Due to traffic being backed up, by the time I arrived at my parent’s

Question

Due to traffic being backed up, by the time I arrived at my parent’s house the reunion was over for hours and all my relatives have gone.

a) was over for hours and all my relatives have gone
b) had been over for hours and all my relatives had gone
c) were over for hours and all my relatives had gone
d) has been over for hours and all my relatives was gone
e) had been over for hours and all my relatives had been gone

Show Spoiler

I am struggling to understand the usage of "BEEN" in the perfect tenses. Can any one please help me understand main criteria behind the usage of BEEN in the perfect tenses?

Here is an Example from Club grammar book:
I was able to get the right answer - with the intuition but I am unable to understand the difference between options B and E. From my online search, I figured that when the verb has past participle (like Gone in this case), there is no need to use BEEN. But then...as I think more about it, we do use the phrases such as - "I have been doing". This is all confusing.
Thanks for looking into this.

Show Answer

Official Answer

B

sashah6 · Answer

The difference between choice B and E

sayantanc2k · Answer

This question does not seem to be very GMAT-like. Both of the following constructions (in simple past) are alright:

They went.
They were gone.

Thus the past perfect should also be alright:
They had gone. (Option B)
They had been gone. (Option E)

Hence both B and E seem alright.

anandjain24 · Answer

Due to traffic being backed up, by the time I arrived at my parent’s house the reunion  was over for hours and all my relatives have gone.

a) was over for hours and all my relatives have gone
b) had been over for hours and all my relatives had gone
c) were over for hours and all my relatives had gone
d) has been over for hours and all my relatives was gone
e) had been over for hours and all my relatives had been gone

Since the action of the party being  over  and relatives gone already happened by the time the subject arrived, I chose option (e) ->Past Perfect. But the correct answer is (a).
Can anyone explain this?

Thank you!

madgmat2019 · Answer

I dont think had been is necessary for the second time.... so OA:(B)

jrzayev001 · Answer

Due to traffic being backed up, by the time I arrived at my parent’s house the reunion was over for hours and all my relatives have gone.

a) was over for hours and all my relatives have gone
b) had been over for hours and all my relatives had gone
c) were over for hours and all my relatives had gone
d) has been over for hours and all my relatives was gone
e) had been over for hours and all my relatives had been gone

by the time I arrived - 1 time, so we need the second time, therefore past perfect. So A-C is out
B - D - E
B tells that the party had been over and relatives had gone. we don't know if these two actions were in a sequence or at the same time. Hence this is the correct answer.
D and E tell confidently the sequence of actions.

Due to traffic being backed up, by the time I arrived at my parent’s

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

Due to traffic being backed up, by the time I arrived at my parent’s

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards