Vaishali2004 wrote:
GMATNinja can you please help understand why option E is wrong. I read that "being" is not wrong if is used in continuous tense.
For "being" to be a verb, it needs to be preceded by some form of "to be" (IS being, ARE being, WERE being, etc.). Since we don't have that here, "being" can't be a verb in (E).
You could argue that "being" is a noun (more specifically,
a gerund if you like the jargon), representing the thing being claimed. It's a bit like saying "I claim
this land in the name of Queen Victoria!" or "Tim claimed
his luggage at the airport."
Notice that in those last two examples, the thing being claimed is a simple noun, and "to claim" essentially means "to take" (as in, "I take this land," or "Tim takes his luggage"). And that makes sense because "luggage" and "land" are concrete things that can be taken.
But "-ing" nouns (again, you can call them gerunds if you like grammar jargon) are typically actions or activities, not concrete things that can be claimed or taken. For example, you wouldn't claim
skiing itself. Instead, you'd claim
to be skiing.
And that's what we get in choice (D). The firm isn't claiming an action or activity itself. Instead, the firm is claiming to DO something (claiming to BE able...).
To be fair, that's a pretty subtle little point. Luckily, this question is very old, and you likely won't have to worry about this sort of distinction on your actual test.
I hope that helps!