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“Whether� vs “If�

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by venjam » Fri Jul 27, 2012 8:29 am
Following is a correct answer according to OG

A proposal has been made to trim the horns from rhinoceroses to discourage poachers; the question is whether tourists will continue to visit game parks and see rhinoceroses once the animals' horns have been trimmed.

But I believe the right answer should be by starting with "If"

If tourists will continue to visit game parks to see one after the animals' horns have been

I believe "Whether" is used to provide a list of alternative possibilities and "if" deals with a conditional statement.Shouldn't "the question is" be followed by "if" rather than "weather"?

Kindly clarify
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by Kasia@EconomistGMAT » Fri Jul 27, 2012 8:31 am
The use of "whether" is correct. The sentence is not a conditional structure but it is an indirectly stated QUESTION. In the GMAT we can use "if" only in conditionals.
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by sana.noor » Sat Jul 28, 2012 5:45 am
"IF" is used for a single condition and requires consequence. for example: inflation can hurt profit IF costs increase [it is sure that inflation will hurt profit only in a condition when costs increase] .....whereas "whether" is used when u have a choice or alternative possibilities. for example: i dont know whether i will go. so in above example their is a possibility of tourists to visit, its not a condition that tourists will only visit the park when rhinoceroses have horns.
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by rahulajith » Tue Aug 28, 2012 10:57 am
Can someone clarify?

GMAT uses 'IF' only for conditional statements. ie ... it has to be followed by 'Then' . In places where this is not applicable one must use 'whether '

Incorrect: - it does not tell us if someone would still be able to go there
Correct - it does not tell us whether someone would still be able to go there.
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Tue Aug 28, 2012 11:02 am
If anyone is interested in learning about the if vs whether distinction, we have an article here: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/articles/if-vs-whether

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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