In the major cities of industrialized countries at the end

[MdAbuAsad]

In the major cities of industrialized countries at the end of the nineteenth century, important public places such as theaters, restaurants, shops, and banks had installed electric lighting, but electricity was in less than one percent of homes, where lighting was still provided mainly by candles or gas.

(A) electricity was in less than one percent of homes, where lighting was still
(B) electricity was in less than one percent of homes and lighting still
(C) there had been less than 1 percent of homes with electricity, where lighting was still being
(D) there was less than 1 percent of homes that had electricity, having lighting that was still
(E) less than one percent of homes had electricity, where lighting had still been

[MdAbuAsad]

In this question, The things happened in the past, but the highlighted part, blue color (in choice A), indicates the recent things, doesn't it?
Thanks

[Whit Garner]

Great question! The word "still" is an adverb, and so it depends on the tense of the action it is describing. In this sentence, the verb modified is "was" (past), so the ongoing action is a past event. You can move still into the future as well as long as you attach it to a verb in the future tense. For example:

Even after you achieve the GMAT score you want, you will still have to make sure that your application is as strong as possible.


Whit