12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 8: Reporting that one of

Question

12 Days of Christmas 🎅 GMAT Competition with Lots of Questions & Fun

Reporting that one of  its many challenges had been the highly publicized  break, over creative differences, with the director of the film, the studio confirmed that it would suspend production on its adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Nostromo.

(A) its many challenges had been the highly publicized
(B) its many challenges has been the highly publicized
(C) its many challenges is the highly publicized
(D) their many challenges is the highly publicized
(E) their many challenges had been the highly publicized

Bunuel · Accepted Answer

Experts' Global Official Explanation:

Pronouns + Tenses + Meaning

• The past perfect continuous tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had/have been") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past and one action is in the greater past as well as continuous in nature; the helping verb "had been" is used with the action that is in the greater past and continuous in nature.
• The present perfect continuous tense (marked by "has/have been") is the correct tense to refer to actions that started in past and continue into the present.
• The simple present tense is used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature.

A. Correct.  This answer choice correctly uses the past perfect continuous tense verb “had been” to refer to a continuous action that is the earlier of two actions that took place in the past- one of the studio’s many challenges being the highly publicized break with the director and the studio confirming that it would suspend production. Further, Option A correctly uses the singular pronoun “it” to refer to the singular noun “studio”.

B. Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses the present perfect continuous tense verb “has been” to refer to a continuous action that is the earlier of two actions that took place in the past- one of the studio’s many challenges being the highly publicized break with the director and the studio confirming that it would suspend production; please remember, the past perfect continuous tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had/have been") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past and one action is in the greater past as well as continuous in nature; the helping verb "had been" is used with the action that is in greater past and continuous in nature.

C. Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses the simple present tense verb “is” to refer to a continuous action that is the earlier of two actions that took place in the past- one of the studio’s many challenges being the highly publicized break with the director and the studio confirming that it would suspend production; please remember, the past perfect continuous tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had/have been") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past and one action is in the greater past as well as continuous in nature; the helping verb "had been" is used with the action that is in greater past and continuous in nature.

D. This answer choice incorrectly uses the simple present tense verb “is” to refer to a continuous action that is the earlier of two actions that took place in the past- one of the studio’s many challenges being the highly publicized break with the director and the studio confirming that it would suspend production; please remember, the past perfect continuous tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had/have been") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past and one action is in the greater past as well as continuous in nature; the helping verb "had been" is used with the action that is in the greater past and continuous in nature. Further, Option D incorrectly uses the plural pronoun “their” to refer to the singular noun “studio”.

E. This answer choice incorrectly uses the plural pronoun “their” to refer to the singular noun “studio”.

A is the best answer choice.

____________________________
  Video Explanation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1a4KnwGeuY

nivivacious · Answer

The pronoun for 'Studio' in this sentence cannot be their, so we can straight up see that they are wrong. Lets evaluate the easy wrong ones first
(D) Incorrect - The pronoun "their" does not agree in number with the singular noun "studio". In addition the present tense "is" is not appropriate because the events described occurred in the past.
(E) Incorrect - The pronoun "their" does not agree in number with the singular noun "studio" even though the past perfect tense "had been" is correct

Now let us evaluate the options with correct pronouns but different tense
(A) Correct - This is grammatically correct with the right tense and pronoun. The past perfect tense "had been" is used appropriately to indicate that the break with the director (a past event) occurred before the studio confirmed the suspension of production (another past event). Let us however look at rest as well.
(B) Incorrect - The present perfect tense "has been" is not appropriate because the events described occurred in the past.
(C) Incorrect - The present tense "is" is not appropriate because the events described occurred in the past.

Hence A

SushantPaudel · Answer

Here,

a)This option correctly uses the past perfect tense ("had been") to indicate that the challenges occurred before the studio confirmed the suspension of production. The phrasing is clear and grammatically correct.

b) This option has a subject-verb agreement error. "Its many challenges" should be paired with "had been" for correct past tense usage. The correct form is "have been."

c) This option has a verb tense error. The present tense "is" is not appropriate when describing challenges that occurred in the past. It should be "had been."

d) Similar to option (C), this option has a subject-verb agreement error, and "their" is not consistent with the singular "studio." It should be "its."

e) This option introduces an inconsistency by using "their" instead of the singular "its," which refers to the studio. The rest of the sentence is grammatically correct in terms of verb tense.

In summary, option (A) is the correct choice.

rachana_shukla · Answer

Reporting that one of its many challenges had been the highly publicized break, over creative differences, with the director of the film, the studio confirmed that it would suspend production on its adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Nostromo.

(A) its many challenges had been the highly publicized 
-- Because the break that happened in the past , use of had been is correct.

(B) its many challenges has been the highly publicized
-- Has been is incorrect

(C) its many challenges is the highly publicized
-- break in the movie production had happened in the past so present tense isn't justified here.

(D) their many challenges is the highly publicized
-- their refers to the studio, which is singular and hence incorrect

(E) their many challenges had been the highly publicized
-- their refers to the studio, which is singular and hence incorrect

pooh.2304 · Answer

(A) its many challenges had been the highly publicized

The revised sentence would read: "...one of its many challenges had been the highly publicized break, over creative differences, with the director of the film..." This choice maintains proper tense and clarity in the sentence.

DongTan · Answer

The correct option for the sentence is:

(A) its many challenges had been the highly publicized

This option provides the most grammatically correct and clear structure for the sentence. Let's break it down further:

The sentence discusses the challenges faced by the studio, specifically mentioning the highly publicized break with the director of the film. The phrase "its many challenges" correctly refers to the challenges faced by the studio.

Option (B) "its many challenges has been the highly publicized" uses the incorrect verb form "has been" instead of "had been." The past perfect tense is required to indicate the challenges that occurred before the studio confirmed the suspension of production.

Option (C) "its many challenges is the highly publicized" uses the incorrect verb form "is" instead of "had been" to indicate the past occurrence of the challenges.

Option (D) "their many challenges is the highly publicized" uses the incorrect pronoun "their" instead of "its." The sentence is referring to the challenges faced by the studio, not by any other group.

Option (E) "their many challenges had been the highly publicized" uses the incorrect pronoun "their" instead of "its." The sentence is discussing the challenges faced by the studio, not by any other group.

vishal_gupta · Answer

Reporting that one of  its many challenges had been the highly publicized  break, over creative differences, with the director of the film, the studio confirmed that it would suspend production on its adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Nostromo.

(A) its many challenges had been the highly publicized (The follow up event is in past, so the reporting time should be past of past. Hence usage of perfect tense is correct. Also from sentence, studio is followed by it, so usage of 'its' is correct.) 
 (B) its many challenges has been the highly publicized ( the sentence is in past time frame, so 'has' can't be used.)
(C) its many challenges is the highly publicized ( Usage of 'is' is incorrect.)
(D) their many challenges is the highly publicized (Usage of 'their' and 'is' are incorrect.)
(E) their many challenges had been the highly publicized (Usage of 'their' is incorrect.)

Schinchan_bh · Answer

(A) imo

(A) its many challenges had been the highly publicized

This choice uses the correct past perfect tense ("had been") to convey that the break with the director occurred before the reporting of the challenges. The other options either use the wrong tense or have issues with subject-verb agreement.

sj296 · Answer

Confirmed is in past therefore we need past tense in the first half of the sentence.

(A)  its many challenges had been the highly publicized .........this is correct

(B) its many challenges  has been  the highly publicized............verb tense error

(C) its many challenges  is  the highly publicized..................verb tense error

(D)  their  many challenges  is  the highly publicized............there is one studio. So use of their is wrong.

(E)  their  many challenges had been the highly publicized.............Use of their is wrong for singular studio.

OA should be A option.

Elite097 · Answer

Reporting that one of its many challenges had been the highly publicized break, over creative differences, with the director of the film, the studio confirmed that it would suspend production on its adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Nostromo.

(A) its many challenges had been the highly publicized- Correct
"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. Notice that "confirmed" is actually in simple past tense, and that actually makes sense: the break has been a challenge before the studio confirmed that it would suspend production.

(B) its many challenges has been the highly publicized
Challenges cannt be reported after confirmation

(C) its many challenges is the highly publicized
Challenges cannt be reported after confirmation

(D) their many challenges is the highly publicized
Their is wrong for singular subject

(E) their many challenges had been the highly publicized
Their is wrong for singular subject

Ans A

Archit3110 · Answer

subject studio singular so eliminate option D & E for usage of their 
 (A) its many challenges had been the highly publicized  tense issue , had is wrong 
 (B) its many challenges has been the highly publicized  has causes meaning issue 
 (C) its many challenges is the highly publicized   correct

OPTION C

Gprabhumir · Answer

Its the studio's challenges!
Therefore D and E are already out!

(A) its many challenges had been the highly publicized
(B) its many challenges has been the highly publicized
(C) its many challenges is the highly publicized

Looking at the differences between A,B & C, we need to identify the correct tense that is applicable.

The highly publicized break has been reported already. Which means we cannot use simple present tense.
Therefore C is out.

Now, we need to determine that how old is this report. Do we need to use present perfect or past perfect.

The report took place just before  the studio confirmed that it would suspend production on its adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Nostromo. 
Therefore we need present perfect and not past perfect.

B is our answer.

anubhuti9 · Answer

(A) its many challenges  had been  the highly publicized ==>wrong use of Past perfect 
(B) its many challenges has been the highly publicized ==> Correct
(C) its many challenges is the highly publicized ==> Wrong due to present tense
(D)  their  many challenges is the highly publicized ==> Wrong due to 'their' pronoun
(E)  their  many challenges  had been  the highly publicized ==> Wrong due to 'their' pronoun and Past perfect tense

poojaarora1818 · Answer

Reporting that one of  its many challenges had been the highly publicized  break, over creative differences, with the director of the film, the studio confirmed that it would suspend production on its adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Nostromo.

(A) its many challenges had been the highly publicized Incorrect 
(B) its many challenges has been the highly publicized Correct 
(C) its many challenges is the highly publicized Incorrect 
(D) their many challenges is the highly publicized Incorrect 
(E) their many challenges had been the highly publicized Incorrect

brp616 · Answer

Answer is B! IMO

A - uses past perfect 'had been' tense which implies the issues happened in the past and are over now, but production has not yet been suspended so I think it is an going problem

B - 'has been' implies it began in the past and is still going on, which makes the most sense in the context of the sentence

C - present tense, does not talk about past/makes it sound less ongoing

D and E - use their, which is plural, whereas we are referring to the studio which is singular!

$!vakumar.m · Answer

Reporting that one of  its many challenges had been the highly publicized  break, over creative differences, with the director of the film, the studio confirmed that it would suspend production on its adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Nostromo.

(A) its many challenges had been the highly publicized - This option is grammatically correct and maintains the past tense, which is suitable for reporting events that have occurred.

(B) its many challenges has been the highly publicized - The verb "has been" is incorrect because it implies that the challenges are still continuing.

(C) its many challenges is the highly publicized - This does not correctly convey the sequence of events that happened in the past because of use of verb "is" - present tense.

(D) their many challenges is the highly publicized - it uses “their” instead of “its”, which does not agree with the singular noun “studio”. Also, verb "is" - present tense is incorrect.

(E) their many challenges had been the highly publicized - Similar to (D), the use of "their" is incorrect. 
Answer A

juancarlos12 · Answer

Reporting that one of  its many challenges had been the highly publicized  break, over creative differences, with the director of the film,  the studio   confirmed  that it would suspend production on its adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Nostromo.

1) The noun is "the studio", so the begining modifier must make sense and agree in number with this noun, so discard option D and E
2) The statement talks about something in the past "confirmed", so the only right answer is A

(A) its many challenges had been the highly publicized -->Right modification and right verb tense  
(B) its many challenges  has  been the highly publicized  -->Wrong for verb tense 
(C) its many challenges  is  the highly publicized  -->Wrong for verb tense 
(D)  their  many challenges is the highly publicized  -->Wrong pronoun 
(E)  their  many challenges had been the highly publicized  -->Wrong pronoun

Right answer: A

ThatIndianGuy · Answer

Reporting that one of its many challenges had been the highly publicized break, over creative differences, with the director of the film, the studio confirmed that it would suspend production on its adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Nostromo.'

Event: Studio confirmed
Event: Studio would suspend

This shows events occurred in past. For proper timeline indication, we will prefer "had been" to show that, first challenges happened and then studio confirmed

IMO Option A

DG1989 · Answer

Reporting that one of  its many challenges had been the highly publicized  break, over creative differences, with the director of the film, the studio confirmed that it would suspend production on its adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Nostromo.

Since studio is the main subject here, the use of 'their' is wrong as 'it' is used for studio. So Option D and E are eliminated on this basis.

(A) its many challenges had been the highly publicized
This option looks grammatically correct as the correct pronoun and tense is used. Past perfect tense is the correct tense to be used here as it describes an action that happened in the past and finished in the past based on which the studio would suspend the production.   Let's keep this.

(B) its many challenges has been the highly publicized
This option is wrong as it uses present perfect tense which is is wrong.   INCORRECT

(C) its many challenges is the highly publicized
This option is wrong as it uses present tense which is is wrong.   INCORRECT

(D) their many challenges is the highly publicized
As discussed above, this is wrong.   INCORRECT

(E) their many challenges had been the highly publicized
As discussed above, this is wrong.   INCORRECT

Option A   is the right answer.

12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 8: Reporting that one of

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 8: Reporting that one of

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards