that's a very good point about 'could'; however, a few sources i've found appear to allow 'could' more latitude than 'would'. here's an example:
https://www.englishpage.com/modals/could.html
that example specifically allows 'could' to stand for a
possibility, even when it's used in the present tense. 'would', by contrast, is generally not allowed such latitude; as used in this sentence, it's
definite (no issue of possibility; some of the journalists have definitely said '
X WILL happen').
in any case, here's the most important point:
if you're going to decide tough questions of usage/diction, the OG / gmatprep is the only infallible source (and even gmatprep is of questionable value, as it doesn't have an answer key). the og makes most usage/diction decisions in ways you'd probably expect, but it occasionally gives verdicts that contradict those of most other usage experts.
it's gmac's game, so ultimately you have to play by their rules. (unfortunately, they shift the goalposts on occasion...)
1000sc isn't a
bad source, overall; from what i've seen, a majority of its questions are fairly solid, and its treatment of major
grammatical topics such as parallelism and agreement is normally pretty good. however, it is known for being unreliable on occasional issues involving diction / word choice. therefore, here's my advice: use it for practice on major points of grammar, but don't split hairs about word choice issues like can/could. if you're going to nitpick those issues, do so on the official questions.
good luck!
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.
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Pueden hacerle preguntas a Ron en castellano
Potete chiedere domande a Ron in italiano
On peut poser des questions à Ron en français
Voit esittää kysymyksiä Ron:lle myös suomeksi
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Quand on se sent bien dans un vêtement, tout peut arriver. Un bon vêtement, c'est un passeport pour le bonheur.
Yves Saint-Laurent
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