Verb tenses is one of the most complicated topics on GMAT Grammar. It is right there with modifiers and comparisons. What makes this topic so tricky is that to solve 700-level questions that highlight multiple events from the past, students frequently need to get two things right, they need to decide whether to express sequencing and then use the right tense forms to express the same.
Let us take a simple scenario to express this conundrum:
- One would not need to express sequencing in a sentence that talks about an asteroid that fell millions of years ago and its corresponding damage discovered a decade back.
- However, a sentence that describes the species that went extinct because of the same asteroid striking would need to express sequencing using either explicit time markers or using appropriate verb tenses (but not both).
Questions answers in this post?
- What is new in the enhanced Verbs Tenses module?
- What is the motivation behind the enhancement?
- [Existing Students] Do I need to go through the new module? How long will it take me?
- [Existing Students] How can I access my older attempts on Verb tenses?
What is new in the Enhanced Verb Tenses module?
While most books and courses focus just on teaching grammar concepts, the new Verbs module of the e-GMAT course, building on our innovative Verbs sequencing lesson, presents an enhanced framework that provides clear guidance on when to express sequencing and how to express a sequence using verb tenses and timeline markers.
Building on a solid understanding of grammatical concepts, this enhanced framework with 10+ case studies ensures that each one of you has a clear understanding of how to expresses related events on the timeline and how to avoid common pitfalls on the GMAT. Two sets of mated exercises then follow these case studies – each with video explanations by Payal – GMAT Club’s #1 rated expert.
Overall, the new module has:
- A brand-new methodology to help you express sequencing:
- 3X as many case studies that equip you to tackle some of the most difficult scenarios that you are likely to face on the exam.
- New in-depth evaluations that ensure that you become proficient in applying this methodology.
- Renewed coverage of all tense forms – from simple past to perfect continuous with greater depth and more examples.
What is the motivation behind the enhancement?
Two words – Your Success. We constantly strive to improve. Based on 100,000 data points from our internal metrics (forum posts, current activity scores, Scholaranium stats) and the new questions added in OG 2021 told us that on a per question basis more students need help with 700-level questions involving verb tenses than involving any other concept. So, we (Payal, Shraddha, and Stacey) put our heads down and created the storytelling approach to Verb Tenses.
[Existing Students] Do I need to go through the new module? How long will it take me?
We strongly recommend that you go through the new module even if you have completed and done well on the old module. This new approach builds upon the existing content, taking your capability to the next level. Overall, with a few hours of effort, you will become much more comfortable answering questions that test Verb Tenses.
[Existing Students] Can I watch the old files again? What about my notes and forum posts from these files?
While you would not be able to watch the old files (we want you to spend time watching the new files), you can check your scores from the old files, access any notes that you made against those files, and review expert responses to past forum posts.
When you go to the Sentence Correction course, you will see a small banner (as shown in the image below) which will allow you to navigate to the old files. You can then go to the specific file and access the notes and forum posts.
While Verb tenses may be one of the most challenging topics for students today, we are confident that post this update, it would be one of the drivers that helps you score 90th percentile on higher on the GMAT, helping you get into your target business school.
Happy learning.
The e-GMAT Team
