bharati Mukherjee.

Same as A and B.  Eliminate

BKimball · Answer

One more thing about this problem:

When you're offered a split between a simple way of saying something and a complex way of saying the exact same thing, choose the simple way. "Having been born" provides us with no more information than "born," and the sentence gives us no reason to use a more complex phrasing.

TGC · Answer

My Query:

Why option (A) is nullified by saying in OE/OG:

The phrases are expressed in an illogical and potentially confusing sequence

Being a United States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee

(1).Some poster said that 'Being'and 'born' are not parallel. However, they are indeed parallel since they are -ING and -ED modifiers modifying the author. Hence , ||.

(2). The other reason given is that -ING and -ED are being stated as a cause of the FACT that 'author Bharati Mukherjee has lived in England and Canada'.

However, in my opinion it should not necessarily be the case that the starting -ING modifier should present a causation. The starting/initial ING modifier just presents the additional fact about the following clause/author.

It perfectly says :

Being a US citizen since 1988 and born in blah blah,author has lived........

Playing basketball and tired of studying, John has done good in the sport.

Please suggest

prasi55 · Answer

1. The parts are parallel.
2. "Being" is an exception. Like "having been", "being" is typically used to suggest a cause-effect relationship. If you think about it, in this sentence, "being" can be taken off. "A US citizen, BM..." makes more logical sense.

--Prasad
EnterMBA.in

TGC · Answer

Hi,

Being is just another -ING modifier.

BE+ING. And you might have seen Official examples in which BEING is used as a modifier.

Further to it , What is wrong with the below?

Playing basketball and tired of studying, John has done good in the sport.

Rgds,
TGC!

prasi55 · Answer

Being is typically not used as a modifier on the GMAT (except to denote a cause-effect relationship, but even this usage is rare). In the given question, "being" can be eliminated without changing the meaning.
"Being" can be used thus:
Being angry will not get you anywhere.
He is being treated at the X hospital.
In these sentences, you cannot remove "being" without changing the meaning or making the sentence illogical.

"Playing basketball and tired of studying, John has done good in the sport."
The modifiers are fine. "good" should be "well". ("good" is an adjective. You need the adverb "well.")

apolo · Answer

Let me explain this:

There is a difference between how we shorten the clauses with a passive verb (or any clause that has a be-from verb) and how we shorten the cluases with other active verbs. Notice this:

Because he was  faced with problems, he decided to work harder. (We simply omit the be-form verb and the subordinator)
Faced with problems, he decided to work harder

Author X,  who was  born in India, is a successful one. 
Author X, born in India, is a successful one. OR alternatively: Born in India, Author X is a successful one.

Author X,  who wrote  many good novels, won the Y prize. 
Author X, writing many good novels, won the Y prize. OR Writing many good novels, Author X won the prize.

Here, in contrast to cases that there is a  to be  verb in the sentence, we have eliminated the pronoun and then have changed the verb into an -ing form.

Compare to the above example:
Author X, who was born in India, is a successful one. --> If we apply the same formula here, i.e. eliminating the pronoun and chaning the verb into ing-form we will have: 
 Being born in India, Author X is a successful one. 
But this is not the way we shorten clauses with to be verbs.

But consider this example: 
Because he is being ridiculed now, he is crying. 
How can we shorten the first clause? Answer: Eliminate the auxiliary to be verb and the subordinator and leave the rest. 
Being ridiculed, he is crying.

Compare with this one:
While he is often criticized, the author X shows no reaction to his ... 
Often criticized, the author X shows no reaction to his ...

Another sentence:
The phones, which are being imported from country Z, are expensive. -->
Being imported from country Z, the phones are expensive
BUT:
The phones, which are imported from country Z, are expensive. -->
Imported from country Z, the phones are expensive

As you have noticed, being + past participle conveys a progressive passive voice.

Now lets' go back to our question:

Being born ..., Author X ...: means  she is/was being born: : Progressive Tense does not make sense for the verb 'to be born' unless something is happenning at the moment of speaking: His child is being born. (This means that his child at the moment is being born).

being a US citizen, Author X ...:  means she was/is being a united states citizen , doesn't make sense.

He, who was a US citizen, won the Y prize. --> He, a US citizen, won the Y prize. OR A US citizen, He won the Y prize.

Does this make sense?

anox · Answer

Being a United States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee has  lived in England and Canada, and first came to the United States in 1961 to study at the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

Issues:  Verb form | Construction

Analysis:
 1. A quick glance at the sentence will tell you that the organization of chronological events in the sentence is bit confusing.
2. The correct choice should establish non-confusing chronological order

(A)  Being a United States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee has
 - Confusing construction

(B)   Having been a United States citizen since 1988,  she  was born in Calcutta in 1940 ; author Bharati Mukherjee
 - Non-sensical phrase; The phrasing of the clause suggests that the author became "United States citizen" before she was born.
- "she" has no clear referent as the author has not been mentioned in first clause.

(C) Born in  Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee  became  a United States citizen in 1988;  she has

(D)   Being born  in Calcutta in 1940 and  having been  a United States citizen since 1988, author Bharati Mukherjee
 - Incorrect verb form; Present continuous;
- Illogical construction; Being born in Calcutta and being a US citizen has no bearing on author's current situation.

(E)   Having been born  in Calcutta in 1940 and  being a  United States citizen since 1988, author Bharati Mukherjee
 - Incorrect verb form; Present continuous;
- Illogical construction; Having born in Calcutta and being a US citizen has no bearing on author's current situation.

Answer:  (C)

AkshdeepS · Answer

(A)  Being a United  States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee has

(B)  Having been a United States  citizen since 1988, she was born in Calcutta in 1940; author Bharati Mukherjee

(C) Born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee became a United States citizen in 1988; she has

(D)  Being born in Calcutta  in 1940 and having been a United States citizen since 1988, author Bharati Mukherjee

(E)  Having been born in Calcutta  in 1940 and being a United States citizen since 1988, author Bharati Mukherjee

It's (C) clear and crisp

KB04 · Answer

Being a United States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee has lived in England and Canada, and first came to the United States in 1961 to study at the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

(A) Being a United States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee has
Chronological error

(B) Having been a United States citizen since 1988, she was born in Calcutta in 1940; author Bharati Mukherjee
Chronological error

(C) Born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee became a United States citizen in 1988; she has
Correct. This sentence is clear and concise.

(D)  Being  born in Calcutta in 1940 and  having been  a United States citizen since 1988, author Bharati Mukherjee

(E)  Having been  born in Calcutta in 1940 and  being  a United States citizen since 1988, author Bharati Mukherjee

Takeaway from this sentence is that 
How GMAT avoids the usage of BEING, HAVING BEING.
Meaning plays a very important role.
Look for the chronology if the timings of events are present in the sentence.

On the basis of above takeaways C is the clear answer.

shameekv1989 · Answer

Hello  egmat ,

I recently read an article by egmat which states :-

2 usages of being :-

Correct Usage 1
When Being is used as a noun. For example:
Being disrespectful to elders is not an acceptable behavior.
Notice the subject here – being disrespectful to her elders

Correct Usage 2
When passive continuous verb tense is required to communicate the meaning. For example:
The residents of this 100-year old apartment complex are being evacuated because of structural instability of the building.
Notice the verb tense here – are being evacuated – present continuous written in passive voice.

Question is whether 
Usage of Being is correct here as it is used as a Noun phrase :- Being a US Citizen

Note :- I understand the problem is the logic presented, but I just wanted to clear my understanding of usage of Being for future.

AliciaSierra · Answer

GMATNinja ,

How HAS is justified in option C ? I understand option A, B, D and E are completely wrong but I am not able to understand usage of HAS in option C.

GMATNinja · Answer

Great question! But before diving into this subtle point, keep in mind that the most important thing is that you are able to eliminate A, B, D, and E! Clearly the GMAT didn't want you worrying to much about whether "has" is okay in option (C). The other choices have far worse errors, so we're stuck with (C).

That said, let's start with a couple basic examples (my guess is that you'll have no issue with these):

"I have lived in Queens since 2018." - By using the present perfect, it's clear that I  started  living in Queens in 2018 and that I  still  live there now. 
 "I lived in New York in 2009." - Obviously you want to use the simple past ("lived") here, since this action took place at a specific time in the past.

Now let's look at a couple that are a bit dicier:

"I lived in Los Angeles." - Again, we have a simple past verb, so we know that I lived there at  some  point in the past -- but that could have been 20 years ago, last year, last month, last week... basically anytime before the present moment. The simple past suggests that we are talking about a specific time frame in the past. But without indicating the time frame, this example leaves the reader wondering, " When  did you live in Los Angeles?". 
 "I have lived in Los Angeles." - We still don't know when exactly I lived in Los Angeles. But in this case, the verb tense  implies  that it could have been anytime in the past... right up to the present moment. So the verb tense mentally prepares us for NOT KNOWING the specific time frame.

So, when you want to indicate a specific time frame in the past, a simple past verb makes sense. But if you only want to communicate that it happened at some unknown time in the past, present perfect can be acceptable, too -- though you don't see this usage all that often on the GMAT, so I wouldn't lose too much sleep over the intricacies of it.

The most important takeaway: if there's a construction you're unsure about, but you're able to find other, more concrete errors, use the concrete errors as your basis for elimination.

I hope that helps!

jaisonsunny77 · Answer

Being a United States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee has  lived in England and Canada, and first came to the United States in 1961 to study at the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

(A) Being a United States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee has  -  Since we already have a time frame indicator word ''Since 1988'', we need not use the present continuous tense ''being''.  
 
(B) Having been a United States citizen since 1988, she was born in Calcutta in 1940; author Bharati Mukherjee  -  here, the pronoun ''she'' could refer to some other woman, not the author Bharati Mukherjee

(C) Born in Calcutta in 1940, author Bharati Mukherjee became a United States citizen in 1988; she has - has no error. Hence,  (C) is the right answer choice.  
  
(D) Being born in Calcutta in 1940 and having been a United States citizen since 1988, author Bharati Mukherjee  -  ''being born... and having been..., lived..." - in (D), we have a mashup of different verb tenses in the same sentence. 
 
(E) Having been born in Calcutta in 1940 and being a United States citizen since 1988, author Bharati Mukherjee  -  has the same error as described in (D).

mSKR · Answer

Being disrespectful to elders is not an acceptable behavior.
Here Being is used because "Being disrespectful to elders " is used a noun and is the subject of a sentence

Being a United States citizen since 1988 and being born in Calcutta in 1940- is not a subject
so as per  egmat  explanation, being is wrong here

egmat : please correct me as per your "being" explanation, if anything wrong or not mentioned.

mba757 · Answer

A. The author was literally “being a united states citizen”…no.
a. Also logical meaning error – “(Because) Being a U.S. citizen…and being born in Calcutta…(therefore) BM lived in England and Canada
b. Also this order seems weird. Says something about 88’ then goes back to 40’. Temporally, illogical.
B. This order seems weird. Says something about 88’ then goes back to 40’. Temporally, illogical.
a. “she” needs an antecedent in the first portion before semicolon
b. “having been a U.S. citizen since 1988, she was born…in 1940?”
i. This temporally doesn’t make sense
ii. Also because she was a U.S. citizen (which it doesn’t necessarily seem like she is now), she was born in Calcutta (at a date that was before the time she was a U.S. citizen? LOL no.
C. This seems clean. Keep
D. The author was literally “being a united states citizen”…no.
a. Seems like a tense error – “Being born…having been…”
b. Also logical meaning error – “(Because) Being a U.S. citizen…and being born in Calcutta…(therefore) BM lived in England and Canada
E. The author was literally “being a united states citizen in 1988”? What was she BEING in 1989 then? How about 1979? Illogical. 
a. Seems like a tense error – “having been…being a….”
b. Also logical meaning error – “(Because) Being a U.S. citizen…and being born in Calcutta…(therefore) BM lived in England and Canada

Being a United States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutta in 1940,

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Being a United States citizen since 1988 and born in Calcutta in 1940,

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