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The westinghouse air brake, first demonstrated successfully in 1868 05 Nov 2021, 04:44
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Vatsal7794
Hi Experts

Can you please explain me the usage of "Been" in had Been. Like why do we use it, what's the purpose and is it a verb , preposition or any other thing?
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"Been" is a verb form. It is the past participle form of "to be."

"Had" + past participle = past perfect tense. So, "had been" is the past perfect of "to be."

In this case, "been" is used in "had been developed," which is the passive voice, past perfect tense form of "to develop."
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The westinghouse air brake, first demonstrated successfully in 1868 05 Nov 2021, 06:47
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Thanks for the explanation

I have another query.

If had been is a passive voice, then don't we need "By" in the sentence..

Had been ....By....(This should be the construction)
Where am i going wrong?

And also if something is written as "...had to be.." Is it a past perfect tense or only past tense?
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The westinghouse air brake, first demonstrated successfully in 1868 05 Nov 2021, 07:03
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Vatsal7794
Thanks for the explanation

I have another query.

If had been is a passive voice, then don't we need "By" in the sentence..

Had been ....By....(This should be the construction)
Where am i going wrong?

And also if something is written as "...had to be.." Is it a past perfect tense or only past tense?
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You need a "by" only if the sentence says who the brake "had been developed by." Since the sentence does not mention who developed the brake, there's no purpose for a "by."
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The westinghouse air brake, first demonstrated successfully in 1868 05 Nov 2021, 11:54
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Vatsal7794

"Been" is just the past participle of "to be." There are a lot of irregularities that make these relationships hard to see, so here are a few other words for comparison:

to be
past tense: was/were
past participle: been

to take
past tense: took
past participle: taken

to make
past tense: made
past participle: made (no difference--yeah, English is weird)

to see
past tense: saw
past participle: seen


When we say "had + past participle," we are creating the past perfect tense. This is used for events that occurred before some other past event in the sentence. Usage examples:

I was more relaxed when I took the test last week because I had taken the test before.
She made more money last month than she had ever made before.
He had been planning to move to Korea before he was recruited into our firm.

The tricky thing with "been" is that "to be/is" is also used to form verb phrases, such as "I am swimming" or "I will be visiting." Also, all of these past participles can be used to form the present perfect, as in "I have taken a test." Now add "been" and we have the present perfect continuous: "I have been taking practice tests." This describes an action that has been ongoing for some period of time. I hope that helps. Feel free to follow up if there's any part of this I can expand on.
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The westinghouse air brake, first demonstrated successfully in 1868 05 Nov 2021, 22:42
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The westinghouse air brake, first demonstrated successfully in 1868, had been developed to such an extent by 1887 that a train of 50 freight cars traveling at 20 miles per hour could be brought to a standstill in the space of 171 feet, whereas before they required 5 hand breakers over a distance of 1,500 feet for such a train to be stopped.


(A) whereas before they required 5 hand breakers over a distance of 1,500 feet for such a train to be stopped. -> They doesn't have a clear antecedent. Incorrect.

(B) whereas previously 5 hand breakers operating over a distance of 1,500 feet had been required to stop such a train. -> "whereas" is perfect contrast between two brakes "The westinghouse air brake" and "previously 5 hand breakers". Let's keep it.

Vatsal7794
Let me try to explain "had been" usage- It is used when something started in past and completed in past too. It makes sense here. The intended meaning is "previously 5 hand breakers" used from past to past to stop such a train (50 freight cars traveling at 20 miles per hour). I hope, it helps.

(C) but before stopping the train required 5 hand breakers operating over a distance of 1,500 feet. -> But before is incorrect.

(D) but previously they required 5 hand breakers over a distance of 1,500 feet stopping the train. -> "they" again jumps out for me. Incorrect.

(E) but before stopping such a train required 5 hand breakers over a distance of 1,500 feet. -> Same as C. Incorrect.

So, I think B. :)
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The westinghouse air brake, first demonstrated successfully in 1868 06 Nov 2021, 05:39
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inakihernandez
The westinghouse air brake, first demonstrated successfully in 1868, had been developed to such an extent by 1887 that a train of 50 freight cars traveling at 20 miles per hour could be brought to a standstill in the space of 171 feet, whereas before they required 5 hand breakers over a distance of 1,500 feet for such a train to be stopped.
Show more


(A) whereas before they required 5 hand breakers over a distance of 1,500 feet for such a train to be stopped.
THe contrast is conveyed however the unnecessary addition of pronoun is creating difficulty therefore out

(B) whereas previously 5 hand breakers operating over a distance of 1,500 feet had been required to stop such a train.
Even though the meaning isn't perfect , the contrast is displayed and the sentence has no reference ambiguity therefore let us hang on to it

(C) but before stopping the train required 5 hand breakers operating over a distance of 1,500 feet.
This gives us a meaning as thoughthe brakes has to be implemented over the road over a distance of 1.5k which is not the intended meaning therefore out

(D) but previously they required 5 hand breakers over a distance of 1,500 feet stopping the train.
they addition is unnecessary along with that but isn't giving us the best contrast therefore out

(E) but before stopping such a train required 5 hand breakers over a distance of 1,500 feet.
Similar reasoning as C

Therefore IMO B
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The westinghouse air brake, first demonstrated successfully in 1868 06 Nov 2021, 11:17
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Thank you everyone for the reply TarunKumar1234
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Just last question

Do we consider "To be " as a verb?

And what do we mean when we say "Base form of the verb"
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The westinghouse air brake, first demonstrated successfully in 1868 06 Nov 2021, 11:31
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Vatsal7794
Just last question

Do we consider "To be " as a verb?

And what do we mean when we say "Base form of the verb"
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Yes, "to be" is a form of a verb. It's an infinitive form.

The base form of the verb is the infinitive without "to."

So, for example, the base form of "to be" is simply "be."
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The westinghouse air brake, first demonstrated successfully in 1868 12 Nov 2021, 00:06
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Vatsal7794
Hi Experts

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Can you please explain me the usage of "Been" in had Been. Like why do we use it, what's the purpose and is it a verb , preposition or any other thing?
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Vatsal7794

"been" is the past participle form of the irregular verb "be". It is used in perfect constructions.

She has been a good friend to me.
She has been driving since morning.

Been is used in passive constructions with past participle form of the verb to make perfect.
He has been given the invitation.

Check here: https://grammar.collinsdictionary.com/e ... in-english
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The westinghouse air brake, first demonstrated successfully in 1868 12 Nov 2022, 00:17
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KarishmaB egmat

1.Can I say for option C, there is meaning error - but before stopping the train required 5 hand breakers
Implying that before you are able to stop the train, you require 5 handbreaks. Like an independent sentence that before you want to take GMAT, you need to create profile on mba.com

Before seems to function as preposition instead of contrast marker

2.Also to understand the use of whereas that a train of 50 freight cars traveling at 20 miles per hour could be brought to a standstill in the space of 171 feet,

whereas

before they required 5 hand breakers (this 5 handbreaks seems not to contradict) over a distance of 1,500 feet for such a train to be stopped.
It should be : before train could be brought to standstill in space of 171 ft, whereas before it could be brought to standstill in space of 1500 ft

I definitely will be wrong, please help me correct my concepts
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The westinghouse air brake, first demonstrated successfully in 1868 14 Nov 2022, 20:43
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Rickooreo
KarishmaB egmat

1.Can I say for option C, there is meaning error - but before stopping the train required 5 hand breakers
Implying that before you are able to stop the train, you require 5 handbreaks. Like an independent sentence that before you want to take GMAT, you need to create profile on mba.com

Before seems to function as preposition instead of contrast marker
Show more

Yes, 'before' seems to be making an adverbial prepositional phrase modifying the verb 'required.'
Before stopping, the train required 5 hand breakers.
(What the hand breakers were required for is not clear)

Similar to:
Before leaving, ensure that the lights are switched off.



Rickooreo

2.Also to understand the use of whereas that a train of 50 freight cars traveling at 20 miles per hour could be brought to a standstill in the space of 171 feet,

whereas

before they required 5 hand breakers (this 5 handbreaks seems not to contradict) over a distance of 1,500 feet for such a train to be stopped.
It should be : before train could be brought to standstill in space of 171 ft, whereas before it could be brought to standstill in space of 1500 ft

I definitely will be wrong, please help me correct my concepts
Show more

I do not understand your doubt here. 'whereas' is used to show two contrasting situations. It means 'while on the contrary.'
A likes B whereas C likes D.
It is much more suitable than 'but' in this context.
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The westinghouse air brake, first demonstrated successfully in 1868 13 Jan 2023, 05:04
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Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
inakihernandez
The westinghouse air brake, first demonstrated successfully in 1868, had been developed to such an extent by 1887 that a train of 50 freight cars traveling at 20 miles per hour could be brought to a standstill in the space of 171 feet, whereas before they required 5 hand breakers over a distance of 1,500 feet for such a train to be stopped.


(A) whereas before they required 5 hand breakers over a distance of 1,500 feet for such a train to be stopped.

(B) whereas previously 5 hand breakers operating over a distance of 1,500 feet had been required to stop such a train.

(C) but before stopping the train required 5 hand breakers operating over a distance of 1,500 feet.

(D) but previously they required 5 hand breakers over a distance of 1,500 feet stopping the train.

(E) but before stopping such a train required 5 hand breakers over a distance of 1,500 feet.
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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 by 1887 a train of 50 freight cars traveling at 20 miles per hour could be brought to a standstill in the space of 171 feet by using Westinghouse air brake, and by contrast 5 hand breakers operating over a distance of 1,500 feet had been required to stop such a train, previously.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Pronouns

A:
1/ This answer choice suffers from a pronoun error, as the pronoun "they" lacks a clear and logical referent.

B: Correct.
1/ This answer choice avoids the pronoun error seen in Options A and D, as it uses no pronouns.
2/ Option B uses the phrase "whereas previously 5 hand breakers...had been required to stop such a train", conveying the intended meaning - that by 1887 a train of 50 freight cars traveling at 20 miles per hour could be brought to a standstill in the space of 171 feet by using Westinghouse air brake, and by contrast 5 hand breakers operating over a distance of 1,500 feet had been required to stop any similar train, previously.

C:
1/ This answer choice slightly alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "but before stopping the train"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that by 1887 a train of 50 freight cars traveling at 20 miles per hour could be brought to a standstill in the space of 171 feet by using Westinghouse air brake, despite the fact that 5 hand breakers operating over a distance of 1,500 feet had been required to stop the same train, previously; the intended meaning is that by 1887 a train of 50 freight cars traveling at 20 miles per hour could be brought to a standstill in the space of 171 feet by using Westinghouse air brake, and by contrast 5 hand breakers operating over a distance of 1,500 feet had been required to stop any similar train, previously.

D:
1/ This answer choice suffers from a pronoun error, as the pronoun "they" lacks a clear and logical referent.
2/ Option D alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "required 5 hand breakers...stopping the train"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that by 1887 a train of 50 freight cars traveling at 20 miles per hour could be brought to a standstill in the space of 171 feet by using Westinghouse air brake, and by contrast 5 hand breakers operating over a distance of 1,500 feet had been required to stop such a train, previously.

E: Trap.
1/ This answer choice slightly alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "but before stopping such a train"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that by 1887 a train of 50 freight cars traveling at 20 miles per hour could be brought to a standstill in the space of 171 feet by using Westinghouse air brake, despite the fact that 5 hand breakers operating over a distance of 1,500 feet had been required to stop such a train, previously; the intended meaning is that by 1887 a train of 50 freight cars traveling at 20 miles per hour could be brought to a standstill in the space of 171 feet by using Westinghouse air brake, and by contrast 5 hand breakers operating over a distance of 1,500 feet had been required to stop such a train, previously.

Hence, B is the best answer choice.

All the best!
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The westinghouse air brake, first demonstrated successfully in 1868 19 Jul 2023, 07:29
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Hi mikemcgarry,

Thanks for your explanation. I eliminated B because adverb: PREVIOUSLY is modifying noun: 5 hand breakers, since adverb can modify verb and adjective only. What am i missing here?

mikemcgarry
HarisinghKhedar
Hi Mike,

Thanks for your explanation. I chose wrong option on practice test for the following reasons :

1. I couldn't split between 'whereas' and 'but'. I ignored because both show contrast to some extent. There are other officials problems in which the ans choices are split between words (or conjuctions) which convey the same meaning but may not fit in given context for one or other reason. Any safer approach to avoid such traps?

2. I rejected B because I couldn't rationalise whether past perfect is ok. If the question stem (Without dates/timeframes) demands sequencing of events in past, I still do better. But it gets tougher when the stem involves years/dates etc. I was confused for the same reason.

3. Before/previously - same reasons as 1.

Only thing I could properly use was - pronoun agreement which helped me to reject two choices at best.

Would appreciate your inputs.

Cheers
Dear HarisinghKhedar,
I'm happy to respond. :-) I will go through your numbers in reverse order.

3) On "before" vs. "previously," notice a subtle difference. The word "previously' is 100% an adverb and nothing but an adverb: its usage is perfectly unambiguous. By contrast, the word "before" can be used either as an adverb (as it is used in these answer choices in this problem) or as a subordinate conjunction or as a preposition.
He came to the house to visit me, but before, I had left to go to the store. = adverb use of "before"
Before he came to the house to visit me, I already had left to go to the store. = subordinate conjunction use of "before"
Before his arrival at the house looking for me, I already had left to go to the store = preposition use of "before"
In this problem, the word "before" is intended in its adverb usage, but it creates ambiguity because it could be understood as preposition:
(C) ... but, before stopping the train, [who?] required 5 hand breakers operating over a distance of 1,500 feet
That opening phrase "before stopping the train" is likely to be understood as a prepositional phrase, and when we get to the verb, we realize, "wait, we need a subject!" We have to go back and re-interpret the word "before" as a adverb and the gerund "stopping" as the subject. This is a very subtle point. Any piece of writing that creates the expectation of one sort of reading and then jarringly forces us to adapt another reading is rhetorically awkward. Good writing fulfills our grammatical expectations in a way that allows the meaning to unfold. That's a problem with "before" in this context.

2) For use of the past perfect, see this blog:
Past Perfect on GMAT Sentence Correction
You will notice that in the example sentence in #3, I used the past perfect, even though there were other indicators of the time sequence. I did so because I was trying to create emphasis: this is a justifiable use of the past perfect even when other elements of the sentence indicate the time sequence. Much in the same way, the sentence in this official SC question is creating this huge sense of contrast between after the air brake vs. before the air brake. The past perfect helps to underscore that logical and rhetorical contrast.

1) This is the hardest, especially for folks for whom English is not a native language---the subtle differences between closely related words. Here, "but" and "whereas" are both contrast words: that is there similarity. The difference lies in the connotation, the quality of the contrast. The word "but" is a 180-degree completely turn around. The word "whereas" is softer, suggesting comparison and connection as well as contrast. I don't know if you have an experience with improv theater: the word "but" is many ways is equivalent to a kind of "no," whereas the word "whereas" is more equivalent to "yes and" (in improv theaters, actors are told to avoid the word "but" and make use of "yes and," to keep the flow of the dialogue going).

How do you learn all these subtle distinctions and connotations? By reading. See:
How to Improve Your GMAT Verbal Score
It is impossible to arrive at GMAT SC mastery by assembling some complete list of differences in meaning. That is a left-brain fantasy that is entirely unworkable. The only way to develop the intuition for the language is to develop a rigorous habit of daily reading.

Does all this make sense?
Mike :-)
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The westinghouse air brake, first demonstrated successfully in 1868 21 Jul 2023, 10:04
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walterwhite756

"Previously" isn't modifying the noun just because they are next to each other. It's quite normal for an adverbial modifier to apply to the clause that follows, and that's what's happening here. "Previously" is modifying "5 hand breakers . . . had been required."
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