Framed by traitorous colleagues, Alfred Dreyfus was imprisoned for twe

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
The intended meaning of the crucial part of this sentence is that Alfred Dreyfus was imprisoned for twelve years before he was exonerated and freed.

Concepts tested here: Parallelism + Meaning + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• Usage of “being” is justified, when it acts as a passive continuous verb (the case in Choice C here) or as part of a noun phrase; note, the use of the passive continuous tense must be justified in the context (as it is in choice C).
• Any elements linked by a conjunction (“and” in this sentence) must be parallel.
• The present perfect continuous tense (marked by “has/have been”) is used to refer to actions that started in the past and continue into the present.
• The simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past.

A: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “there was exoneration and his freedom”; the construction of this phrase illogically implies that Alfred Dreyfus was imprisoned for twelve years before the nouns “exoneration” and “freedom” existed in the abstract; the intended meaning is that Alfred Dreyfus was imprisoned for twelve years before he was exonerated and freed.

B: Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “exonerated with freedom”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the noun Alfred Dreyfus was imprisoned for twelve years before he was exonerated alongside freedom; the intended meaning is that Alfred Dreyfus was imprisoned for twelve years before he was exonerated and freed.

C: Correct. This answer choice correctly uses the phrase “before being exonerated and freed” to modify the action “was imprisoned for twelve years”, conveying the intended meaning - that Alfred Dreyfus was imprisoned for twelve years before he was exonerated and freed. Further, Option C maintains parallelism between “exonerated” and “freed".

D: Trap. This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism between “exoneration" and "his freedom"; please remember that any elements linked by a conjunction (“and” in this sentence) must be parallel.

E: This answer choice incorrectly uses the present perfect continuous tense verb “having been exonerated” for an action that concluded in the past; please remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past, and the present perfect continuous tense (marked by “has/have been”) is only used to refer to actions that started in the past and continue into the present.

Hence, C is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):



To understand the concept of "Present Perfect Continuous Tense" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team