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655-705 Level|   Adjectives and Adverbs|   Meaning/Logical Predication|   Pronouns|   Verb Tense/Form|                     
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Reporting that one of its many problems had been the recent extended 13 Oct 2021, 20:42
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This one is an absolute classic. One key to the question is that “the seven-store retailer” is singular, so “its” definitely works better than “they.” Most people catch that part, though.

The more common mistake is with the verb tenses. Hopefully, you immediately notice the verb tense in the phrase “one of its many problems had been the recent... sales slump." "Had been" is past perfect tense, and for that to be acceptable, there has to another past action somewhere in the sentence that occurs AFTER the recent sales slump. The tricky part is noticing that "said" is actually in simple past tense, and that actually makes sense: the recent sales slump had been a problem before the retailer said that it would begin liquidation.

So with that in mind…
Quote:
(A) its many problems had been the recent
This looks pretty good. The pronoun is correct, and the past perfect makes sense, as described above. So let’s keep (A).

Quote:
(B) its many problems has been the recently
Now the verb tense doesn’t work: “has been” (present perfect, if you like jargon) indicates an action that started in the past and continues into the present. So the sequencing doesn’t really make sense in its current form: literally, it’s saying that the retailer said -- in the past – that it would start a liquidation sale (implying that the retailer is closing down), but somehow it reported an ongoing sales slump that continues into the present? Seems odd to me. We’re trying to say that one of the retailer’s many problems included a sales slump, and THEN the retailer announced the liquidation. So the present perfect tense isn’t ideal in (B).

And if you don’t believe that, we also have a problem with the adverb “recently”:
  • ”recent extended sales slump” → Both “recent” and “extended” are adjectives that describe the “sales slump.” And that makes sense: the sales slump is extended (a synonym for “long” in this case), and it also is recent. Fine.
  • ”recently extended sales slump” → Now “recently” is an adverb that modifies “extended.” That warps the meaning: now the sales slump was recently extended, meaning that the sales slump was just – in the last few days or weeks – somehow lengthened. And there’s no reason why we would say that here: the sentence is trying to say that the sales slump itself was recent, not that it was lengthened recently.

So we have a couple of not-terribly-easy reasons to eliminate (B).

Quote:
(C) its many problems is the recently
(C) basically has some of the same problems as (B). For starters, the present tense is definitely wrong here: the retailer – in the past tense – said that it would start a liquidation sale, so it doesn’t make sense to say that one of its many problems is the sales slump. How could the sales slump happen AFTER the announcement to liquidate?

And “recently” is still a problem, too. See the explanation for (B) for more on this issue.

So (C) is out.

Quote:
(D) their many problems is the recent
The present tense still doesn’t make sense – see the explanation for (C) for more on that issue. And “their” is plural, and can’t logically refer to the (singular) “seven-store retailer.”

So we can eliminate (D).

Quote:
(E) their many problems had been the recent
I’m good with the verb tense (see the explanation at the very top of this post for more), but “their” once again can’t refer to the (singular) “seven-store retailer.”

We can eliminate (E), and we’re left with (A).
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Hello GMATNinja,
Can we have 2 adjectives describing the same noun as in option A without a comma or conjunction?
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Reporting that one of its many problems had been the recent extended 15 Oct 2021, 08:56
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Hello GMATNinja,
Can we have 2 adjectives describing the same noun as in option A without a comma or conjunction?
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Well, (A) is the correct answer, so according to GMAC, yes we can! And, in fact, that sort of thing is quite common:

    "Tim ate at an expensive Greek restaurant in Astoria."

According to some usage guides, the comma is not needed because the two adjectives gives two different types of information: "expensive" tells us about the price while "Greek" tells us the origin of the cuisine. :-P :-P :-P

Similarly, in choice (A), the adjectives answer two different questions: What do we know about the duration of the sales slump? It was an extended sales slump. What do we know about the timing of that extended sales slump? It was recent.

But if you have two different adjectives describing the same aspect of the noun (answering the same question), then a comma or conjunction might be warranted. For example:

    "Tim drank an earthy, full-bodied wine with his meal."

Both adjectives describe the features of the wine, and both answer the question, "What kind of wine did Tim drink?".

Now, admittedly, that's an awfully subjective distinction. Thankfully, the GMAT doesn't ever seem to test that distinction, so you don't need to worry too much about it. As always, you want to be conservative with this sort of thing (if you aren't sure, don't eliminate it) and look for other decision points.

I hope that helps!
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Reporting that one of its many problems had been the recent extended 20 Oct 2021, 10:22
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Hi egmat GMATNinja @VeritasKarishmaEducationAisle

I am going a little offshoot in this question and introducing a WHAT IF scenario, which isn't generally preferred but request you to help me seal the concept.

What if in option A we had simple past tense WAS. Will this option still be correct?

Reporting that one of its many problems WAS the recent extended sales slump in women's apparel, the seven-store retailer said it would start a three-month liquidation sale in all of its stores.

I am not able to understand why we require sequencing of event in this question. Obviously, none of the option had WAS and it was easy for me to spot the right answer on the basis of POE, still, I will like to understand my concept gap here. Thanks In advance
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Reporting that one of its many problems had been the recent extended 21 Oct 2021, 07:39
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CRACKGMATNUT

What if in option A we had simple past tense WAS. Will this option still be correct?

Reporting that one of its many problems WAS the recent extended sales slump in women's apparel, the seven-store retailer said it would start a three-month liquidation sale in all of its stores.

I am not able to understand why we require sequencing of event in this question.
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Past perfect isn’t just used to depict sequencing; another usage of Past perfect is to depict an event/action that started in the past and continued up till another event/action in the past.

Here, the sales slump started at some point in the past, and clearly continued to be a problem at the time of reporting (by the retailer). Hence, the usage of had been is correct.
'
p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses Past perfect tense, its application and examples in significant detail. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.
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Reporting that one of its many problems had been the recent extended 15 Nov 2021, 19:04
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The grammatical reasoning for why A is better than B is flimsy at best.

A condition that is present perfect can have caused me to say something in the past. For instance, "Sales have been poor, which is why the CEO said we need to change strategies." The poor sales started in the past and continues to today. But recognition of the poor and addressing the poor sales could have been addressed in the past as well. And saying something is a one time action it happens and it ends. It is not a condition.

From a business logic point of view, if a sales slump in women's apparel had been happening, it means that it was started and ended in the past. So then, the slump is over. So why is there still a need to liquidate? The problem is over. You adapt and carry on; you don't throw in the towel.

Sometimes as GMAT instructors, we have to have the courage to call it out when GMAC writes a bad question. This is such a case.
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Reporting that one of its many problems had been the recent extended 05 May 2022, 08:32
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Quick question: If a sentence has "said" in it, can you never combine it with a present perfect tense?
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Reporting that one of its many problems had been the recent extended 05 May 2022, 10:36
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Quote:
The grammatical reasoning for why A is better than B is flimsy at best.
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B: Reporting that one of its many problems has been the sales slump
Here, the usage of the present perfect (has been) suggests that the slump continues into the present.
For this reason, a reader will assume that the retailer is reporting -- in the PRESENT -- about a sales slump that is still happening.

B: Reporting one of its many problems, the seven-store retailer said it would start a three-month sale.
Generally, an introductory VERBing modifier conveys an action concurrent with the main verb.
Here, the main verb (said) is in the past.
For this reason, a reader will assume that the retailer was reporting -- in the PAST -- at the same time as it said (also in the past).

Whereas the blue wording implies that the reporting happens in the PRESENT, the red wording implies that it happens in the PAST.
The result is confusion.
Since A avoids this confusion, eliminate B and pick A.
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Reporting that one of its many problems had been the recent extended 19 May 2022, 09:21
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GMATNinja

Quick question: If a sentence has "said" in it, can you never combine it with a present perfect tense?
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Ooooh, I wouldn't go that far! The present perfect doesn't work in this context (see choice B). Does that mean that you should quickly eliminate any sentence with "said" and a present perfect tense verb? I definitely wouldn't recommend it.

As we say all the time, GMAT SC isn't about inventing a list of grammar rules that you can blindly apply to future problems. In fact, the GMAT is really good at punishing us for thinking too mechanically. If you try to reduce this (hard) test into something it's not, you'll have a tough time getting better at the hard stuff (thinking about meaning and logic).

To be fair, I think I see where you're going with this. Can you ever have "[subject] + said" in the main clause preceded by an opening "-ing" modifier with a present perfect verb? For example:

    "Running what has been the most successful catheter company of the 21st century, the CEO said that she owes it all to her high school physics teacher."

Is something like this wrong? I don't think so. It's certainly not as bad as (B) (see this post for more on that). And I definitely wouldn't eliminate it immediately -- I would think "meh, that's not great", and move on to other decision points. If another answer choice is better, great. If there isn't a better option, I could live with that sentence as written -- again, it's not WRONG, exactly.

Luckily, on the GMAT, you'll never have to analyze a single sentence in a vacuum. Instead, your job is to select the BEST answer choice out of the five available options. In the "Reporting..." question, the verb tense in (A) makes a lot more sense than the verb tense in (B), so (A) is the better option.

I hope that helps a bit!
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Reporting that one of its many problems had been the recent extended 19 Dec 2022, 01:54
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Attempting this question 2nd time and somehow I still missed the "said" in 2nd part of the sentence.Badddd! :x
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Reporting that one of its many problems had been the recent extended 28 Jun 2023, 21:51
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egmat you have mentioned that you cannot use past perfect for 2 unrelated events so here how are we using past perfect when said is totally unrelated to the slump? WHen the slump happened it was not known that retailer will report it later? KarishmaB
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Reporting that one of its many problems had been the recent extended 16 Aug 2023, 08:29
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Reporting that one of its many problems had been the recent extended sales slump in women's apparel, the seven-store retailer said it would start a three-month liquidation sale in all of its stores.


(A) its many problems had been the recent

(B) its many problems has been the recently

(C) its many problems is the recently

(D) their many problems is the recent

(E) their many problems had been the recent



Show Spoilernytimes article
https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/09/business/cohoes-stores-in-bankruptcy.html

Reporting that one problem had been the recent, extended sales slump in women's apparel, the five-store retailer said it would start a three-month liquidation sale next week in its flagship store in Cohoes, just north of Albany, and in the East Windsor, Conn., branch store. Its three other stores - in Rochester; Cranston, R.I., and Princeton, N.J. - have already closed.

Hi AndrewN IanStewart
I don't understand the past perfect in this question. if "one of it many problems had been the recent" was a past event and it was completed before the next event of "said", then recent extended sales slump was no longer the problem because it had been the problem before saying. So, going by this logic it wouldn't make sense to say that sales plump was the reason for the liquidation. Can you tell me where am I going wrong??
GMATNinja @aviigautam MartyTargetTestPrep
I feel your pain on this one. I suppose you could argue that even if the recent slump is no longer a problem, it still could have prompted action to preempt a similar problem in the future. But it's hard to see how this kind of reasoning would be terribly helpful in a different question with a different context.

So here's a better takeaway: before you get in the weeds and grapple with the subtle nuances, get rid of the concrete stuff first! Here, as others have noted, you can kill (D) and (E) right away because the plural "their" can 't refer to the singular "retailer."

But notice that now we have a choice between "recent" and "recently." "Recent" is an adjective, and seems to be describing the "slump." Makes sense -- it's a recent slump, as opposed to one that happened a long time ago.

But "recently" is an adverb, so it can't be describing the noun "slump." So what's it doing here? Describing the modifier "extended?" That doesn't make sense. The slump is either happening or not. Nobody recently extended the slump the way someone might, say, extend a deadline. Because "recently" is a concrete error, we can kill (B) and (C), and this leaves us with (A).

If we rely on definitive errors to start, there's no need to agonize over the use of the past perfect here.

I hope that helps!
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GMATNinja
Would it be fair to say that understanding the term "sales slump" (a period of decreased sales in a business) is vital for eliminating (B) and (C)?
The phrase "recently extended sales slump" seems to suggest that someone deliberately prolonged the sales slump, which is illogical.
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Reporting that one of its many problems had been the recent extended 18 Aug 2023, 08:32
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GMATNinja

Would it be fair to say that understanding the term "sales slump" (a period of decreased sales in a business) is vital for eliminating (B) and (C)?

The phrase "recently extended sales slump" seems to suggest that someone deliberately prolonged the sales slump, which is illogical.
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Yes, it helps to think about what "sales slump" means -- and then to think about whether "recently extended sales slump" makes sense, as explained in this post.

But the verb tense is also a problem in (B), as discussed in our original explanation, so you have a couple solid votes against (B).

I hope that helps!
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Reporting that one of its many problems had been the recent extended 04 Jan 2024, 02:25
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egmat you have mentioned that you cannot use past perfect for 2 unrelated events so here how are we using past perfect when said is totally unrelated to the slump? WHen the slump happened it was not known that retailer will report it later? KarishmaB
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Reporting that one of its many problems had been the recent extended 04 Jan 2024, 03:42
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egmat you have mentioned that you cannot use past perfect for 2 unrelated events so here how are we using past perfect when said is totally unrelated to the slump? WHen the slump happened it was not known that retailer will report it later? KarishmaB


GMATNinja KarishmaB EducationAisle
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Past perfect is used to give the sequence of two events - if there is a sequence to them. If both events happened at an unknown time in the past, we cannot use past perfect. I do not know what you mean by related and hence I cannot address that.

Past perfect does make sense here. Look at the main clause:

... the seven-store retailer said it would start a three-month liquidation sale in all of its stores.

We use "would" to show something someone wanted to do in the past. So the slump would have been a problem before a point in the past. This is the point when the retailer expressed its intention to start the 3 month liquidation sale. The slump was a problem before this point in the past. Hence use of past perfect is fine.
Of course the recent vs recently distinction is enough to get to the answer in this question. It has to be "recent extended slump," not "recently extended slump" because recently implies someone intentionally extended the slump period recently. But that makes no sense. The slump is recent and the slump is extended (lasting a long time).
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Reporting that one of its many problems had been the recent extended 04 Jan 2024, 12:12
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KarishmaB so are you saying the relation is between slump happening in the past and "would" and not between "said" and slump happening?

By unrelated i mean that the two event have noting to do with each other even though one happened before the other . Ex. The builder constructed the building and told the tourists about its features.
Now here the action of telling has nothing to do with construction of the building although construction happened before telling. It is an example to put in perpective
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Reporting that one of its many problems had been the recent extended 31 Oct 2025, 17:04
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