Is this sentence construction ok ?

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sui generis: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 89; Joined: Wed Dec 29, 2010 4:07 amFollowed by: 2 members; Thanked: 1 times

by sui generis » Sun Apr 08, 2012 4:08 pm

If the stores that were driven out by Colson's were replaced mostly by discount stores, that suggests that the stores were replaced because of a need that no longer exists after the opening of SpendLess.

Source: Page 629, OG12

If xxxx, that suggests that yyyyy. ---- Is this construction ok ? shouldn't we use 'then' with 'if' ?

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Sun Apr 08, 2012 4:08 pm

Bill@VeritasPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1248; Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2012 2:57 pmFollowed by: 192 members; Location: Everywhere; Thanked: 503 times; GMAT Score:780

by Bill@VeritasPrep » Sun Apr 08, 2012 4:46 pm

Right. Since the second half of the sentence is a consequence that follows from the "if" clause, it should start with "then." It should also have a conditional verb (i.e. "would suggest")

I also think using "that" twice in the space of three words is awkward.

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GMAT Kolaveri: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 287; Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2012 12:33 amFollowed by: 6 members; Location: Pune,India; Thanked: 60 times

by GMAT Kolaveri » Sun Apr 08, 2012 6:03 pm

Bill@VeritasPrep wrote:Right. Since the second half of the sentence is a consequence that follows from the "if" clause, it should start with "then." It should also have a conditional verb (i.e. "would suggest")

I also think using "that" twice in the space of three words is awkward.

@Bill, could you please right the correct sentence.

Also as far i know, the "then" in if part is not mandatory. Please correct me if i'm wrong.
Possible constructions could be

1. If x, then y. If he prepares well, then he will ace the test.
2. y, if x. He will ace the test, if he prepares well.
3. If x, y If he prepares well, he will ace the test

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Bill@VeritasPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1248; Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2012 2:57 pmFollowed by: 192 members; Location: Everywhere; Thanked: 503 times; GMAT Score:780

by Bill@VeritasPrep » Sun Apr 08, 2012 6:21 pm

The "then" can be implied, but you still need a conditional/future verb in the "then" clause. Your examples all have "will," so they work.

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