GMAT Sentence Correction: 时态

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Sentence Correction句子改错是GMAT考试中的一个项目,用于考察正式英语的书写能力,通过研究GMAT句子改错可以提高英语语法,遣词造句更加严谨整洁。

tense时态问题属于GMAT Sentence Correction考察的八大类中的Rhetorical Construction修辞结构。相对于中文和其他无时态语言,时态是构成英文语言逻辑上更加严密的主要因素之一。

文章目录

十二个基本时态

现在时
Present Simple 一般现在时 I work.
Present Progressive 现在进行时 I am working.
Present Perfect 现在完成时 I have worked.
Present Perfect Progressive 现在完成进行时 I have been working.
过去时
Past Simple 一般过去时 I worked.
Past Progressive 过去进行时 I was working.
Past Perfect 过去完成时 I had worked.
Past Perfect Progressive 过去完成进行时 I had been working.
未来时
Future Simple 一般未来时 I will work.
Future Progressive 未来进行时 I will be working.
Future Perfect 未来完成时 I will have worked.
Future Perfect Progressive 未来完成进行时 I will have been working.

这十二个时态还可以归纳为一般时,进行时,完成时,完成进行时四个类别。

Simple Tense一般时

一般过去,未来,现在时用来表示动作发生的时间
I worked yesterday.
I will work tomorrow.
I work today.
一般现在时还经常用来表示永恒属性或普遍性事件,例如:
Iron is hard.
=表示属性
He sings well.
=不管什么时候唱的都好
除非有需要,否则以清楚简洁的角度,GMAT倾向于在简单句式中使用一般时。

Perfect Tense完成时

完成时是GMAT的重点考察部分。

相对于一般时或进行时只占一个“时”(过去,现在,未来,其中之一),完成时要占两个“时”和它们之间,例如现在完成时是从过去到现在:
I have worked since yesterday.
过去(动作开始)------------->现在
过去完成时是从过去的过去到过去:
I told her yesterday that I had worked since last week.
过去的过去(动作开始)------------->过去
未来完成时是从未来的过去到未来:
I will have arrived at the office by 8am tomorrow.
未来的过去(动作开始)------------->未来

现在完成时强调的是一个动作在过去的某个时间开始,该动作持续到了现在
The millers have lived in a hut for three days.
= Millers一家已经住在小屋里三天了(现在仍然住在那儿)。
而一般过去时表示的动作不会持续到现在:
The millers lived in a hut for three days.
= Millers一家之前在hut里住了三天(现在不在那儿了)。

现在完成时也可以强调一个已完成的动作的影响持续到了现在
Einstein has formulated the theory of relativity, which still leads nowadays physics.
=爱因斯坦过去发表的相对论在今天依然领导着物理学界。
The child has drawn a square in the sand.
=小朋友在沙滩上画的图案现在还能被人看到。

应该使用一般过去时还是现在完成时是一个常见问题,一个技巧是观察句中出现的in 19xx,yesterday等时间标记,如果句中出现了具体的动作发生时间,那么这一般是使用一般过去时的信号,例如在上面例句中加入时间标记:
The child drew a square in the sand yesterday.
In 19th century, Einstein formulated the theory of relativity, which still leads nowadays physics.

但也有些时间标记词或短语是配合现在完成时使用的,例如:
since: They have known each other since 1987.
within the past…: He has worked within the past five days.
in the last…: He has worked in the last five days.

在同句中有多个动作时,可利用现在完成时表示一个动作已经开始的特点来梳理动作间的先后顺序,例如在if,when等从句中使用可表示从句动作在另一个动作之前:
She will pay you when you ask her.
= 你问她的时候她会给你钱。
She will pay you when you have taken out the garbage.
= 你倒垃圾之后她会给你钱。

过去完成时在GMAT中的主要角色是解决时序问题。如果句中已有一般过去时或表过去的时间标记,那么如果想描述一个发生在它们之前的动作则可以使用过去完成时:
The film had started by the time we arrived at the theater.
Jim, who went to USA last week, had not finished the course.
如果句子中有合适的介词已经可以清楚的表示多个动作的前后时序,则没有必要使用过去完成时,一般时仍然是首选:
The film started after we arrived at the theater.
Jim went to USA before he finished the course.

在一些少见的复杂句式中,过去完成时表示的动作有可能并不是整句中最早的那个动作,但并不影响它的正确性:
The band U2 was just one of many new groups on the rock music scene in the early 1980s, but less than ten years later, U2 had fully eclipsed its early rivals in the pantheon of popular music.
例如在上句中,but从句中出现了时间标记ten years later(than early 1980s),过去完成时中的动作eclipsed its early rivals发生在less than早于 ten years later,过去的过去,使用过去完成时是正确的,而实际上全句中最早发生的动作在第一个独立从句中,U2乐队的初出茅庐,时间点是in the early 1980s。

Progressive Tense进行时

Progressive Tenses进行时强调的是一个动作正在进行之中。

表状态的动词stative verb不能用来构建进行时,例如know和signify。
I am knowing him.
stative verb:dislike, hate, like, love, prefer, want, wish, appear, be, feel, hear, look, see, seem, smell, taste, belong, have, measure, own, possess, weigh…

处在现在进行时的动词作为修饰语时称为现在分词,现在分词的动作发生的时间实际上并不一定现在,它是由谓语动词的时态决定的:
Peering out of the window, she watched her dog frolic on the lawn.
Peering out of the window这个动作发生在谓语动词watched所在的时间,既是过去。
根据此特点,可以梳理出一些例题的错误:
The country’s economy is unstable, the result of a stock market crash occurring ten years ago.
The country’s economy is unstable, the result of a stock market crash that occurred ten years ago.
从语法上来讲,第一个例题的occurring发生的时间是谓语动词决定的,既是一般现在时,这与后面接的ten years ago发生了冲突。另外从逻辑上来说,stock market crash是因,unstable economy是果,stock market crash应该发生在unstable economy之前,所以它们不可能是同一个时态同时发生,第二个例句使用过去分词解决了时序问题。

在英语口语中,现在进行时可表示未来的动作,但在GMAT中不可以:
I am leaving China tomorrow.
I will leave China tomorrow.

Perfect Progressive Tense完成进行时

完成进行时不在GMAT重点考察之列。它兼备完成时与进行时的特点,与完成时一样,完成进行时也要占用两个“时”,它与进行时一样,完成进行时强调的也是这个动作正在进行中。

现在完成进行时:
We’ve been studying since 9 o’clock.
= 过去(动作开始)—>现在
过去完成进行时:
Ram started waiting at 9am. I arrived at 11am. When I arrived, Ram had been waiting for two hours.
= 过去的过去(动作开始)—>过去
未来完成进行时:
Ram starts waiting at 9am. I am late and cannot arrive before 10am. Ram will have been waiting for an hour by the time I meet him.
= 未来的过去(动作开始)—>未来

四个过去未来时

Conditional Simple 一般过去未来时 I would work.
Conditional Progressive 过去未来进行时 I would be working.
Conditional Perfect 过去未来完成时 I would have worked.
Conditional Perfect Progressive 过去未来完成进行时 I would have been working.

过去的未来

过去未来时既是在站在过去的角度描述未来(但这个未来对现在来讲依然是过去):
The scientist believed that the machine would be wonderful.
与以现在的角度描述未来:
The scientist believes that the machine will be wonderful.
第一句表示的是科学家过去的想法,第二句是现在的想法。

这两套过去+未来的组合时态不能混用,其固定搭配为:
现在时 + 未来时
过去时 + 过去未来时
如果出现混用情况在GMAT中基本就是错句。

表示假设和在if…then句型中的作用

过去未来时的另一个重要用途是表示假设,例如would(一般过去未来时)表示对现在和未来的假想:
I would always help someone who really needed help.
would have(过去未来完成时)表示对过去的假想:
Why didn’t you ask me? I could have told you the answer.

过去未来时出现在了GMAT重点考察的五种典型if…then句型中的4和5中:

1, General rule with certainty 符合此一般性条件则一定会引发该结果
IF 一般现在时, THEN 一般现在时
If Sophie eats pizza, then she becomes ill.
= 不管Sophie什么时候吃了披萨,她都会得病

2, General rule with some uncertainty 符合此一般性条件会大概率引发该结果
IF 一般现在时, THEN 一般现在时(can or may)
If Sophie eats pizza, then she may become ill.
= 不管Sophie什么时候吃了披萨,她很可能会得病。

3, Particular case(in the future) with certainty (未来)发生某个事件一定会引发该结果
IF 一般现在时, THEN 一般未来时
If Sophie eats pizza tomorrow, then she will become ill.
= 如果Sophie明天吃了披萨,她会得病。
Particular case(now) with certainty (现在)发生某个事件一定会引发该结果
IF 现在完成时, THEN 一般未来时
If Sophie has eaten pizza, then she will become ill.
= 如果Sophie现在吃了披萨,她会得病。

4, Unlikely Case(in the future) (现在或未来)发生某个小概率的事件一定会引发该结果
IF 假设虚拟语气, then 一般过去未来时
If Sophie ate pizza tomorrow, then she would become ill.
= 虽然Sophie明天不大可能吃pizza,如果吃了,她会得病。

5, Case that never happened(in the past) 过去从没有发生的事件一定会引发该结果
IF 过去完成时, THEN 过去未来完成时
If Sophie had eaten pizza yesterday, then she would have become ill.
= 如果Sophie昨天吃了披萨,她就已经得病了。

would和would have有微妙的意思区别,当你说would的时候,表示这个动作可能会发生,而当你说would have的时候,表示这个动作可能会发生但实际上并没有发生。这个区别和它们所在的“时”也是有关的,例如例句4是对未来的假设,未来会发生什么都是可能的,而例句5对过去的假设,过去发生的事都有可能是已知的,断言一个过去的事情没有发生从逻辑上来讲是OK的。

与以上语法点相关的一些例题

(下划线为例题可能需修改处,绿色为修改后的正确部分)


例题:Although Bernard normally is eating inexpensive foods, and indeed is eating a hot dog right now, he is eating lobster and steak at tomorrow’s party.

修改:Although Bernard normally eats inexpensive foods, and indeed is eating a hot dog right now, he will eat lobster and steak at tomorrow’s party.

分析:although从句想先说明Bernard的饮食习惯,因此使用一般现在时,接着and从句有一个now,说明在强调现在正在吃的动作,使用现在进行时,最后主句有tomorrow使用一般未来时。


例题:Because Cole wears a helmet when he struck on the head by a falling coconut ten years ago, he has escaped serious injury in that episode.

修改:Because Cole was wearing a helmet when he was struck on the head by a falling coconut ten years ago, he escaped serious injury in that episode.

分析:英文讲述过去的故事时,有一个“set the scene”的概念,既是一开始用过去进行时设置故事背景,再过渡到一般过去时讲故事里的事件,句头because从句是后面when从句中事件发生的背景,所以使用过去进行时,when从句中使用一般过去时。when从句部分有by,表示是被xxx撞了头,因此使用passive voice。逗号后主句部分有in that episode(ten years ago)时间标记,当写明了事件的具体发生时间应使用一般过去时。


例题:Mozart, who died in 1791, has lived in Salzburg for most of his life.

修改:Mozart, who died in 1791, lived in Salzburg for most of his life.

分析:Mozart已经死了,他住在哪里是一个过去的事件,且在上下文中,该事件没有对现在产生影响,本句不需要使用现在完成时。


例题:The local government has built the school that was destroyed by the earthquake.

修改:The local government built the school that was destroyed by the earthquake.

分析:学校已经被毁,那么建这个学校是过去的事件,在上下文中,该事件对现在没有影响,因此不需要使用现在完成时。was destroyed也是一个过去的事件,且建学校发生在它之前,所以建学校也可以选择过去完成时。但使用一般过去时也不影响两个事件时序关系的表述,且更加简洁。


例题:She already woke up when the phone rang.

修改:She already had woken up when the phone rang.

分析:电话响起是一般过去时,already说明wake up动作发生在rang之前,是“过去的过去”,使用过去完成时。


例题:Last Monday Mary realized that she will have to spend all of that night rewriting her application because she did not back up her files.

修改:Last Monday Mary realized that she would have to spend all of that night rewriting her application because she had not backed up her files.

分析:谓语动词realized是一般过去时,句子在last monday的时间点,那么决定了that后面的从句要使用“过去的未来”一般过去未来时,because后面的从句要使用“过去的过去”过去完成时。


例题:By the end of the Apollo program, twelve Americans have walked on the moon.

修改:By the end of the Apollo program, twelve Americans had walked on the moon.

分析:By的出现是应使用现在完成时的强烈信号,By the end of the Apollo program意为“在Apollo计划结束前”(包括结束时),全句站在Apollo计划结束时的时间点描述一个它结束之前的事件,而Apollo计划本身就是过去的事件,所以主句的12人登月发生在过去的过去,使用past perfect tense过去完成时。


例题:Having been shown into the office, Julia waited for the dentist to arrive.

分析:本句是正确的。Having been shown into…是被动语态,表示“被带到…”的意思。Having在这里是现在分词,用逗号分割的现在分词短语起到状语性质的修饰语作用,是主句的“因”,先被带进办公室然后开始等医生。现在分词的时态与谓语一致,都是都发生在过去。


例题:When he swam across the lake, he laid down on the far shore and relaxed in the sunshine until he was thoroughly dry.

修改:When he had swum across the lake, he laid down on the far shore and relaxed in the sunshine until he was thoroughly dry.

分析:主句谓语动词是一般过去时,when从句的事件应发生在主句之前,使用过去完成时表示过去的过去,翻译为“当他游过了湖后,躺在沙滩上…”,如果使用一般过去时,就变成了“当他游过湖时,躺在沙滩上…”,出现了逻辑错误。


例题:Helen would feel better if she was my daughter.

修改:Helen would feel better if she were my daughter.

分析:根据GMAT五种if then句型中的“IF 假设虚拟语气, then 一般过去未来时"句型表示发生某个小概率或假想的事件一定会引发该结果,在虚拟语气中的to be总是were。


例题:Helen may feel better if she would swallow this pill.

修改:Helen may feel better if she swallows this pill.

分析:根据GMAT五种if then句型中的“IF一般现在时,THEN 一般现在时can or may”句型,表示符合此一般性条件会大概率引发该结果。


例题:If the supplier has signed a binding contract, he will deliver the goods.

分析:正确,根据GMAT五种if then句型中的“IF现在完成时+THEN一般未来时”表示现在发生某个事件一定会引发该结果。“如果供货商现在签合同,他就会送货”。


例题:If the supplier has signed a binding contract, he would have delivered the goods.

修改:If the supplier had signed a binding contract, he would have delivered the goods.

分析:根据GMAT五种if then句型中的“IF过去完成时 + THEN过去未来完成时”表示过去从没有发生的事件一定会引发该结果。“如果供货商之前有签合同,他就已经把货送过去了”。


例题:If Abraham Lincoln were born in Livonia, he cannot become the President of the United States.

修改:If Abraham Lincoln had been born in Livonia, he could not have become the President of the United States.

分析:根据GMAT五种if then句型中的“IF过去完成时 + THEN过去未来完成时”表示过去从没有发生的事件(林肯并没有出生在Livonia)大概率(使用could)会引发该结果(林肯不会成为美国总统), 这里使用not使“假设过去发生但实际没发生”的逻辑变为了“假设过去没发生但实际发生了”。


例题:While some academicians believe that business ethics should be integrated into every business course, others say that students will take ethics seriously only if it would be taught as a separately required course.

A. only if it would be taught as a separately required course
B. only if it is taught as a separate, required course
C. if it is taught only as a course required separately
D. if it was taught only as a separate and required course
E. if it would only be taught as a required course, separately

修改:While some academicians believe that business ethics should be integrated into every business course, others say that students will take ethics seriously only if it is taught as a separate, required course.

分析:根据GMAT五种if then句型中的“IF 一般现在时, THEN 一般未来时”表示未来发生某个事件一定会引发该结果,排除了ADE。C的“While…if…only…”句型用法有误,另外“course required separately”也不对。B的"While…only if…"句型正确表示对比,正确答案B。


例题:Government officials announced that restrictions on the use of water would continue because no appreciative increase in the level of the river resulted from the intermittent showers that had fallen throughout the area the day before.

A. restrictions on the use of water would continue because no appreciative increase in the level of the river
B. restricting the use of water would continue because there had not been any appreciative increase in the river’s level that
C. the use of water would continue to be restricted because not any appreciable increase in the river’s level had
D. restrictions on the use of water would continue because no appreciable increase in the level of the river had
E. using water would continue being restricted because not any appreciable increase in the level of the river

修改:Government officials announced that restrictions on the use of water would continue because no appreciable increase in the level of the river had resulted from the intermittent showers that had fallen throughout the area the day before.

分析:谓语动词announced是一般过去时,限水会继续,是过去的未来,使用一般过去未来时,because从句是说明限水的原因,发生在过去的过去,使用过去完成时,下雨->涨水->政府通知->今后继续限水。符合这些时态要求的只有BCD。C的“would continue to be restricted”不必要的使用了被动语态有点笨拙,“not any appreciable increase”的写法也很可疑,显啰嗦。B的最大问题是最后“that”的使用,that指向最近river’s level,那么与后面的内容逻辑就发生了问题“river’s level resulted from the intermittent showers”。正确答案是D。


例题:Industry analysts said that the recent rise in fuel prices may be an early signal of the possibility of gasoline and heating oil prices staying higher than usually through the end of the year.

A. of the possibility of gasoline and heating oil prices staying higher than usually through
B. of the possibility that gasoline and heating oil prices could stay higher than usual throughout
C. of prices of gasoline and heating oil possibly staying higher than usually through
D. that prices of gasoline and heating oil could stay higher than they usually are throughout
E. that prices of gasoline and heating oil will stay higher than usual through

修改:Industry analysts said that the recent rise in fuel prices may be an early signal that prices of gasoline and heating oil will stay higher than usual through the end of the year.

分析:ACD都错误的使用了usually,另外因为已经有了signal,所以A和B的of the possibility显得有点啰嗦,因为已经有了may,C的possibly也是多余的。同样因为已经有了may,D用一般过去未来时的could表示对未来的假设也是多余的。正确答案是E,没有错误且是最简洁的语句。(“Industry analysts said that”后就进入了reported speech,有些说法认为在reported speech中要使用过去时,但在GMAT中没有对reported speech中的特别时态限制)


例题:The computer company has announced that it will purchase the color-printing division of a rival company for $950 million, which is part of a deal that will make it the largest manufacturer in the office color-printing market.

A. million, which is part of a deal that will make
B. million, a part of a deal that makes
C. million, a part of a deal making
D. million as a part of a deal to make
E. million as part of a deal that will make

修改:The computer company has announced that it will purchase the color-printing division of a rival company for $950 million as part of a deal that will make it the largest manufacturer in the office color-printing market.

分析:A的which从句和BC的同位语(a part of a deal)都需要紧邻它们指向的对象,但逗号前的内容显然对不上。D的to make颠倒了因果关系,错误的将意思表达成了“一个要把公司打造成巨无霸的交易”。“IT公司宣布未来会收购对手,而这个交易的结果是将自己变成一个巨无霸”,因在未来时,果也应该是未来时,E的will make符合作者想表达的逻辑。


例题:Around 1900, fishermen in the Chesapeake Bay area landed more than seventeen million pounds of shad in a single year, but by 1920, overfishing and the proliferation of milldams and culverts that have blocked shad migrations up their spawning streams had reduced landings to less than four million pounds.

A. that have blocked shad migrations up their spawning streams had reduced landings to less
B. that blocked shad from migrating up their spawning streams had reduced landings to less
C. that blocked shad from migrating up their spawning streams reduced landings to a lower amount
D. having blocked shad from migrating up their spawning streams reduced landings to less
E. having blocked shad migrations up their spawning streams had reduced landings to an amount lower

修改:Around 1900, fishermen in the Chesapeake Bay area landed more than seventeen million pounds of shad in a single year, but by 1920, overfishing and the proliferation of milldams and culverts that blocked shad from migrating up their spawning streams had reduced landings to less than four million pounds.

分析:milldams and culverts的修饰语是要解释它们对鲑鱼的影响,ABC的that从句要优于DE的having现在分词短语,第一个原因是在GMAT中,having作为现在分词修饰一个名词是比较少见的,就算出现的话它也是作为非必要修饰语补充该名词的一些信息,而非必要修饰语要用逗号间隔,这里没有。第二个原因是ABC的that从句正确的表示出了“那些使鲑鱼减产的milldams and culverts”(当然还有很多milldams和culverts是不影响鲑鱼的),而DE意为“milldams and culverts使鲑鱼减产了”,因此排除DE。
在but从句中出现了时间标记by 1920,站在1920年一个过去的时间点讨论1920年之前发生的鲱鱼减产的事件,整个从句和“现在”没有关系,所以A的现在完成时have blocked是无法成立的,而C的一般过去时reduced也没法表达出“过去的过去”这一时间概念,正确答案是使用过去完成时的B。


例题:By 1999, astronomers had discovered 17 nearby stars that are orbited by planets about the size of Jupiter.

A. had discovered 17 nearby stars that are orbited by planets
B. had discovered 17 nearby stars with planets orbiting them that were
C. had discovered that there were 17 nearby stars that were orbited by planets
D. have discovered 17 nearby stars with planets orbiting them that are
E. have discovered that 17 nearby stars are orbited by planets

分析:如之前分析所说,“by+年份”是强烈的使用过去完成时的信号,“一直到1999年,天文学家发现了…”,没有和“现在”发生关系,因此排除DE。BC除了有啰嗦的问题,还出现了一般过去时的“were”,但天体的大小和运行规律从1999到现在这段时间不可能发生变化,它们更符合“永恒属性”这一概念,所以A的一般现在时“are”明显更无懈可击,选择A。


例题:Combining enormous physical strength with higher intelligence, the Neanderthals appear as equipped for facing any obstacle the environment could put in their path, but their relatively sudden disappearance during the Paleolithic era indicates that an inability to adapt to some environmental change led to their extinction.

A. appear as equipped for facing any obstacle the environment could put in their path,
B. appear to have been equipped to face any obstacle the environment could put in their path,
C. appear as equipped to face any obstacle the environment could put in their paths,
D. appeared as equipped to face any obstacle the environment could put in their paths,
E. appeared to have been equipped for facing any obstacle the environment could put in their path,

修改:Combining enormous physical strength with higher intelligence, the Neanderthals appear to have been equipped to face any obstacle the environment could put in their path, but their relatively sudden disappearance during the Paleolithic era indicates that an inability to adapt to some environmental change led to their extinction.

分析:“indicates"说明but从句的时态是一般现在时,结合整体上下文上分析,作者想以今天的角度去分析一个考古问题,所以主句谓语更倾向于一般现在时appear而不是appeared,可以排除DE。
appear后面接什么短语是一个idiom习语问题,appear as和appear to都可以但表达的意思不一样,根据GMAT,appear as是show up as以…出现,appear to是表现的像,看起来好像。所以可以排除ACD。那么正确答案就是B了。
再继续多分析一下,AC的appear as后的equipped看起来像是过去分词,实际上它在这个短语里是形容词,所以equipped接连后面的内容的时态仍然还是现在时,而but从句已指明Neanderthals已经消亡了,所以如果说:“Neanderthals以…的姿态出现”肯定是一个过去时(如果只从这一点来看的话,D的appeared as equipped反而可以接受)。
BE的"appear/appeared to have been"中的“to+have+过去分词”叫做完成不定式"Perfect infinitive with to”,可以表示 a.过去有可能发生的事,b.过去有可能发生但没发生的事,c.在未来某个时间点会结束的事,此句中显然是b.,have在这里和现在完成时是没关系的,而是否使用been构成了被动语态我认为是不重要的,appear to have equipped应该也对。


例题:She was less successful after she had emigrated to New York compared to her native Germany, photographer Lotte Jacobi nevertheless earned a small group of discerning admirers, and her photographs were eventually exhibited in prestigious galleries across the United States.

A. She was less successful after she had emigrated to New York compared to
B. Being less successful after she had emigrated to New York as compared to
C. Less successful after she emigrated to New York than she had been in
D. Although she was less successful after emigrating to New York when compared to
E. She had been less successful after emigrating to New York than in

修改:Less successful after she emigrated to New York than she had been in her native Germany, photographer Lotte Jacobi nevertheless earned a small group of discerning admirers, and her photographs were eventually exhibited in prestigious galleries across the United States.

分析:第一个逗号后是主句,而AE都是独立从句无法与主句结合,B是现在分词短语,C是形容词短语,D是连词从句,BCD可以和主句结合。B中出现了Being,在GMAT中基本都会被归到啰嗦问题,less…as compared to不符合compare相关语法。D中的when compared to不符合compare语法。正确答案为C。C的emigrated to New York和had been in her native Germany很清楚的表明了两个事件时间上的先后关系,但我认为was in her native Germany也是可以的,因为就算只有after…then也足够表明它们的时序关系了。


例题:Australian embryologists have found evidence that suggests that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal, and its trunk originally evolving as a kind of snorkel.

A. that suggests that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal, and its trunk originally evolving
B. that has suggested the elephant descended from an aquatic animal, its trunk originally evolving
C. suggesting that the elephant had descended from an aquatic animal with its trunk originally evolved
D. to suggest that the elephant had descended from an aquatic animal and its trunk originally evolved
E. to suggest that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal and that its trunk originally evolved

修改:Australian embryologists have found evidence to suggest that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal and that its trunk originally evolved as a kind of snorkel.

分析:大象并没有灭绝,说“大象是从水中动物进化而来”等于说“今天的大象是从水中动物进化而来”,所以这句话适用于一般现在时或现在完成时,排除了BCD。A的that suggests that明显犯了啰嗦的问题,and前的逗号的使用没有道理,evolving的使用与前面的is descended没有形成平行。正确答案是E。另外,originally表明在过去“鼻子作为喘气的器官而进化”,而现在已经不是了,使用过去时。


例题: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 1 percent of homes, where lighting was still provided mainly by candles or gas.

A. electricity was in less than 1 percent of homes, where lighting was still
B. electricity was in less than 1 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 1 percent of homes had electricity, where lighting had still been

分析:通过上下文整体来看,作者想表达的是“公共领域已经通电,但只有百分之一的家庭通电且这百分之一的家庭主要还是使用蜡烛和煤气照明”,那么B的and就没有表示出“且这百分之一的家庭”的意思,另外lighting still provided的意思是”电提供了…”,应该用被动语态表示“…提供了电”。C的逗号前的部分使用过去完成时和逗号后使用一般过去时是没有道理的,这两部分不存在时序关系,都是同时发生的事件。D明显的是有啰嗦的问题,结构复杂化,having作为现在分词修饰语错误的修饰到了主语there。E使用了两次过去完成时,使全句丧失了时序逻辑关系。正确答案是A,but之前使用过去完成时,but之后是两次一般过去时,很好的表明的所有事件的时序。


参考:
gmatclub.com
englishclub.com
Manhattan Sentence Correction 5th Edition
Manhattan Sentence Correction 6th Edition
GMAT Official Guide 2022
GMAT Offical Guide Verbal Review 2022

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