Much of the garbage that might otherwise be dumped in landfills in the

Question

Much of the garbage  that might otherwise be dumped in landfills in the past  is now being recycled.

A. that might otherwise be dumped in landfills in the past
B. that otherwise might have been dumped in landfills in the past
C. that might otherwise have been dumped in landfills 
D. that, in the past, might otherwise have been dumped in landfills
E. that, at one point otherwise, might once have been dumped in landfills

aragonn · Accepted Answer

Official Question Explanation: 
The underlined portion of the sentence includes the conditional phrase might otherwise paired with the verb be dumped, so check for verb tense errors. The underlined phrase in the past, indicates that present tense verb be dumped is incorrect and that the past tense is correct, so eliminate choice A for a verb tense error and look for obvious repeaters. Because no answer choice is constructed the same way, there are no obvious repeaters. Now, evaluate the remaining answer choices individually, looking for reasons to eliminate each.

Choice B fixes the original verb tense error by correctly using the past tense verb have been dumped, but the phrase in the past is now unnecessary, so eliminate choice B for a redundancy error. Choice C fixes the original verb tense error by correctly using the past tense verb have been dumped and introduces no new errors, so keep choice C. Choice D fixes the original verb tense error by correctly using the past tense verb have been dumped, but the phrase in the past is now unnecessary, so eliminate choice D for a redundancy error. Choice E fixes the original verb tense error by correctly using the verb have been dumped, but incorrectly introduces the phrase at one point otherwise which is repetitive when paired with the verb might, so eliminate choice E for a redundancy error.

Alternatively, if it is difficult to spot which grammar rule the sentence is testing, another strategy is to try to identify an error from the answers by looking for either a 2/3 split or differences among the answers. Since two answer choices end with the modifying phrase in the past and the others omit this information, this difference is an indication to look for redundancy errors.

Choice A: No. The present tense verb be dumped does not match the phrase in the past. Verb tense.

Choice B: No. The phrase in the past is repetitive when paired with the past tense verb have been dumped. Redundancy.

Choice C: Correct.

Choice D: No. The phrase in the past is repetitive when paired with the past tense verb have been dumped. Redundancy.

Choice E: No. The phrase at one point otherwise is repetitive when paired with the verb might. Redundancy.

Abhishek009 · Answer

With (C) for the highlighted errors in other options...

vaibhavi21 · Answer

Hi,,,it ommitted in the past in C? 
Can you make us understand how it is C not D?

Abhishek009 · Answer

Dear  vaibhavi21

Go by the meaning of the sentence , the sentence presents a possibility scenario...

Meaning Analysis : Garbage that might otherwise have been dumped in landfills is now recycled...

The speaker doesn't mention about past , he/she simply presents a possibility that could have happened/occured if the landfills are now recycled now !!!

Hope this helps..

parijit · Answer

Faulty question,without 'in the past' 'is now' does not make sense.So the answer should be D.

Wonderwoman31 · Answer

Hi  aragonn  - Could you please help me out in resolving below query?

here in the above explanation might be dumped is mentioned as present tense, whereas might have been dumped as past tense. I find both of them to be present.

Am I wrong in my understanding?

aragonn · Answer

Wonderwoman31  - Make things easy - dumping is done right. but lets take it to next level. Consider these examples. Now I called (in past) her some time back . but she didn't talk to me. Now you tell me she is busy in past of right now?

In this question, now recycled - refer that garbage is dumped already, and recycling is also finished. We need a past tense. "might have been" is used to talk about an unreal condition or situation, as in above example.

Let me add  generis , who will definitely give more insight on your question.

generis · Answer

Wonderwoman31 , I am not sure why you think that "might have been dumped" is in the present tense. (??) What is your reasoning? "Might be " refers to the present. That strange noise might be the unlatched gate; it's windy outside. "Might have been " refers to the past . 1) been is the past participle of be 2) we use "might have been" to talk about situations that were possible but that did not happen. (In British English the phrase "may have been" is also used.) This sentence uses economical phrasing to convey a lot of information about change over time. C) Much of the garbage that might otherwise have been dumped in landfills is now being recycled. • In the past, people dumped garbage into landfills. People did not recycle garbage. In the present, people do recycle much of the garbage that they previously dumped into landfills. • The adverb otherwise is used to add emphasis to the difference between the past and the present. • The garbage that is now being recycled includes much of the garbage that in the past could have been recycled but was not. Rather than dumping garbage into landfills, people could have done otherwise: they could have recycled the garbage. Finally, I suspect that the author uses the present progressive is being recycled rather than the simple present is recycled for two reasons. -- First, is being reinforces that right now, unlike what happened in the past, garbage is being disposed of differently. -- Second, the present progressive in this context suggests an ongoing process.** Finally, focus on only the "have been" part of the verb; that focus may make the time frame in the past clearer. The scientists have been given permission to explore the newly discovered island. When did the scientists get permission? Now? No. Before now. I suppose they could have gotten permission 10 seconds ago, but that time is still in the past. If neither my answer nor aragonn 's answer helps, please either explain why you think a certain construction is wrong or write the sentence as you think it should be written. Hope that analysis helps.

**Quirk et al. (1985) A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language . §§4.25-40

Wonderwoman31 · Answer

Hi  aragonn  /  generis ,

Thank you so much for taking out time for such a detailed reply. Your explanation pretty much cleared all my doubts. My doubt majorly stemmed from the assumption that all second form of verbs are in past tense. But your explanation was quite helpful.

KarishmaB · Answer

Responding to a pm:

The use of "in the past" is redundant because you are using the perfect tense which shows completion and that this is what would have happened in the past. Then you don't need to say "in the past".

41396302717 · Answer

Hello  generis 
shouldn't much of the garbage  has been  be the right construction because, garbage is a whole unit and we are talking about a part from it. For eg. the construction,  Much of the chocolate is .......... , is the right construction according to me.
Please help me clarify this doubt. Thank you in advance.

abhishekmayank · Answer

Somehow I am not convinced of the argument that word "past" is redundant in a past tense. If that is the case then "past" word itself should be non existent in the dictionary, or at best should only be used in a limited context, such as using it as an "adjective" :

1. We can't bring past glory of Russia back - Correct
2. He was bright student in the past - Incorrect

I think that prepositional phrase "in the past" accentuates that something happened in the past, and it should not be treated as redundant.

AjiteshArun , Could you please help us?

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi  abhishekmayank ,

My reply is not specific to this question, but you are correct: redundancy is not something that  always  ends up breaking a sentence, and it certainly has its uses.

Tests like the GMAT, however, tend to follow simplistic "rules" (guidelines) on issues like redundancy and the passive voice. As test takers, we should try to  minimize  redundancy, awkwardness, and ambiguity.

abhishekmayank · Answer

Thanks  AjiteshArun  for the explanation !!

GMATE1 · Answer

Dear  aragonn , dear  AjiteshArun , dear  GMATNinja , dear community

I am confused by this explanation.  I also got C  but  with a slightly different reasoning . While I excluded A&C for similar reasons I choose to  exclude B&D for different reasons  then given in this explantion. I would highly apprecitate if someone could  let me know if my approach is correct :

In answer choice B&D the sentence seems to be in present perfect (because of the have). Present perfect is used to describe an action which happend in the past and continues into the present or at least the effects of the action continue into the present. HOWEVER both option include "in the past" which indicates that the action occured in the past and IS NOT CONTINUING into the present. Therefore   the fact that present perfect was used to describe the action ,which continues, (might continue if it were not for the recycling) clashes with the fact that "in the past" indicates that the action was completed  . --> B&D eliminated

The explanation by  aragonn  eliminates B&D because of redundancy as it explains that the tense is already in the past and therefore writing "in the past" is redundant. But  this is where I disagree!  The usage of "in the past" is wrong, however  the tense is not past it is present perfect .   The mistake in my opinion is therefore not redundancy   but that that the phrase "in the past" indicates that the action (and it's effect) is already completed in the past whereas present perfect indicates that the action would continue if it were not for the recyling which is now done instead.

Am I correct in my logic? I highly appreciate your response,

Kudos to you!

VerbalBot · Answer

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Much of the garbage that might otherwise be dumped in landfills in the

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