GMAT CLUB OLYMPICS: Since civil war erupted a decade ago, more than 5

Question

Since civil war erupted a decade ago, more than 5 million people  have fled the country and another 6 million are  displaced internally.

(A) have fled the country and another 6 million are
(B) have fled the country and another 6 million have
(C) fled the country and another 6 million were
(D) fled the country and another 6 million have been
(E) have fled the country and another 6 million were

V34-14

AndrewN · Accepted Answer

Hello, everyone. This is a question that tests parallelism, but you have to be careful not to chase what you  want  to be on the screen. I know, why can we not simply have an answer choice that said,  have fled... and have been ? Well, that would be too easy. If any of you know me from my posts, you probably appreciate that I eschew a mechanical approach to SC. Rules can help you build a foundation, but you achieve mastery when you understand just how those rules can bend according to the context of the sentence. Plus, this is a competition. You signed up for  a challenge , right? We should be eager to dive in and get our hands dirty.

I was rejoicing when, not even a month ago, none other than  GMATNinja  wrote  the following response  (in part) to a difficult  official  question that also tests parallelism:

We have to ask ourselves, does it make sense to say that  people have fled the country ? Of course. I doubt anyone would argue otherwise, given the  since  + time cue that we get ahead of the main clause. This is SC 101. But now we have to apply the same litmus test (sorry, I am on a roll with mixed metaphors today) to the latter part, and this is where the mechanical-minded test-taker, looking for  have been , may grow frustrated and confused. But does it make sense to say that  another 6 million   are displaced internally —i.e. within the country? Sure, it does. Taken together, we understand that during a decade-long conflict  that extends into the present , so many people  have fled  while others remain in the country, but not without consequence: these unfortunate 6 million  are displaced , so they have lost their homes. The parallelism is fine, even if we have to stop to think about it.

The first part checks out, but the second does not:    have displaced  makes no sense. People can displace an object or be displaced themselves, and, as discussed above, people can  have been  displaced, but  have  on its own simply does not work in the context of the sentence. This answer choice is designed to catch the person who is scanning for parallel instances of  have  without considering meaning.

The present progressive tense,  have fled , not the simple past,  fled , conveys that people are continuing to flee the country. Neither does  were  express that the  civil war  is ongoing. So, despite perfect parallelism, the verbs do not fit the sentence at hand.

We finally get  have been , but it is paired with the simple past  fled , and, as discussed above, the one-word verb is incorrectly used within the overarching framework of the sentence.

If (C) was a sinking ship and (D) tilted to one side to let some water out, this answer choice tilts the other way to partially relieve the danger. But  were  still does not fit, any way we would look to spin our argument. The conflict is ongoing, and  were  marks an endpoint.

Perhaps this one will prove easier than some of the others in the competition, but it should encourage you to  think  above all else. Happy studies.

- Andrew

MV94 · Answer

I spell out my whole train of though below, which starts with eliminating all 5, and then how I approach it after I've done that.

Since civil war erupted a decade ago, more than 5 million people  have fled the country and another 6 million are  displaced internally.

Fleeing the country and being displaced internally are two different things, so we definitely need the "another" before the 6 million. How the sentence is structured, it appears this event started a decade ago, AND continues through to today, which means we need the present perfect tense FOR BOTH groups of people IMO.

(A) have fled the country and another 6 million are - are doesn't seem right to me here, eliminate. 
(B) have fled the country and another 6 million have - have displaced internally is not correct, eliminate. 
(C) fled the country and another 6 million were - we need "have fled the country" - eliminate.
(D) fled the country and another 6 million have been - we need "have fled the country" - eliminate.
(E) have fled the country and another 6 million were - are doesn't seem right to me here, eliminate.

Ok, so I've eliminated all 5 answers. This often happens to me on sentence correction, meaning somewhere I am wrong. At this point I take a step back and think about the eliminations I am most confident in.

I still believe "have fled" is needed for the first group, since people could still be fleeing:

(C) fled the country and another 6 million were - we need "have fled the country" - eliminate.
(D) fled the country and another 6 million have been - we need "have fled the country" - eliminate.

That leaves us with A, B, and E. Be seems like a pretty easy elimination. Have does not make sense here without a "been" after.

(B) have fled the country and another 6 million have - eliminate.

These two are the two finalists. Since I am assuming that this still continues through today (ie use of "have fled"), that means they are still displaced due to the civil war. Given this, I believe are is the better way to refer to these people. Choice A is my answer by a narrow margin.

(A) have fled the country and another 6 million are - the best answer IMO 
(E) have fled the country and another 6 million were - the people are still displaced today. Eliminate.

sumitkrocks · Answer

IMO  (A)  is correct

The sentences presents a situation which started and continues so present perfect and continues verbs are required

(A) have fled the country and another 6 million are

Correct  
 The sentences presents a situation which started and continues so present perfect and continues verbs are required

(B) have fled the country and another 6 million  have

Per the intended meaning another 6 million are object of the verb not the performers themselves; this choice changes the meaning

(C)  fled  the country and another 6 million  were

Past tense gives impression that 5 million people fled the country at a particular instant in the past; However, we are discussion an ongoing situation which started in the past 
Also Past tense verb "were" changes meaning to give impression that we are discussing past

(D)  fled  the country and another 6 million have been
Past tense gives impression that 5 million people fled the country at a particular instant in the past; However, we are discussion an ongoing situation which started in the past

(E) have fled the country and another 6 million  were 
Past tense verb "were" changes meaning to give impression that we are discussing past

avinashiitp · Answer

D,E are wrong-verb tense mismatch parallelism error
C is wrong, because intent is that since the war, this number of people has been affected, whereas c shows everything is in past, there is no clarity of timelines

B- problem is in second part of the parallelism; "another 6 million have displaced" this statement is wrong it should have been "another 6 million have been displaced". People cannot displace themselves.

A - Ans, parallelism is alright, not great.

thus A

Victor19 · Answer

Option A is the right answer as it uses the correct tense forms.

Option B : "have displaced internally" is awkward. Incorrect.
Option C : The present perfect tense should be used as it is pointing to an action that is completed in the past but its effect is still continuing. Incorrect.
Option D : Same mistake as Option C.
Option E : Pairs a present perfect tense to a Past tense. Present tense (are) should be used in the 2nd part. Incorrect.

harsh497 · Answer

(A) IMO

Since indicates that the event is continuing in present too. Thus, 'have fled' is correct. 
(C), (D) and (E) can be eliminated straightaway.
Since, another 6 million people have not displaced intentionally, (B) is incorrect.
Although I would have liked have been, but 'are' also works fine. Since, the people are currently displaced.
Hence, (A) is our answer.

(A)  have  fled the country and another 6 million  are 
(B)  have  fled the country and another 6 million  have 
(C)  fled  the country and another 6 million  were 
(D)  fled  the country and another 6 million  have been 
(E)  have  fled the country and another 6 million  were

cs15811581 · Answer

Since civil war erupted a decade ago, more than 5 million people  have fled the country and another 6 million are  displaced internally.

(A) have fled the country and another 6 million are
 SINCE starts a clause that talks of a different period, so the other clause should have PRESENT PERFECT tense. ARE is the helping verb to show action being done on the subject, so CORRECT.

(B) have fled the country and another 6 million have
 SINCE starts a clause that talks of a different period, so the other clause should have PRESENT PERFECT tense. HAVE makes the subject doing the action, a situation that is wrong.

(C) fled the country and another 6 million were
 SINCE starts a clause that talks of a different period, so the other clause should have PRESENT PERFECT tense. Past tense is wrong

(D) fled the country and another 6 million have been
 SINCE starts a clause that talks of a different period, so the other clause should have PRESENT PERFECT tense. Past tense is wrong

(E) have fled the country and another 6 million were
 SINCE starts a clause that talks of a different period, so the other clause should have PRESENT PERFECT tense. WERE is wrong as we are talking of present day.

A

Green2k1 · Answer

Since civil war erupted a decade ago, more than 5 million people  have fled the country and another 6 million are  displaced internally.

Error Analysis:
- SINCE - representing the span of time so required present perfect
- for 2nd verb tense pair - passive voice is required - to indicate that people displaced by external agent 
 
(A) have fled the country and another 6 million are
 - sentence seems fine as highlighted above 
-CORRECT

(B) have fled the country and another 6 million have
- for 2nd verb tense - it is indicating PEOPLE are the doer
- Meaning change

(C) fled the country and another 6 million were
- as since has been used - it should have been present/past perfect instead simple past
- Verb tense error

(D) fled the country and another 6 million have been
- Verb tense error
- Same as C

(E) have fled the country and another 6 million were
- 2nd verb tense is indicating that action of "displaced" has happened somewhere in past
- Meaning change

JonShukhrat · Answer

Since civil war erupted a decade ago, more than 5 million people have fled the country and another 6 million are displaced internally.

(A) have fled the country and another 6 million are

Correct choice. Note that the sentence intends to talk about the situation that’s true as of now. Civil war erupted a decade ago and up until many people have fled the country and may still be fleeing. The process of fleeing is not over, so we need “have fled”. Another piece of info that’s true as of now is that other people are displaced. “displaced” acts as an adjective and simply tells that some people are in certain condition. That condition is “displaced”. Hence, they are displaced right now.

(B) have fled the country and another 6 million have

“have displaced” should have been “have been displaced”. Choice B misses “been” and hence illogical.

(C) fled the country and another 6 million were

This choice implies that the process of “fleeing” and “being displaced” is over now. However, nothing in the sentence alludes to the fact that the war is over and people stopped fleeing and being displaced. Thus incorrect.

(D) fled the country and another 6 million have been

Note that we CANNOT cancel off this choice saying that “fled” and “have been displaced” are not parallel. This would be a wrong reason. Different tenses in one sentence can be parallel if the meaning requires this. I cross this choice off because nothing in the sentence implies that the war is over or the process of fleeing is over.

(E) have fled the country and another 6 million were

Again note that we CANNOT cancel off this choice saying that “have fled” and “were displaced” are not parallel. This would be a wrong reason. Different tenses in one sentence can be parallel if the meaning requires this. I cross this choice off because nothing in the sentence implies that the war is over or the process of being displaced is over.

So A

mSKR · Answer

Since civil war erupted a decade ago, more than 5 million people  have fled the country and another 6 million are  displaced internally.

(A)  have  fled the country and another 6 million  are 
(B) have fled the country and another 6 million  have 
(C)  fled  the country and another 6 million  were 
(D)  fled  the country and another 6 million have been
(E) have fled the country and another 6 million  were

I prefer A 
because people fled and they have been displaced- 
meaning wise
secondly, past tense doesn't make sense

hence A seems clear winner

Final answer: A

KrishnanTN · Answer

Initial Analysis - Let us take a moment to understand the meaning of the sentence and the implications.
Since Civil war erupted a decade ago - This tells us that the Civil War is ongoing - and no end looks to be in sight.
So, the act of fleeing is ongoing, as is the act of people getting displaced.
So, there has to be an element of 'still happening' in the right answer choice.

(A) have fled the country and another 6 million are
RIGHT ANSWER - 'have fled' is in present perfect tense - indicates an ongoing action that started in the pat and will continue into the fuure.
'6 million are displaced' indicates the current levels of displacement, with a sense of 'more displacement will probably happen'.

(B) have fled the country and another 6 million have
REJECTED - See the ending 'have displaced internally' is wrong.

(C) fled the country and another 6 million were
REJECTED - As the Civil war is currenty ongoing, '6 million were displaced internally' is wrong, as more people will get displaced, and the sentence intends to convey the present position, with a sense of 'more coming up'.

(D) fled the country and another 6 million have been
REJECTED - As the Civil war is currenty ongoing, 'fled the country' indicates that no more might flee.
'have been displaced' also indicates that no more displacement is expected.

(E) have fled the country and another 6 million were
REJECTED - As the Civil war is currenty ongoing, '6 million were displaced internally' is wrong, as more people will get displaced, and the sentence intends to convey the present position, with a sense of 'more coming up'.

SohGMAT2020 · Answer

Hi  AndrewN

Sorry, I am a bit confused here.

In this sentence, "Since civil war erupted a decade ago, more than 5 million people have fled the country and another 6 million are displaced internally. "

If we remove the first part and write the following sentence "Since civil war erupted a decade ago, 6 million people  are  displaced internally" I believe that is wrong because we need present perfect because of the use of "since". Right?

But then why writing it together as "Since civil war erupted a decade ago, more than 5 million people have fled the country and another 6 million are displaced internally. " makes the tense is correct?

In think we still can break the sentence to two parts

1. Since civil war erupted a decade ago, more than 5 million people have fled the country + 2. Since civil war erupted a decade ago, another 6 million are displaced internally. ( the 2nd part being questionable) right?

Can you please explain? ( Is this correct because it is best compared to other options?)

AndrewN · Answer

Good question,  SohGMAT2020 . This is a case in which the order of the parallel elements is fixed, and that may be causing the confusion. You are correct in saying that we could not place the second part first, so what gives? You may have overlooked a keyword that provides the answer:  another . You could not start a sentence by referring to  another 6 million people  unless people have already been mentioned. And that is what is at work here. The first element adopts the correct verb tense to agree with  since :  have fled . The second element provides further information on  other  people from the same country, and it is absolutely fine to say that these unfortunate people  are displaced .

I hope that helps clarify the matter. Thank you for thinking to ask.

- Andrew

VD2507 · Answer

Learned something new. Great question.

GMAT CLUB OLYMPICS: Since civil war erupted a decade ago, more than 5

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GMAT CLUB OLYMPICS: Since civil war erupted a decade ago, more than 5

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