If the proposed expenditures for gathering information abroad are reduced even further, international news report have been and will continue to dimish in number and quality.
(a). have been and will continue to dimish
(b). have and will continue to diminish
(c). will continue to diminish, as they already did
(d) will continue to diminish, as they have already
(e). will continue to diminish
OA is E
OA says E but whats wrong with option B. An Expert view will be appreciated.
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BTGmoderatorRO
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alanforde800Maximus
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(B) have and will continue to diminish -> Will continue to diminish provides a sense that they are diminishing already. Have been is not required.
have diminished -> "Diminished" can be ellipsed when "diminished" is already used somewhere else in the sentence
have diminished -> "Diminished" can be ellipsed when "diminished" is already used somewhere else in the sentence
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ceilidh.erickson
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The structure "if ____, then ____" implies CAUSE + EFFECT. Logically, the cause must happen before the effect. Therefore, the verb tenses must follow suit.BTGmoderatorRO wrote:If the proposed expenditures for gathering information abroad are reduced even further, international news report have been and will continue to dimish in number and quality.
(a). have been and will continue to dimish
(b). have and will continue to diminish
(c). will continue to diminish, as they already did
(d) will continue to diminish, as they have already
(e). will continue to diminish
OA is E
OA says E but whats wrong with option B. An Expert view will be appreciated.
"If expenditures... are reduced..." --> present tense. It's hypothetical, so this reduction hasn't happened yet, but it could presumably happen right now. If this reduction causes the diminishing in news report quality, that diminishing must happen after the reduction.
"If expenditures... are reduced, news reports have diminished..." --> this is illogical for cause + effect.
"If expenditures... are reduced, news reports will diminish.." --> this makes logical sense.
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
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ceilidh.erickson
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For more on IF + THEN structures that test verb tenses, see:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/verb-tense- ... tml#733298
https://www.beatthegmat.com/a-simple-tr ... tml#637051
https://www.beatthegmat.com/sentence-co ... tml#575581
https://www.beatthegmat.com/verb-tense- ... tml#733298
https://www.beatthegmat.com/a-simple-tr ... tml#637051
https://www.beatthegmat.com/sentence-co ... tml#575581
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
