OG 2017-Whether they will scale back

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OG 2017-Whether they will scale back

by fiza gupta » Wed Oct 12, 2016 9:53 pm
Whether they will scale back their orders to pre-2003 levels or stop doing business with us altogether depends on whether the changes that their management has proposed will be fully implemented.

A. Whether they will scale back their orders to pre-2003 levels or stop doing business with us altogether depends on whether the changes that their management has proposed will be fully implemented.

B. Whether they scale back their orders to pre-2003 levels or whether they discontinue their business with us altogether depends on the changes their management has proposed, if fully implemented or not.

C. Their either scaling back their orders in the future to pre-2003 levels, or their outright termination of business with us, depends on their management's proposed changes being fully implemented or not.

D. Whether they will scale back their orders to pre-2003 levels or stop doing business with us altogether depends if the changes that their management has proposed become fully implemented.

E. They will either scale back their orders to pre-2003 levels, or they will stop doing business with us altogether dependent on whether the changes their management has proposed will be fully implemented, or not.

OA:A
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by NandishSS » Wed Jan 11, 2017 4:12 am
fiza gupta wrote:Whether they will scale back their orders to pre-2003 levels or stop doing business with us altogether depends on whether the changes that their management has proposed will be fully implemented.

A. Whether they will scale back their orders to pre-2003 levels or stop doing business with us altogether depends on whether the changes that their management has proposed will be fully implemented.

B. Whether they scale back their orders to pre-2003 levels or whether they discontinue their business with us altogether depends on the changes their management has proposed, if fully implemented or not.

C. Their either scaling back their orders in the future to pre-2003 levels, or their outright termination of business with us, depends on their management's proposed changes being fully implemented or not.

D. Whether they will scale back their orders to pre-2003 levels or stop doing business with us altogether depends if the changes that their management has proposed become fully implemented.

E. They will either scale back their orders to pre-2003 levels, or they will stop doing business with us altogether dependent on whether the changes their management has proposed will be fully implemented, or not.

OA:A
Hi GMATGuruNY / DavidG@VeritasPrep,

Can you throw some light on the above SC!!!

If/Whether?

Thanks
Nandish

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by crackverbal » Sun Jan 15, 2017 2:26 am
Let me give it a shot.
"whether" is used to show that two alternatives are possible.

"if" is used to indicate a condition.
for example -
I don't know whether you will like X. (you may or may not like X - two possibilities)
If X happens, then Y happens. (X may or may not happen. If it does, then Y will definitely happen).

However, this is incorrect -
I don't know if you like will like X. (this sentence does not mention a condition).

A - correct.

two possibilities -
1. scale back their orders OR
2. stop doing business.

Note that 2nd possibility in the subordinate clause is implied -
1. changes will be fully implemented
2. changes will not be fully implemented (this is implied).

Also, option A maintains parallelism - "scale back ..." is parallel to "stop doing business...."

B - Incorrect.
changes the meaning.
"depends on the changes their management has proposed" - this says that their action depends on the "changes" and not on whether those changes will be implemented.

"if fully implemented or not" - here "if" is used to state a choice - incorrect.
Note that usage of "or not" is redundant as it is implied.

Also, note that the usage of "whether they" is not necessary as it is implied because of parallelism.

C - Incorrect.
"either X or Y" requires parallelism between X and Y.

"scaling back ..." is not perfectly parallel to "their outright termination ...."
Also, note that we do not need a comma before a coordinating conjunction when it connects two phrases -

"Their either scaling back their orders in the future to pre-2003 levels, or their outright termination of business with us."

this option also changes the original meaning - "depends on their management's proposed changes". (Note that "being" is used as a modifier here).
"or not" is redundant.

Also, the comma before the verb "depends" seems to that the part after the verb is a different construction.

D - incorrect.
"depends if the changes that their management has proposed become fully implemented." - the usage of "if" is incorrect.

"...changes ... become fully implemented." - seems to imply that changes get implemented by themselves. Usage of passive voice - will be - is better.

E - Incorrect.
"or not" is redundant.
"dependent ..." is a past participle modifier and must generally modify the nearest noun phrase. It cannot refer to a verb - "will stop doing business".

Also, "dependent ..." seems to be a part of just the second clause.
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by GMATGuruNY » Sun Jan 15, 2017 3:31 am
fiza gupta wrote:Whether they will scale back their orders to pre-2003 levels or stop doing business with us altogether depends on whether the changes that their management has proposed will be fully implemented.

A. Whether they will scale back their orders to pre-2003 levels or stop doing business with us altogether depends on whether the changes that their management has proposed will be fully implemented.

B. Whether they scale back their orders to pre-2003 levels or whether they discontinue their business with us altogether depends on the changes their management has proposed, if fully implemented or not.

C. Their either scaling back their orders in the future to pre-2003 levels, or their outright termination of business with us, depends on their management's proposed changes being fully implemented or not.

D. Whether they will scale back their orders to pre-2003 levels or stop doing business with us altogether depends if the changes that their management has proposed become fully implemented.

E. They will either scale back their orders to pre-2003 levels, or they will stop doing business with us altogether dependent on whether the changes their management has proposed will be fully implemented, or not.
A VERBLESS clause is a clause in which the subject and verb are omitted, but their presence is implied.
Generally:
The omitted subject will be the preceding noun or noun phrase.
The omitted verb will be a form of TO BE (is, are, were, etc.).

B: their management has proposed, if [their management is] fully implemented
Here, the words in brackets -- the nearest preceding noun + is -- are implied in the verbless if-clause.
Not the intended meaning.
The question here is whether proposed CHANGES will be fully implemented.
Eliminate B.

C: depends on their management's proposed changes being fully implemented
This wording implies that the changes are BEING FULLY IMPLEMENTED.
Not the intended meaning.
It is UNCERTAIN whether the proposed changes will be fully implemented.
Eliminate C.

Generally, forms of to depend must be followed by ON.
Correct: X depended ON Y.
In D, depends is not followed by on.
Eliminate D.

E: whether the changes...will be fully implemented or not
Here, or not is redundant.
It is sufficient to say the following:
whether the changes will be fully implemented
Eliminate E.

The correct answer is A.

if serves to introduce a CONDITION.
whether serves to introduce ALTERNATIVES.
The SC above is discussing alternatives:
they will scale back their orders to pre-2003 levels OR they will stop doing business with us altogether
the changes that their management has proposed will be fully implemented OR the changes that their management has proposed will NOT be fully implemented
Thus, the two answer choices with if -- B and D -- can be eliminated.
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