“being,” like all “-ing” verbs, can never function on its own as the verb of a clause. A simple tensed verb is usually preferable (in this case “were”); otherwise, the verb must be preceded buy an auxiliary (e.g., “we were running”).
BUT: an auxiliary with “being” is typically (not always) redundant. E.g., “We were being in the store” is horrible. “We were being friendly” sounds natural, especially if there is some doubt about the issue, and the writer wants to emphasize that we really were bring friendly – as opposed to, say, nasty.
“were” denotes the recent past. “had been” denotes the distant past.
This week is the recent past. Relative to this week, last year is the distant past.
“had been” would fit if the subject were “last year’s fireworks.” Because the subject is “this week’s fireworks” (I’m paraphrasing), “were” is the correct verb.
If you’re not at the 750 level or above, and you have the option to choose an error that includes “being,” choose it. I’ve only seen it used in a correct answer once and eve then there were some extenuating circumstances.
On the SAT, “had been” is only permissible if the sentence also includes a simple past action and the “had been” action occurred before the simple past action. If there is only one verb in a sentence, it can never be superpast (“had been”).
Wo… Thank u so much WasatchWriter and Marvin100…
CHD2013 I am at the 750 level… And I already eliminated “being”… I had got confused between had been and were…
Thanks a ton guys…
Benjamin franklin is revered not only as a courageous patriot but also HE DISCOVERED AND INVENTED MANY THINGS.
A) he discovered and invented many things
B) for discovering and inventing many things
C) for his many discoveries an inventions
D) as someone who made many discoveries and invented many things
E) as having made many discoveries and invented many things
You need parallel structure:
revered not only as x but also as y
x=patriot (noun)
so y has to be a noun (or in this case the impersonal pronoun “someone”) .
“Having” = simple gerund.
It is sufficiently parallel to write “not only as X but also for Y,” because the prepositional phrases follow “not only.” If the phrase were “as not only” (which sounds icky) then you’d be stuck with a phrase that has to follow as. But that’s not the case. Any preposition can follow “not only”.
Yes, I like C. It works for the reasons I mentioned. It’s also more efficient. E.g., “discover” or “discovery” is (almost) always a better choice than “make a discovery.” And if you can write a sentence without using any word containing “thing,” do it.