Whether Vs If

This topic has expert replies
User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 1665
Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 7:04 pm
Thanked: 165 times
Followed by:70 members

Whether Vs If

by karthikpandian19 » Fri May 11, 2012 12:47 am
21. 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 after their horns are trimmed.
(A) whether tourists will continue to visit game parks and see rhinoceroses after their horns are
(B) whether tourists will continue to visit game parks to see one once their horns are
(C) whether tourists will continue to visit game parks to see rhinoceroses once the animals' horns have been
(D) if tourists will continue to visit game parks and see rhinoceroses once the animals' horns are
(E) if tourists will continue to visit game parks to see one after the animals' horns have been
Source: — Sentence Correction |

User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 979
Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2009 1:38 am
Location: Hyderabad, India
Thanked: 49 times
Followed by:12 members
GMAT Score:700

by bubbliiiiiiii » Fri May 11, 2012 2:31 am
karthikpandian19 wrote:21. 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 after their horns are trimmed.
(A) whether tourists will continue to visit game parks and see rhinoceroses after their horns are
(B) whether tourists will continue to visit game parks to see one once their horns are
(C) whether tourists will continue to visit game parks to see rhinoceroses once the animals' horns have been
(D) if tourists will continue to visit game parks and see rhinoceroses once the animals' horns are
(E) if tourists will continue to visit game parks to see one after the animals' horns have been
Between A and C, C seems better as in A, pronoun their could refer to either rhinos or tourists.

IMO C
Regards,

Pranay

User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 1665
Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 7:04 pm
Thanked: 165 times
Followed by:70 members

by karthikpandian19 » Fri May 11, 2012 3:46 pm
OA is C
bubbliiiiiiii wrote:
karthikpandian19 wrote:21. 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 after their horns are trimmed.
(A) whether tourists will continue to visit game parks and see rhinoceroses after their horns are
(B) whether tourists will continue to visit game parks to see one once their horns are
(C) whether tourists will continue to visit game parks to see rhinoceroses once the animals' horns have been
(D) if tourists will continue to visit game parks and see rhinoceroses once the animals' horns are
(E) if tourists will continue to visit game parks to see one after the animals' horns have been
Between A and C, C seems better as in A, pronoun their could refer to either rhinos or tourists.

IMO C

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 1248
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2012 2:57 pm
Location: Everywhere
Thanked: 503 times
Followed by:192 members
GMAT Score:780

by Bill@VeritasPrep » Fri May 11, 2012 4:05 pm
The use of present perfect "have been" is what makes C better than A. The trimming will occur at some indefinite time before the tourists see the rhinos, so it makes sense to present perfect to indicate that.
Join Veritas Prep's 2010 Instructor of the Year, Matt Douglas for GMATT Mondays

Visit the Veritas Prep Blog

Try the FREE Veritas Prep Practice Test

Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 341
Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2012 6:59 pm
Thanked: 17 times
Followed by:4 members
GMAT Score:720

by ice_rush » Fri May 11, 2012 4:56 pm
understand that we need present perfect here..what if choice (A) were in present perfect -- would it be a contender then? The reason I ask is whether the usage of "their" in (A) is correct? Common sense says that "their" should refer to rhinos horns, but not sure if that would be correct on GMAT.



Thanks!

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 1248
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2012 2:57 pm
Location: Everywhere
Thanked: 503 times
Followed by:192 members
GMAT Score:780

by Bill@VeritasPrep » Fri May 11, 2012 5:34 pm
The GMAT loves pronoun clarity, as you've noticed, so while it wouldn't be incorrect (the pronoun "their" would be in a prepositional phrase modifying "rhinos"), I would still choose C because it's about as clear as possible.
Join Veritas Prep's 2010 Instructor of the Year, Matt Douglas for GMATT Mondays

Visit the Veritas Prep Blog

Try the FREE Veritas Prep Practice Test

• Page 1 of 1