Asad wrote:
generis wrote:
Partly as a result of Proposition 13, which severely limits property tax increases, California has come more and more to rely on personal income taxes for its revenues; income taxes have increased from 18 percent of the state's general fund in 1962 to 48 percent by 2002.
A) have increased from 18 percent of the state's general fund in 1962 to 48 percent by 2002
B) have increased from 18 percent of the state's general fund in 1962 to being up to 48 percent by 2002
C) have increased from 18 percent of the state's general fund in 1962, and by 2002 were up to 48 percent
D) increased from 18 percent of the state's general fund in 1962, and by 2002 were 48 percent
E) increased from 18 percent of the state's general fund in 1962 to 48 percent by 2002
SC00150.02
Hello Experts,
MartyTargetTestPrep,
GMATNinja,
GMATGuruNY,
AjiteshArun,
DmitryFarber,
MentorTutoring,
EducationAisle,
generisI've a query about correct choice E.
So, the correct sentence is:
Partly as a result of Proposition 13, which severely limits property tax increases, California has come more and more to rely on personal income taxes for its revenues; income taxes increased from 18 percent of the state's general fund in 1962 to 48 percent by 2002.I can still write this sentence as follows if i don't miss anything!
Partly as a result of Proposition 13, which severely limits property tax increases, California has come more and more to rely on personal income taxes for its revenues; by 2002, income taxes increased from 18 percent of the state's general fund in 1962 to 48 percent.I did not find any meaning difference in both versions above. But, we need to be specific when we use 'past perfect tense', at least here in this case. We can use past perfect tense by the following ways:
Here are 2 examples:
I had taken 6 practice tests by the time I took GMAT.
By 2018, I had taken the GMAT three times.
^^ So, when we see an
specific time frame like the highlighted part, we
must use 'past perfect tense'. So, why the past form (increased) has been used in E? Shouldn't we use
had after
income taxes in the red sentence like the following one?
Partly as a result of Proposition 13, which severely limits property tax increases, California has come more and more to rely on personal income taxes for its revenues; by 2002, income taxes had increased from 18 percent of the state's general fund in 1962 to 48 percent. I am not questioning the official question, but I have vast curiosity to know more.
Could you clarify a bit, please?
Thanks__
Good question,
Asad. The reason the simple past works in the original sentence but not in your red sentence above is that the placement of that
by 2002 phrase creates a specific timeline. Moving forward, in linear time, the simple past indicates that within a closed period of time from 1962 to 2002, income taxes increased. No problem. However, by placing
by 2002 at the head of the second clause, you have jumped ahead to the end, but then you are reaching back into a past that needs to bridge up to the established present (2002), so the use of the past perfect is fitting instead. In other words, it would not make sense to say that by 2002, income taxes... increased in 1962. The arrow of time you have created with such a structure is no longer linear, but more V-shaped: present-past-present. That is a tricky one, and I doubt I would even think of it in such terms if I were to see such a sentence on the test, but I would probably opt for the past perfect version just the same.
- Andrew
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19 May 2020, 13:22
