Telecom minister SC

[shree.neve]

22. The telecom minister had been indicted by the Supreme court in the 2G spectrum
scam, which resulted in a loss of about $1.7 trillion to the exchequer.
A. had been indicted by the Supreme court in the 2G spectrum scam, which
resulted
B. has been indicted in the 2G spectrum scam by the Supreme court, which
resulted
C. has been indicted by the Supreme court in the 2G spectrum scam, which
resulted
D. is indicted by the Supreme court in the 2G spectrum scam that resulted
E. has been indicted by the Supreme court in the 2G spectrum scam, resulting


OA is C

Why can't the right answer be D?

Thanks for your help!

Source: Aristotle prep SC

[jnelson0612]

"is" is a present tense verb and pairing it with "indicted" which indicates that someone was indicted in the past doesn't make sense.

[sachin.w]

"is" is a present tense verb and pairing it with "indicted" which indicates that someone was indicted in the past doesn't make sense.

Hi Jamie,
I am a non native and I find it difficult to understand tenses.
Could you please throw some light on why pairing is with indicted doesn't make sense.

Can a sentence which has 'is' and 'verb-ed' ever be right?

Regards,
Sach

[tim]

there is no tense issue here at all. the problem is you wouldn't say that someone "is indicted". an indictment is a one-time thing, just like being born. you would never say (on the GMAT at least) that someone "is born"..

[sachin.w]

Thanks tim, but ' he is dead' is fine, I believe.

So, under what circumstances can 'is verb-ed' be correct?

[aditya8062]

i am not sure if "is" + "verb ed " is always wrong but if i were to pick between option "C" and "D" i wud go with "C" for the simple reason that we need a present perfect here .the indictment was done at some point in the past but its effect is still expressed in the sentence
more over i feel that "that " in option D can refer to either "supreme court " or "2g spectrum scam "
Ron plz guide if my evaluation is faulty

[Willy]

more over i feel that "that " in option D can refer to either "supreme court " or "2g spectrum scam "

I don't agree with the above statement. I think 'That' is clearly referring to 'scam'. Read just after the 'that' and you'll find 'resulted in a loss of about $1.7 trillion to the exchequer'

It is not the Supreme Court that 'resulted in a loss of about $1.7 trillion to the exchequer' BUT the 'scam'.

[aditya8062]

well good discussion willy !! all i was saying was that C is better than D and even if i change D (though i know i am not supposed to ) to: has been indicted by the Supreme court in the 2G spectrum scam that resulted
even in that case i feel that choosing C over D wud be safe pick for the reason that in C " which" is very specifically referring to "scam" where as in D it might just refer to supreme court ,though u r right that meaning wise "scam " is going good (even i thought this way ) BUT i have observed Ron tlking abt "literal" reading of sentences so i guess if we read these kind of sentences "literally" then C wud be better than D
ron plz shed some light on this

[tim]

Thanks tim, but ' he is dead' is fine, I believe.

So, under what circumstances can 'is verb-ed' be correct?

i think i explained it pretty well. being dead is not a one time thing, so you can say "he is dead". you cannot, however, say, "he is murdered"..

[tim]

ron plz shed some light on this

there is no need. Willy told you everything you need to know..

let's please put this problem to rest; the question is flawed in a way that you won't see on the GMAT.* please understand that using practice questions from dubious sources can actually hurt your performance, and be careful which problem sources you use..

*(seriously, are any of you convinced that there is anything actually wrong with B or E?)

[aditya8062]

thanks Tim .u r right we sud not study from something which is not official .

*(seriously, are any of you convinced that there is anything actually wrong with B or E?)

as for this statements of urs .i feel the following :
in case of E we have comma +ing modifier .now this comma + ing modifier always modifies the previous clause and also sud make sense with the subject of the previous clause (this is as per Stacey) . so i feel this is what makes E wrong for how can some telecom minister result is any loss ?
as for B : it is noun1 + preposition+ noun2 +comma +which .in this case i have read Ron many times where he tells that in such kind of construction "which " can refer to noun 2 or noun 1 depending on the singularity or plurality of nouns . so in this case i feel that "which " can refer to either "supreme court" or "scam " . all i am trying to say is just because i know (coz of common knowledge) that here "which " is making sense with "scam " i cant really take it for granted that "scams " is going with "which". i have read in some post of Ron that we sud read the choices literally and not use common sense to fix the errors
Tim plz tell me if i have comprehended something wrong .sorry for bothering u with so many questions .ur help is appreciated
thanks and regards

[jlucero]

thanks Tim .u r right we sud not study from something which is not official .

*(seriously, are any of you convinced that there is anything actually wrong with B or E?)

as for this statements of urs .i feel the following :
in case of E we have comma +ing modifier .now this comma + ing modifier always modifies the previous clause and also sud make sense with the subject of the previous clause (this is as per Stacey) . so i feel this is what makes E wrong for how can some telecom minister result is any loss ?
as for B : it is noun1 + preposition+ noun2 +comma +which .in this case i have read Ron many times where he tells that in such kind of construction "which " can refer to noun 2 or noun 1 depending on the singularity or plurality of nouns . so in this case i feel that "which " can refer to either "supreme court" or "scam " . all i am trying to say is just because i know (coz of common knowledge) that here "which " is making sense with "scam " i cant really take it for granted that "scams " is going with "which". i have read in some post of Ron that we sud read the choices literally and not use common sense to fix the errors
Tim plz tell me if i have comprehended something wrong .sorry for bothering u with so many questions .ur help is appreciated
thanks and regards

My big issue with this problem is the ambiguity of the second phrase. Here's an analogy:

I was arrested for tax fraud, which led to my bankruptcy. (tax fraud cased my bankruptcy)
I was arrested for tax fraud, leading to my bankruptcy. (me being arrested cased my bankruptcy)

The loss of $1.7 trillion could have happened when the minister was indicted or when the scam occurred. Without that knowledge, there's no way of knowing what answer is correct.

Bonus: GMAT is based on American English, which would never use "exchequer" in a sentence. Sorry to our friends across the pond :)