Whether Vs If

Question

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

bubbliiiiiiii · Answer

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

karthikpandian19 · Answer

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

Bill@VeritasPrep · Answer

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.

ice_rush · Answer

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!

Bill@VeritasPrep · Answer

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.

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