sahilbilga wrote:If present metal prices continue to sharply rise, the value of the copper in a penny will soon be greater than the face value of the coin.
(A) If present metal prices continue to sharply rise,
(B) If present metal prices are continuing their sharp rise,
(C) Should present metal prices continue their sharp rise,
(D) Continuation of sharply rising metal prices should mean that
(E) Metal prices’ sharp rise continuing should mean that
Experts please help. I am unable to get this one.
OA is C
Dear
sahilbilga,
I'm happy to help.
What is the source of this question?
(A) If present metal prices continue to sharply rise,
The only thing suspect about this is the
split infinitive. When a writer puts an adjective between the "
to" and the verb of an infinitive, that's called a split infinitive. Some grammatical purists think split infinitive are horrible. Some grammatical liberals think split infinitives are fine. The GMAT tends to be more conservative: I have only seen split infinitives in incorrect answer choices of official questions, never in a correct answer choice. Having said that, a split infinitive alone is not really enough on the real GMAT to disqualify a question. This is a shade of gray, not a clear black & white issue. This answer choice is not totally correct, but not clearly wrong by GMAT standards. The question seems to indicate a lack of understanding of the standards of the GMAT SC.
(B) If present metal prices are continuing their sharp rise,
No need for the present progressive. This is incorrect.
(C) Should present metal prices continue their sharp rise,
Elegant and perfectly correct.
(D) Continuation of sharply rising metal prices should mean that
This seems to be trying to win a contest for the most flaccid and indirect. This is a rhetorical trainwreck, completely unacceptable.
(E) Metal prices’ sharp rise continuing should mean that
Also very awkward and indirect. This is clearly wrong.
So,
(C) is a very good answer, but
(A) is is not unambiguously wrong. On the real GMAT, there is one perfectly correct choice, and four choices that all can be rejected for clearly defined reasons. This question falls short of the high standards of the GMAT SC.
Here's a high quality GMAT SC practice question:
https://gmat.magoosh.com/questions/3563
Let me know if you have any further questions.
Mike
