The limousine driver has waited for almost an hour before deciding

Question

The limousine driver has waited for almost an hour before deciding  his client was not going to show up.

A. The limousine driver has waited for almost an hour before deciding

B. The limousine driver waited for almost an hour before deciding that

C. The limousine driver has waited for almost an hour before he decided that

D. The limousine driver was waiting for almost an hour before deciding

E. The limousine driver waited for almost an hour before deciding

Bunuel · Accepted Answer

KAPLAN OFFICIAL SOLUTION:

Correct Choice: (B)

The driver completed both actions, waiting and deciding, in the past, so choice (A)’s “has waited”—which implies that he’s still waiting — is wrong. The other problem here is that, while it’s acceptable in conversation to say the driver waited “before deciding his client wasn’t going to show up”, GMAT English requires a “that” to introduce the independent clause “his client was not going to show up”. Choice (B) corrects both of these mistakes.Choice (E) corrects the first mistake but not the second. Choice (C) corrects the second but not the first; moreover, (C) also errs by needlessly changing“deciding” to “he decided”. Choice (D) incorrectly uses the past participle form, “was waiting,” and neglects to put a “that” after “deciding”.

zhanbo · Answer

I picked  (B) . It took me 1:01.

This sentence described one event in the past. The subordinate clause " his client was not going to show up" confirmed that it is a past event. So, the rest of the sentence should be past tense (typically simple past, or past perfect). Eliminate A and C because both uses present tense.

In GMAT, "that" is not optional to introduce the subordinate clause " his client was not going to show up", used as object of verb "deciding". Eliminate D and E because both do without "that".

By POE, (B) is the best answer.

Kyala1Jameson · Answer

imo B 
 The limousine driver has waited for almost an hour before deciding  his client was not going to show up.

A. The limousine driver has waited for almost an hour before deciding
 -- Tense issue since the non underline part is past tense 
 
B. The limousine driver waited for almost an hour before deciding that
 -- Correct 
 
C. The limousine driver has waited for almost an hour before he decided that
 -- Tense issue since the non underline part is past tense 
 
D. The limousine driver was waiting for almost an hour before deciding
 -- Was waiting doesnot give the correct meaning 
 
E. The limousine driver waited for almost an hour before deciding
 -- That is needed to introduce a clause ..

akadiyan · Answer

Ans  B

A. The limousine driver has waited for almost an hour before deciding -  INCORRECT 
Tense Error. The action happened in the past so we need the tense in the past.

B. The limousine driver waited for almost an hour before deciding that -   CORRECT

C. The limousine driver has waited for almost an hour before he decided that -  INCORRECT 
Again same error as A.

D. The limousine driver was waiting for almost an hour before deciding-  INCORRECT 
'That' is missing after deciding.

E. The limousine driver waited for almost an hour before deciding-  INCORRECT 
Same error as above.

carouselambra · Answer

IMO B

The limousine driver has waited for almost an hour before deciding his client was not going to show up.

This sentence tries to convey that that a particular action took place BUT is NOT taking place anymore.
Hence, the usage of present perfect and any form of present/ present perfect continuous will be incorrect.

A. The limousine driver  has waited  for almost an hour before deciding

B. The limousine driver  waited  for almost an hour  before  deciding  that 
Correct

C. The limousine driver  has waited  for almost an hour before  he decided that
 
D. The limousine driver  was waiting  for almost an hour  before deciding

E. The limousine driver waited for almost an hour before deciding <that is missing>

TarunKumar1234 · Answer

The limousine driver has waited for almost an hour before deciding his client was not going to show up.

A. The limousine driver has waited for almost an hour before deciding Incorrect

tense error - past form require

B. The limousine driver waited for almost an hour before deciding that Correct

C. The limousine driver has waited for almost an hour before he decided that Incorrect

tense error - past form require

D. The limousine driver was waiting for almost an hour before deciding Incorrect

after deciding that require, past continuous wrong

E. The limousine driver waited for almost an hour before deciding Incorrect

after deciding that require

winterschool · Answer

The limousine driver has waited for almost an hour before deciding his client was not going to show up.

A. The limousine driver  has  waited for almost an hour before deciding  Incorrect

tense error - past form require

B.  The limousine driver waited for almost an hour before deciding that    Correct

C. The limousine driver  has  waited for almost an hour before he decided that  Incorrect

tense error - past form require

D. The limousine driver was  waiting  for almost an hour before  deciding   Incorrect

after deciding that require, past continuous wrong
 
E. The limousine driver waited for almost an hour before  deciding   Incorrect

after deciding that require

19MP · Answer

Split- has waited, waited and was waiting.

Was waiting- incorrect as driver must has waited in past before deciding something.

Has decided- Incorrect verb as everything is occurring in past.

Split between B and E is decided that and deciding:

Deciding- incorrect as deciding is followed by a clause that requires a "that" before it.

himanshu0123 · Answer

in B] how do I identify that the 2nd clause is a verbless clause.

''before deciding that...'' what is the subject and verb in this?

Thats why I got confused with C] where the verb was explicitly mentioned

RonTargetTestPrep · Answer

Clauses have verbs. If something doesn't have a verb, it's not a clause.

There's only one way you could possibly have a clause without an explicit verb—namely, if there are 2 or more parallel clauses that all use the same verb in the same context. In such cases, it may be possible to omit the repeated instances of the verb, just as other repetitions can often be omitted in parallel forms  .
This is not happening here.

The part you're citing is just "before" + NOUN, which is an ordinary prepositional phrase (structured in the same way as "I'll pick up donuts and coffee  before work ").
The _ing form here is grammatically a noun. That's a common functionality of _ing forms (e.g.,  Swimming is fun ).

himanshu0123 · Answer

RonTargetTestPrep

B] The limousine driver waited for almost an hour before deciding that his client was not going to show up.

is 'before' a preposition? How do I not confuse it with 'dependent clause marker'

could you please help me understand how this ''before deciding that his client was not going to show up'' is well structured and equal to choice F] below? Is this an appositive phrase?

v/s

F] The limousine driver waited for almost an hour before he decided that his client was not going to show up.

-I was really looking for this F] choice where 'before' is a dependent clause marker and 'that' is used as a connector b/w two clauses

DmitryFarberMPrep · Answer

himanshu0123

Your choice F works fine, but we definitely don't need a clause after "before." As you suggested, "before" is a preposition in the context of B, and so I can use it to create prepositional phrases that work as modifiers. For instance, I can say "I answered all my emails before breakfast" or "I spoke for several minutes before realizing that my mic was off." The difference is that unlike many other prepositions, "before" can also serve as a conjunction that introduces a clause. We just have to be ready for either usage.

PituxaBR · Answer

Hello Experts,

Would A be correct if i changed HAS to HAD?

The limousine driver  had waited for almost an hour before deciding his client was not going to show up.
Both events are in the past, first he waited than he decided.

The limousine driver has waited for almost an hour before deciding

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The limousine driver has waited for almost an hour before deciding

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