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16 Sep 2014, 01:58
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D
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
55%
(hard)
Question Stats:
41% (00:48) correct
59%
(01:03)
wrong
based on 78
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Unfortunately for the commuters who lost their lives when the bridge collapsed, the engineer was not honest at the preliminary public safety commission hearing, when he had been questioned about the structure’s weight-bearing abilities.
A. was not honest
B. was not
C. was honest
D. had not been honest
E. had not been being honest
A. was not honest
B. was not
C. was honest
D. had not been honest
E. had not been being honest
16 Sep 2014, 01:58
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Official Solution:
Unfortunately for the commuters who lost their lives when the bridge collapsed, the engineer was not honest at the preliminary public safety commission hearing, when he had been questioned about the structure’s weight-bearing abilities.
A. was not honest
B. was not
C. was honest
D. had not been honest
E. had not been being honest
This sentence requires past perfect verb form to indicate that the engineer’s dishonesty occurred at a definite point in the past. The point in the past is indicated by the phrase at the preliminary safety hearing.
Answer: D
Unfortunately for the commuters who lost their lives when the bridge collapsed, the engineer was not honest at the preliminary public safety commission hearing, when he had been questioned about the structure’s weight-bearing abilities.
A. was not honest
B. was not
C. was honest
D. had not been honest
E. had not been being honest
This sentence requires past perfect verb form to indicate that the engineer’s dishonesty occurred at a definite point in the past. The point in the past is indicated by the phrase at the preliminary safety hearing.
- Was not honest is past tense, not past perfect, and does not sufficiently indicate the order of events discussed in the sentence.
- The word honest is missing from this answer choice, changing the meaning of the sentence.
- This answer choice is the opposite meaning of the underlined portion.
- The words had not been honest correctly indicate past perfect tense and demonstrate that the engineer’s dishonesty occurred at a definite point in the past.
- The word being is redundant and unnecessary.
Answer: D
anubhavmax
Joined: 01 Feb 2013
Last visit: 25 May 2016
Posts: 108
Given Kudos: 26
Location: India
Schools: Anderson '18 (M)
07 Oct 2014, 10:59
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As per my knowledge, Verb sequencing for two related events in the past occurs as follows.
Earlier event - past perfect
Later event - simple past
Later event is engineer answered and was not honest.
Earlier event is engineer was questioned.
As per this "the engineer was not honest at the preliminary public safety commission hearing, when he had been questioned about the structure’s weight-bearing abilities."
But since the other part is not - underlined, assuming questioning and answering happened at the same instant, simple past for both would do. But as per OA, the sequence is reversed. The engineer was not honest in answering first and was questioned later. Clearly this doesn't make sense.
Can someone explain where am I going wrong on this?
Earlier event - past perfect
Later event - simple past
Later event is engineer answered and was not honest.
Earlier event is engineer was questioned.
As per this "the engineer was not honest at the preliminary public safety commission hearing, when he had been questioned about the structure’s weight-bearing abilities."
But since the other part is not - underlined, assuming questioning and answering happened at the same instant, simple past for both would do. But as per OA, the sequence is reversed. The engineer was not honest in answering first and was questioned later. Clearly this doesn't make sense.
Can someone explain where am I going wrong on this?
