Da Vinci first sketched the Mona Lisa

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Da Vinci first sketched the Mona Lisa

by Ryan Ziemba » Tue Sep 14, 2010 4:04 pm
I found this problem on one of the old paper test, so there is no explanation. I incorrectly answered D and have a feeling my error partly involved tense, although I'm not sure the the exact rules as they apply here.

Any insight would be much appreciated.


Art historians are using a process known as infrared scanning in analyzing the Mona Lisa to determine if it has been altered since completion and if Leonardo da Vinci first sketched the figure in black, as done by many artists of the time.

(A) if it has been altered since completion and if Leonardo da Vinci first sketched the figure in black, as done

(B) if it had been altered since completion and if Leonardo da Vinci first sketched the figure in black, a practice employed

(C) whether it has been altered since completion and whether Leonardo da Vinci first sketched the figure in black, a practice employed

(D) whether it was altered since completion and whether Leonardo da Vinci first sketched the figure in black, as was done

(E) whether it had been altered since completion and whether Leonardo da Vinci first sketched the figure in black, a practice done

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by Gurpinder » Tue Sep 14, 2010 4:34 pm
IMO (C).


(A) if it has been altered since completion and if Leonardo da Vinci first sketched the figure in black, as done

(B) if it had been altered since completion and if Leonardo da Vinci first sketched the figure in black, a practice employed

(C) whether it has been altered since completion and whether Leonardo da Vinci first sketched the figure in black, a practice employed
--> this one looks good.

(D) whether it was altered since completion and whether Leonardo da Vinci first sketched the figure in black, as was done

(E) whether it had been altered since completion and whether Leonardo da Vinci first sketched the figure in black, a practice done
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by navami » Thu Sep 16, 2010 3:30 am
which one is better here: whether or if.

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by niksworth » Thu Sep 16, 2010 5:13 am
C looks best.

First,

whether is the right choice here, not if. If is used for conditional statements.

To distinguish between whether and if look for the following missing elements used to answer the question -
Whether - whether or not- or not is missing.
If - If..then - then is missing.

See which if the two makes sense in the sentence (whether or not / if...then). Choose accordingly.

Second,

altered since completion indicates that the alteration might have happened anytime from the completion of the painting to the present day. Thus the use of present perfect has been is necessary.

Note that had the sentence been something like - ... to determine whether it ----- altered in the 18th century, use of was would have been correct.

Only C satisfies these criteria.
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by reply2spg » Thu Sep 16, 2010 7:39 am
Use of whether and if

whether - Use whenever you want to choose between the options.

Correct - I am not sure whether to go to India or to UK in winter.
Wrong - I am not sure if I go to India or to UK in winter.

IF - Use if only and only when you have conditional clause. That means whenever you see if X, then Y construction use if

Correct - If I study hard for GMAT, I will get more than 700.
Wrong - whether I study hard for GMAT, I will get more than 700.

HTH!!!!
navami wrote:which one is better here: whether or if.
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by prnaidu » Thu Sep 16, 2010 11:02 am
Best Answer : A

Ryan - can you please post the answer?

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by Maciek » Thu Sep 16, 2010 2:10 pm
Hi all!

IMO C

Main issues here are 'if' versus 'whether' and verb tenses.
'Whether' should be used here.
It is used to introduce a clause after a verb expressing or implying doubt or choice in order to indicate two or more alternatives. [1]
Hence, we should eliminate answer choices A and B.
Answers D and E include inappropriate verb tenses.

[1] https://dictionary.reference.com/browse/whether

Read "Top 10 Tips for the Sentence Correction Section" by Chris Black
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/09/ ... on-section

Hope it helps!
Best,
Maciek
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by ankurmit » Fri Sep 17, 2010 1:31 am
IMO C
--------
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by anantbhatia » Sun Sep 19, 2010 10:38 pm
(C) looks the best. But 'if' would have suited here better than 'whether'. I am still a tad confused with the usage.

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by navami » Mon Sep 20, 2010 5:25 am
Thanks guys!!