Long overshadowed by the Maya and Aztec civilizations, historians are

daagh Dear Sir

There has long been a misconception that GMAT does'nt like the usage of being. This SC ques clearly contradicts it. Can you please share your views on the usage of "being" ? After eliminating D only on the basis of this, i was stuck as all other had errors too. Moving forward, just seeing "being" in a sentence should not be a reason to eliminate an option?

Sam,
Hi,
With regard to your query on 'being'


Usage of 'Being' in GMAT SC

Typically usage of "being" as a modifier makes the answer choice wordy and awkward. Nevertheless, it has been deprecated so much as if it is an untouchable usage. However, there are three perfectly correct usages of this word. Being cognizant of these usages is important. Moreover, make sure you do not blindly eliminate an answer choice just because you see the word "being" in it.

1. Whenever the word, 'being ' is used as a modifier then it is considered wordy and redundant by GMAT. Most of the time the word being is seen to be used in GMAT as a modifier.

Correct Usage 1 - When Being acts as a noun and is used as part of a noun phrase or as a substantive phrase, then GMAT accepts being as correct. For example

Being unresponsive to the symptoms of a disease may make the disease worse.
Remember this noun phrase containing the gerund 'being' will always be accompanied by a verb after it. If you do not see a verb, then 'being' would not be a correct usage.

Notice the noun phrase acting as the subject here - being unresponsive to the symptoms-.


Correct Usage 2 - When passive continuous verb tense is required to communicate the meaning. For example --
The residents of this 100-year old apartment complex are being evacuated because of the debilitating condition of the building


Notice the verb here - are being evacuated-present continuous written in the passive voice. If you do not see the helping verb - anything such as is, are, was, were, will b, would be, and so on-, before being, and then be sure ' being' is not being used properly.

Correct usage 3. Being an object of a verb or an object of a preposition.

As part of their therapy, young polio victims learning to live with their disabilities were helped to practice falling during the 1950s, so that they could learn to fall without being hurt.
You may see the use of being is not even underlined here, meaning that it is correct usage because 'being' here is an object of the preposition 'without'.

Performing a risky maneuver that required precision flying, not only did space shuttle astronauts retrieve an orbiting satellite, it was done simultaneously while avoiding being rear-ended by a passing ultraviolet telescope.

A. not only did space shuttle astronauts retrieve an orbiting satellite, but it was also done simultaneously while avoiding

B. not only was an orbiting satellite retrieved by space shuttle astronauts but they also simultaneously avoided

C. an orbiting satellite was retrieved by space shuttle astronauts who also avoided simultaneously

D. space shuttle astronauts retrieved an orbiting satellite, simultaneously while avoiding

E. space shuttle astronauts retrieved an orbiting satellite and simultaneously avoided
Being rear-ended has not been underlined. In the correct choice E, it acts as an object (gerund) of the verb 'avoided'. Hence, GMAT accepts this usage
Other than the above three cases, generally you will find 'being' used as a modifier, almost in 90% of the cases. Hence, the word 'being', if not used properly, may give an easy cue to eliminate those choices without much difficulty


1. Heavy commitment by an executive to a course of action, especially if it has worked well in the past, makes it likely to miss signs of incipient trouble or misinterpret them when they do appear.

A. Heavy commitment by an executive to a course of action, especially if it has worked well in the past, makes it likely to miss signs of incipient trouble or misinterpret them when they do appear.
B. an executive who is heavily committed to a course of action, especially one that worked well in the past, makes missing signs of incipient trouble or misinterpreting ones likely when they do appear.
C. an executive who is heavily committed to a course of action is likely to miss or misinterpret signs of incipient trouble when they do appear, especially if it has worked well in the past.
D. Executives’ being heavily committed to a course of action, especially if it has worked well in the past, makes them likely to miss signs of incipient trouble or misinterpreting them when they do appear.
E. Being heavily committed to a course of action, especially one that has worked well in the past, makes it likely to miss signs of incipient trouble or misinterpret them when they do appear.

E is the answer

GMATNinja, GMATNinjaTwo
I had ruled out option D because of to followed by -ing form ("legacy to succeeding Mesoamerican societies"). But since it is a official GMAT question, I now know it is correct. Can you please help me understand under what scenarios is this usage acceptable and under what scenarios it is not acceptable.
Thanks in advance.

First, consider this example: "Nike gave free equipment and apparel to athletes."

• A "gift" is something you give TO some other person/group of people, so we need to use the structure, "Nike gave [something] TO [some person/group]."
• Now what if we want to modify "athletes" (i.e. "many athletes", "high-school athletes, "aspiring athletes", ...)? Well, the modifier, even if it's an -ing modifier, doesn't change the fact that we need the word "to" to indicate that Nike gave something TO the athletes: "Nike gave free equipment and apparel to aspiring athletes."

The same is true in this question:

• In choice (D), "succeeding" modifies "Mesoamerican societies.
• Stripping out some modifiers, we have, "... the Olmec culture is now being explored by historians for its legacy to Mesoamerican societies."
• A legacy is something you leave TO some other person or group of people.
• So we need "legacy TO Mesoamerican societies", regardless of what modifiers we add before "Mesoamerican societies".

I'm sure that you've heard me say this before, but here it comes again: there are very few concrete "rules" that you can apply to GMAT SC. You have to examine each answer choice, think about the meaning, and determine which choice is the best out of the five choices in THAT problem.

That approach, while difficult and unsatisfying, is much more effective than trying to memorize an endless list of rules and scenarios.

I hope that helps a bit!

Just for my understanding purpose in Option A, is it ok have 2 verbs? without using conjunctions, subordinate conjunctions or relative clauses

A. historians are now exploring the more ancient Olmec culture for the legacy it had for succeeding Mesoamerican societies.

Although "Had" is auxiliary verb.

This is not related to the question but for my understanding. And, I have find this usage at multiple occasion, which I often find it problematic.

I would be glad if moderators or anyone can help me rectify it

GMATNinja, Abhi077, generis, hazelnut, GMATNinjaTwo

Take a look at these two examples:

• "Scientists are studying the volcanic eruption and the effect that it had on the local ecosystem." - My guess is that you are okay with this one. The main subject+verb pair is "scientists are studying". We have another noun+verb pair within the "that" clause ("it had"), and the "that" clause modifies "the effect".
• "Scientists are studying the volcanic eruption and the effect it had on the local ecosystem." - This is the exact same sentence except the word "that" has been removed. This is okay because the "that" (a relative pronoun, if you like the jargon) is implied.

I hope that answers your question!

Could someone shed light on the usage of 'being' in Option D?

Hi sakshiagarwal96,

This being is one that we must use whenever we form the passive of the continuous tense.

X is exploring Y. ← Active voice, is exploring is the verb.
Y is being explored by X. ← Passive voice, is being explored is the verb.

Is there any clue or hint that I can know Long overshadowed...... civilization modifies Legacy (Choice C) or Ancient Olmec culture (Choice D) ?

Hello, Tanchat. Yes, there is such a hint, but to spot it, you have to be attuned to just how much the GMAT™ likes comparisons to be between like entities. Take a look at (C) again:

Long overshadowed by the Maya and Aztec civilizations, the legacy of the more ancient Olmec culture...

Strictly speaking, in terms of the grammar, civilizations are being compared to the legacy. To draw a comparison between legacies, we would need to squeeze something like that of or those of between by and the civilizations in question.

1) Long overshadowed by that of the Maya and Aztec civilizations, the legacy of the more ancient Olmec culture...

One could argue that the singular that of melds two separate cultures or civilizations together when it should not be so, which is why you might try the following instead:

2) Long overshadowed by those of the Maya and Aztec civilizations, the legacy of the more ancient Olmec culture...

Now, if you were uncomfortable with a legacies-to-legacy comparison, you could alter the sentence, but such a change is unnecessary (as I will discuss below):

3) Long overshadowed by that of each of the Maya and Aztec civilizations, the legacy of the more ancient Olmec culture...

There is no doubt now that the comparison is between each of legacy A and legacy B on one hand and legacy C on the other. If, however, the sentence aims to compare civilizations, then (D) and (E) stand out as the only real contenders. A hybrid answer through the comparison would resemble thus:

Long overshadowed by the Maya and Aztec civilizations, the [more ancient] Olmec culture...

Now we can appreciate why sentence 3) above is overwrought in its specificity. That is, the correct sentence here, (D), compares the plural civilizations to a singular culture, but since like is being compared to like, that is all the GMAT™ cares about.

I hope that helps. If you have further questions, feel free to ask. Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew

I've eliminated C because I could not find the what's reference. Can any one tell me what is is referring to? Is this a mistake?

Hi plaverbach,

In option C, is is the verb for the legacy of the more ancient Olmec culture to the Mesoamerican societies that succeeded them.

... the legacy of the more ancient Olmec culture to the Mesoamerican societies that succeeded them is what historians are now exploring

In other words:
Q: What are historians now exploring?
A: The legacy of the more ancient Olmec culture to the Mesoamerican societies that succeeded them.

There are two major problems here: (a) option C is awkward (D is better) and (b) legacy is the subject of option C, and it is not a good fit for the introductory modifier ("long overshadowed by the Maya and Aztec civilizations"). That is, if we ask "what was overshadowed by these civilizations?", we expect the answer to be "the Olmec culture", and not "the legacy of the Olmec culture".

Awkwardness is something that I avoid a lot, but I see other 2 points:
A. The legacy (as you sad)
B. The plural them has no reference! 😉

Anyway, thanks for the reply, I feel I have learnt something today. W words usually are a headache to me

Posted from my mobile device

I'm glad I could help.

1. On the GMAT, we want to pick an option that is (ideally) not awkward, or at least is less awkward than the other four options, and I don't think we can avoid taking calls on the basis of awkwardness.

2. You're absolutely right about the them. My reply was focused on the what you had asked about. The reply I linked to in my previous post is a more complete look at option C.

Any concrete reason to eliminate E? How do we know that it's not the mesoamerican societies that are being explored??

Posted from my mobile device

Well, the original sentence clearly states historians are now exploring the more ancient Olmec culture (and not Mesoamerican societies).

Now obviously, the meaning provided in the original sentence does change in numerous sentences on GMAT; however, in this case, the overall emphasis of the sentence is on Olmec culture. Basically, the whole idea is that Olmec culture has only recently received attention of historians (for a long time, Olmec culture had not received attention, because it was overshadowed by the Maya and Aztec civilizations).

Hi, how can "for its legacy to succeeding Mesoamerican societies" be correct??
I dont understand...