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GPREP SC - Confusing...

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GPREP SC - Confusing...

by adi_800 » Sat Sep 11, 2010 10:13 pm
I am not happy with the explanation provided in the below thread...so posting again...

https://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/tho ... t1938.html

Those skeptical of the extent of global warming argue that short-term temperature data are an inadequate means of predicting long-term trends and point out that the scientific community remains divided on whether significant warming will occur and what impact will it have if it does.

A. on whether significant warming will occur and what impact will it have if it does.
B. on whether warming that occurs will be significant and the impact it would have.
C. as to whether significant warming will occur or the impact it would have if it did.
D. over whether there will be significant warming or the impact it will have.
E. over whether significant warming will occur and what impact it would have.
Last edited by adi_800 on Sat Sep 11, 2010 10:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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by adi_800 » Sat Sep 11, 2010 10:13 pm
C -> Wrong..uses did..Eliminate
B-> Wordy..warming that occurs will occur This part is wordy -> Eliminate
D-> there are two choices on which community is divided on..so you should be using or and not and. Same applies to C..

Now we come down to A n E...
we should use will to keep the tenses parallel..
N we should use would when predicting future from a past point of time...But the event is yet to occur as signified by the words will occur...So, I dont think we can use would....

But OA IS E, which uses would to express consequences of something that is yet to occur...
If So, then why A is wrong..
Please tell me what are the reasons to eliminate A and to select E as the correct option...
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by uwhusky » Sat Sep 11, 2010 10:24 pm
Ron's explanation:
hmm... i like (a) best, but only if it was supposed to say 'it will', and you mis-typed it as 'will it'. if the version you've typed is indeed faithful to the original, then, well, all the choices suck.

reasons:
- 'whether...' and 'what impact...' are parallel.
- the meaning is correct.
- the tenses are parallel: 'will occur' || 'will have'.

choice e:
- tense inconsistency: 'will occur' isn't parallel to 'would have'. moreover, 'would have' isn't appropriate for the consequences of something that hasn't even happened yet.
Unfortunately this question is one of those that do not have a perfect answer, but per Ron's explanation, we know that A is incorrectly phrasing its structure from "it will" to "will it". So apparently that's a bigger error according to GMAT.

Not much else is there, since we cannot question nor challenge GMAC and it isn't beneficial to do either.
Yep.
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by adi_800 » Sat Sep 11, 2010 10:35 pm
I know that we can not challenge the official questions...
but there must be some reason to use would and not will..

IN the first reply in that thread...if you c...
RON HIMSELF mentioned that would is incorrect...
N den when he got to know that OA Is E...
he accepted that oh yeah...will is wrong and would is fine....

This is what he said first...

choice e:
- tense inconsistency: 'will occur' isn't parallel to 'would have'. moreover, 'would have' isn't appropriate for the consequences of something that hasn't even happened yet.

then after knowing what oa is.. he said below point...

we can justify 'would' here by saying that it's a case of the subjunctive mood, which isn't often used in contexts like this one. they're using 'would' instead of 'will' because the occurrence whose consequences are being considered is hypothetical.

But i dont understand why would and not will....
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by uwhusky » Sat Sep 11, 2010 10:43 pm
"whether significant warming will occur" creates subjunctive mood, yes/no, and it is followed by "and what impact it would have".

I guess that's what Ron meant when he was reasoning why GMAT used would instead of will. However, this issue might have little importance in the larger scope of things. I think the more important thing is to evaluate why A is incorrect, not why E is correct, especially in this case.
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by uwhusky » Sat Sep 11, 2010 10:50 pm
There's another example in the Verbal Guide that has a similar usage issue:

Polio, although it is eradicated in the United States, it continues elsewhere and is able to be brought into the country by visitors.

(A) Polio, although it is eradicated in the United States, it continues elsewhere and is able to be
(B) Polio, although eradicated in the United States, it still continues elsewhere and can be
(C) Although still continuing elsewhere, polio has been eradicated in the United States and could be
(D) Although having been eradicated in the United States, polio still continues elsewhere and is capable of being
(E) Although eradicated in the United States, polio continues elsewhere and could be

I honestly thought that the correct answer E should use "can" instead of "could", and even the verbal guide explanation used "can" instead of "could": "polio (that it continues elsewhere, and that it can be brought back into the United States)". But nevertheless, E is the correct answer. So the idea here is similar to the GMATPrep question above, forget why the answer chooses its particular tense, but rather try to recognize how to eliminate other incorrect answers.
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by adi_800 » Sat Sep 11, 2010 11:11 pm
uwhusky wrote:There's another example in the Verbal Guide that has a similar usage issue:

Polio, although it is eradicated in the United States, it continues elsewhere and is able to be brought into the country by visitors.

(A) Polio, although it is eradicated in the United States, it continues elsewhere and is able to be
(B) Polio, although eradicated in the United States, it still continues elsewhere and can be
(C) Although still continuing elsewhere, polio has been eradicated in the United States and could be
(D) Although having been eradicated in the United States, polio still continues elsewhere and is capable of being
(E) Although eradicated in the United States, polio continues elsewhere and could be

I honestly thought that the correct answer E should use "can" instead of "could", and even the verbal guide explanation used "can" instead of "could": "polio (that it continues elsewhere, and that it can be brought back into the United States)". But nevertheless, E is the correct answer. So the idea here is similar to the GMATPrep question above, forget why the answer chooses its particular tense, but rather try to recognize how to eliminate other incorrect answers.
Point Taken!!
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by niksworth » Sat Sep 11, 2010 11:17 pm
The bottom line is that we have to choose the best answer and not the perfect answer.

The debate is in between A and E.

A - 1. use of will it is incorrect - will it can only be used in the form of a question.
E.g. What problems will it create? - Correct
I wonder what problems it will create. - Correct
I wonder what problems will it create. - Incorrect

2. will it have if it does - use of two it back to back is really awkward

3. will it have if it does - if it does what? (it may be suggested that occur is elided. Still, the sentence looks like it has been left hanging and a sense of closure is missing.)

4. if it does - Is this really necessary here? An event can have an impact only if it occurs. So, the inclusion of this phrase leads to redundancy.

E corrects all these errors by eliminating the if it does part and putting it before the modal. The difference in will and would is very fine. The use of subjunctive mood is illustrated here. Even if you are not convinced with would, this is not a ground for elimination in the face of more obvious inconsistencies in A.
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by scorpionz » Sat Sep 11, 2010 11:36 pm
Hmm..interesting discussion..

While everyone was debating over whether "will" is correct or "would" is, I was thinking on another line..

The foremost difference I saw between A & E was that A uses "remain divided on" while E uses "remain divided over"..

To me "remain divided over" seems to be a better usage than "remain divided on".. However this point has neither been addressed in the Manhattan forum nor been discussed here.

Can anyone shed light on which of the two options (remain divided over, remain divided on) is correct? And if both are correct, can you please share some examples or contexts when one needs to be chosen over the other? Can the two be used interchangeably?

Thanks!!
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by niksworth » Sat Sep 11, 2010 11:45 pm
scorpionz wrote: Can anyone shed light on which of the two options (remain divided over, remain divided on) is correct? And if both are correct, can you please share some examples or contexts when one needs to be chosen over the other? Can the two be used interchangeably?

Thanks!!
In the Manhattan forum, Ron specifically states that they can be used interchangeably. See the last post of that thread.
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by scorpionz » Sat Sep 11, 2010 11:52 pm
niksworth wrote:
scorpionz wrote: Can anyone shed light on which of the two options (remain divided over, remain divided on) is correct? And if both are correct, can you please share some examples or contexts when one needs to be chosen over the other? Can the two be used interchangeably?

Thanks!!
In the Manhattan forum, Ron specifically states that they can be used interchangeably. See the last post of that thread.
Oops...Missed the second page of the forum altogether!!

Thanks!!
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