<p>I think sample passage 3 in the English section uses the past perfect incorrectly. The answer key suggests that the following sentence is correct. </p>
<p>My three boys had gawked lightheartedly at their cousin’s system, as children expecting a new brother or sister might show curiosity toward someone else’s baby.</p>
<p>I know that you are supposed to selected the BEST answer, but for the purpose of affirming my knowledge of grammar, I want to make sure that the sentence isn’t grammatically flawed. I think the sentence should read: </p>
<p>My three boys had gawked lightheartedly at their cousin’s system, as children expecting a new brother or sister might show curiosity toward someone else’s baby, before it arrived. (or an equivalent phrase) </p>
<p>The point is, the event that happens after should come after the past perfect in a sentence, even if its separated into two sentences. The paragraph states second action first which is not legal. </p>
<p>I believe the following sentence is also incorrect:</p>
<p>We had never owned our own game system, unless you count that hand-me-down Nintendo 64 we inherited when my oldest son was three. </p>
<p>It should read:</p>
<p>We had never owned our own game system before, unless you count that hand-me-down Nintendo 64 we inherited when my oldest son was three. </p>
<p>OR</p>
<p>We have never owned our own game system, unless you count that hand-me-down Nintendo 64 we inherited when my oldest son was three.</p>