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505-555 Level|   Grammatical/Rhetorical Construction|   Pronouns|   Verb Tense/Form|                        
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The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States Updated on: 07 Jun 2021, 15:54
Originally posted by Gnpth on 04 Jul 2016, 04:56.
Last edited by Bunuel on 07 Jun 2021, 15:54, edited 3 times in total.
Renamed the topic and edited the question.
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The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States until the First World War; before that time the federal government was dependent on tariffs to be their main source of revenue.


(A) the federal government was dependent on tariffs to be their main source of revenue

(B) the federal government had depended on tariffs as its main source of revenue

(C) tariffs were what the federal government was dependent on to be its main source of revenue

(D) the main source of revenue for the federal government was dependent on tariffs

(E) for their main source of revenue, tariffs were depended on by the federal government
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B
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The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States 29 Jul 2018, 08:20
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It is futile to worry about whether the use of the past perfect in the given case is correct or not. It is 100% correct. That we use a past perfect or a simple past when a time reference such as 'before' or 'after' is already mentioned is a matter of option.

However, the most critical consideration in the context is to ask whether there is another choice (without other glaring errors) using the simple past. We do not have one in this case and therefore why waste time on the non-extant issue. We can rest assured that on the GMAT, we will never have both such choices in the same question.

B is the inevitable choice.
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The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States 05 Jul 2016, 02:28
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alpham
I chose answer choice D however it now makes sense why it distorts the meaning of the sentence.

Can anyone verify that when you have a time marker such as 'before' you don't have to have the sentence in perfect tense. I'm pretty sure it can go either way.
Show more

Manhattan SC guide states that use of words such as "after" / " before" makes the use of past perfect unnecessary - following is an excerpt from the book:

Right: Laura LOCKED the deadbolt before she LEFT for work.
Likewise, we already know that locked happens before left because of the word before. The words before and after indicate the sequence of events clearly and emphatically enough to make the use of the Past Perfect unnecessary.
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The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States 23 Sep 2022, 03:54
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Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
Gnpth
The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States until the First World War; before that time the federal government was dependent on tariffs to be their main source of revenue.


(A) the federal government was dependent on tariffs to be their main source of revenue

(B) the federal government had depended on tariffs as its main source of revenue

(C) tariffs were what the federal government was dependent on to be its main source of revenue

(D) the main source of revenue for the federal government was dependent on tariffs

(E) for their main source of revenue, tariffs were depended on by the federal government
Show more

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of the crucial part of this sentence is that before the First World War, the federal government depended on tariffs as its main source of revenue.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Modifiers + Verb Forms + Pronouns

• The infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb" - "to + be" in this sentence) is the preferred construction for referring to the purpose or intent of an action.
• Collective nouns ("government" in this case) are always singular.

A: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun "the federal government" with the plural pronoun "their"; please remember, collective nouns ("government" in this case) are always singular. Further, Option A alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "was dependent on tariffs to be"; the construction of this phrase illogically implies that the federal government depended on tariffs for the purpose of being its main source of revenue; the intended meaning is that the federal government depended on tariffs as its main source of revenue; remember, the infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb" - "to + be" in this sentence) is the preferred construction for referring to the purpose or intent of an action.

B: Correct. This answer choice correctly refers to the singular noun "the federal government" with the singular pronoun "its". Further, Option B uses the phrase "depended on tariffs as its main source of revenue", conveying the intended meaning - that the federal government depended on tariffs as its main source of revenue; in other words, the tariffs themselves were the federal government's main source of revenue. Additionally, Option B is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

C: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "was dependent on to be"; the construction of this phrase illogically implies that the federal government depended on tariffs for the purpose of being its main source of revenue; the intended meaning is that the federal government depended on tariffs as its main source of revenue; remember, the infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb" - "to + be" in this sentence) is the preferred construction for referring to the purpose or intent of an action. Further, Option C uses the passive voice construction "were what the federal government was dependent on", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the clause "main source of revenue...was dependent on tariffs"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the federal government's main source of revenue depended on tariffs; the intended meaning is that the federal government's main source of revenue was the tariffs themselves.

E: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun "the federal government" with the plural pronoun "their"; please remember, collective nouns ("government" in this case) are always singular. Further, Option E uses the passive construction "tariffs were depended on by the federal government", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

Hence, B is the best answer choice.

All the best!
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The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States 04 Jul 2016, 06:02
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Gnpth
The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States until the First World War; before that time the federal government was dependent on tariffs to be their main source of revenue.

A. the federal government was dependent on tariffs to be their main source of revenue
B. the federal government had depended on tariffs as its main source of revenue
C. tariffs were what the federal government was dependent on to be its main source of revenue
D. the main source of revenue for the federal government was dependent on tariffs
E. for their main source of revenue, tariffs were depended on by the federal government
Show more


A--The subject Federal govt is singular(collective noun) and does not take plural their as the verb
B. The correct answer
C. Wordy and awkward
D. this sentence distorts the meaning--how can the source be dependent on tariffs.
E. plural verb their and awkward construction
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The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States 04 Jul 2016, 11:32
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Gnpth
The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States until the First World War; before that time the federal government was dependent on tariffs to be their main source of revenue.

A. the federal government was dependent on tariffs to be their main source of revenue
B. the federal government had depended on tariffs as its main source of revenue
C. tariffs were what the federal government was dependent on to be its main source of revenue
D. the main source of revenue for the federal government was dependent on tariffs
E. for their main source of revenue, tariffs were depended on by the federal government
Show more

Correct answer must be (B) for the highlighted errors above...
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The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States 04 Jul 2016, 21:52
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I chose answer choice D however it now makes sense why it distorts the meaning of the sentence.

Can anyone verify that when you have a time marker such as 'before' you don't have to have the sentence in perfect tense. I'm pretty sure it can go either way.
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The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States 05 Jul 2016, 03:37
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But here, the correct option uses past perfect. So, should we consider this an exception?
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The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States 05 Jul 2016, 04:30
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PrijitDebnath
But here, the correct option uses past perfect. So, should we consider this an exception?
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Option B does not match with what Manhattan SC guide states, and I cannot see any reason that this should be an exception. Probably the question writer could explain the usage, unless it is an oversight.
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The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States 16 Feb 2017, 08:59
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The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States until the First World War; before that time the federal government was dependent on tariffs to be their main source of revenue.

Issue: Structure | Verb tense

Analysis:
1. The sentence connects two independent clause using ";". For such structures, the second clause should be independent and follow from previous clause.
2. In the second clause the action "government was dependent on tariffs" occurs before action in first clause "personal income tax did not become permanent...". Hence, we can use "past prefect" form of the verb in second clause..

I have highlighted the errors below:

A. the federal government was dependent on tariffs to be their main source of revenue
- Incorrect verb form
- Pronoun ambiguity

B. the federal government had depended on tariffs as its main source of revenue

C. tariffs were what the federal government was dependent on to be its main source of revenue
- Incorrect verb form
- "were what" (not sure about this but this seems overly complex specially when a better option is present; Can someone explain if this is grammatically correct?)

D. the main source of revenue for the federal government was dependent on tariffs
- Changes the meaning. The sentence seems to indicate that the source was dependent.

E. for their main source of revenue, tariffs were depended on by the federal government
- If you read the whole clause with this option, "before that time for their main source..." has structure issue
- Changes the meaning. The sentence seems to indicate that the source was dependent.

Answer: B.
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The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States 02 Apr 2017, 07:45
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sayantanc2k
alpham
I chose answer choice D however it now makes sense why it distorts the meaning of the sentence.

Can anyone verify that when you have a time marker such as 'before' you don't have to have the sentence in perfect tense. I'm pretty sure it can go either way.

Manhattan SC guide states that use of words such as "after" / " before" makes the use of past perfect unnecessary - following is an excerpt from the book:

Right: Laura LOCKED the deadbolt before she LEFT for work.
Likewise, we already know that locked happens before left because of the word before. The words before and after indicate the sequence of events clearly and emphatically enough to make the use of the Past Perfect unnecessary.
Show more

sayantanc2k, PrijitDebnath, Excerpt from Manhattan SC.

Note that we do not always use the Past Perfect for earlier actions. In general, you should use Past Perfect only to clarify or emphasize a sequence of past events. The earlier event should somehow have a bearing on the context of the later event. Moreover, if the sequence is already obvious, we often do not need Past Perfect.

[Right] Antonio DROVE to the store and BOUGHT some ice cream.

We already know that drove happened before bought. A sequence of verbs with the same subject does not require Past Perfect. Rather, use the Simple Past for all the verbs.

[Right] Antonio DROVE to the store, and Cristina BOUGHT some ice cream.

In the sentence above, which has two main clauses linked by and, we are not emphasizing the order of events (although drove probably happened before bought). Clauses linked by and or but do not require the Past Perfect as a general rule.

[Right] Laura LOCKED the deadbolt before she LEFT for work.

UNFORTUNATELY, in this problem, Past Perfect is applicable since the clauses do not linked by and or but . Take note!

[CORRECT] The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States until the First World War; before that time the federal government had depended on tariffs as its main source of revenue.
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The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States 22 Jun 2019, 04:30
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VeritasKarishma Mam GMATNinja sir daagh sir mikemcgarry sir
Kindly explain why Option B is correct here
Whenever time markers "before" or "after" are used in a sentence, it makes usage of past perfect tense had futile
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The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States 22 Jun 2019, 22:24
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Vasuka asked

Quote:
Kindly explain why Option B is correct here
Whenever time markers "before" or "after" are used in a sentence, it makes usage of past perfect tense had futile
Show more

Let us face it.

1. No one says it is out rightly wrong or unacceptable. At worst, it is redundant, superfluous, or unnecessary.

2. Look at the other four choices. They are either unidiomatic or with unacceptably twisted meaning.

If this question came in the Test, which choice would one take? Alternatively, would one leave the question saying none is correct?

SC is not only a test of just grammar but also a choice of the fittest.

If this question appears in the Exam, I would reckon, GMAT is testing how worldly- wise one is or whether one stands on one's prefixed notions.

Now, Vasuka, please tell me whether B is correct "here"(with emphasis on 'here'.)
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The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States 24 Jun 2019, 23:35
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vasuca10
VeritasKarishma Mam GMATNinja sir daagh sir mikemcgarry sir
Kindly explain why Option B is correct here
Whenever time markers "before" or "after" are used in a sentence, it makes usage of past perfect tense had futile
Show more

The usage of past perfect with marker words such as "before" and "after" is optional, not wrong.
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The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States 30 May 2020, 08:32
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Dear DmitryFarber GMATGuruNY MartyTargetTestPrep IanStewart AjiteshArun,

Why is choice D. wrong?

According to https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/ ... -something, the subject of "dependent" needn't be a personal entity.
Quote:

Your pay is dependent on how much you produce.
Your success is dependent on how hard you work.
Show more

Doesn't it mean the same whether the "GOVERNMENT" or its "main SOURCE OF REVENUE" was dependent on tariffs?
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The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States 31 May 2020, 09:46
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varotkorn

Doesn't it mean the same whether the "GOVERNMENT" or its "main SOURCE OF REVENUE" was dependent on tariffs?
Show more

No, those don't mean the same thing at all. For one thing, if you only say the revenue was dependent on tariffs, that doesn't mean the government depended on the revenue. If I say "Anna's income depends on how many books she sells", that sentence doesn't say that Anna depends on her income. Perhaps she inherited a lot of money and her income is irrelevant to her. The sentence in this question is trying to say that the government depended on the revenue from tariffs, so the meaning in answer D is wrong.

"Dependent on" is fine if used correctly.
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The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States 31 May 2020, 17:56
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Exactly. I'd add that if the main source were DEPENDENT on tariffs, we'd be left to wonder what this main source was. Do tariffs allow us to, say, finance films or plant crops, and those films or crops are the actual main source of revenue? That would be odd and indirect, and there's no indication of anything like this in the question. Since tariffs are themselves a source of money, it makes more sense to say that these WERE the main source.
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The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States 31 May 2020, 19:51
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DmitryFarber
Exactly. I'd add that if the main source were DEPENDENT on tariffs, we'd be left to wonder what this main source was. Do tariffs allow us to, say, finance films or plant crops, and those films or crops are the actual main source of revenue?
Show more
I don't understand this part.

So, if "the main source" = X, "tariffs" = Y, and "finance films or plant crops" = Z, are you saying that:

X was dependent on Y. Y leads to Z. So X was dependent on Z?
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The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States 31 May 2020, 22:39
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No, X was dependent on Z, and Z was dependent on Y. So X was dependent on Y. In any case, my basic point is that if tariffs WERE the main source of revenue, then the main source was not dependent on tariffs. That is saying X is dependent on X!
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The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States 07 Jun 2020, 07:38
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IanStewart
varotkorn

Doesn't it mean the same whether the "GOVERNMENT" or its "main SOURCE OF REVENUE" was dependent on tariffs?

No, those don't mean the same thing at all. For one thing, if you only say the revenue was dependent on tariffs, that doesn't mean the government depended on the revenue. If I say "Anna's income depends on how many books she sells", that sentence doesn't say that Anna depends on her income. Perhaps she inherited a lot of money and her income is irrelevant to her. The sentence in this question is trying to say that the government depended on the revenue from tariffs, so the meaning in answer D is wrong.

"Dependent on" is fine if used correctly.
Show more


Dear IanStewart

I would much appreciate if you could evaluate the line of reasoning below.

Let “the main of source of revenue for the federal government” be the film industry. Then, D would read as follows:

D. The personal income tax did not become permanent in the United States until the First World War; before that time the film industry was dependent on tariffs.

The way D is written seems to imply that - not only did the film industry receive tariffs, it also received the personal income tax. So, both tariffs and the tax went into the film industry’s pocket. However nonsesne, I think I would write D to mean exactly this.

Many thanks for your thoughts beforehand!
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