Building large new hospitals in the bistate area would constitute a wa

There are quite some reasons why E is correct:
Reason#1 : Presence of comma which calls for a clause to explain the cause of non underlined sentence. We dont need that comma if we are using phrases "on the basis of ..." or "on the grounds of ...". This is a good enough reason to kick A and B out.

Reason#2 : It is typical cause-effect scenario where battle between "in that" and "because" happens. Spideys notes does say that "in that" (as in C) is mostly correct, but it is not so. This is a typical example of that. If any time, a "why" needs to be addressed, we have to use a "because" and that is what E does. So C is gone.

Reason#3 : Idiom to be crammed "if only because" Even I learnt it hard way.
"If only" is an addendum to "because" which specifies that there is no other reason apart from this reason.

Jack ate the last cookie if only because he wanted to wash the plate.
Jack ate the last cookie because he wanted to wash the plate.

The difference is that the second sentence leaves out the idea that the only reason for eating the cookie was to wash the plate. It also leaves out that certain stylistic 'something' that the first has. The reason in the first sentence has a certain subtractive value, whereas the reason in the second has additive value. In the first sentence, but only because might replace if only because. In the second sentence, one can easily imagine extending the thought with further reasons: because ... and because ... and because ...

Once you know Reason#3, it is flat E.

But even if you know only Reason#1 and 2, you should be able to get rid of A,B, and C. Usage of while is really bad in D to kick it out.

HTH

Hello, crackGMAT760. I am sorry to hear that you downed 10 minutes on this question, but at the same time, I am glad that you are willing to put in the time to understand the question. To answer your second question first (before I forget), this was an official question at one point in time, but I doubt it would appear as such on the GMAT™ today, since, as EducationAisle has pointed out above, GMAC™ itself seems to have reversed its position on testing the idiom if only, calling it stilted and overly formal. As for my own approach, I did not use idioms as a guide to point to the correct answer, but I answered (E) in 46 seconds. The reason is that if you read duplicated facilities in choices (A), (B), and (C) in a literal sense, you will interpret the modifier to mean, facilities that have been duplicated. That might sound innocent enough, but it is the action of duplicating facilities that the sentence seems to be passing judgment on. In other words, there is no problem with stepping foot inside a facility that is identical to another, but duplicating facilities, building facilities that are the same (perhaps in both form and function), is shunned here, and choice (E) indicates further that such duplication should be avoided on principle alone (if only because). Meanwhile, choice (D) opts for an unqualified while, which in the context of the rest of the sentence suggests although. Since we are told that the duplication of facilities should be avoided, a negative, we would expect the first half of the sentence to deliver a positive element to serve as a contrast, but all we see is another negative: a wasteful use of resources. Thus, in terms of meaning, choice (E) is the only justifiable answer. In short:



I hope that helps. If you have further questions, feel free to ask. Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew

The way I approached this is that you have a conditional uncertainity in 1st clause "would" which depends of sth that "should happen". When ever you have uncertain words (may, might, should, would, can , could), always make sure that the answer choice you are choosing is not distorting the meaning by make sth 'hypothetical' to 'actual'.

After this we are left with C, D and E. C and D is again not a clear contruction.

Again: 'IF' and 'would' SHOULD not come in same clause (if they are scratch that answer choice). But it is OK to have 'em in different clause. Also if you take a close look, this is a typical IF...then condition scentence. Using IF is ok here.

Hope this help
Thanks[/quote]

Good explanation rao_1857. Kudos for you.

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that building large new hospitals in the bistate area would constitute a wasteful use of resources, if for no other reason than the fact that the duplication of facilities should be avoided.

• “in that” is used to reflect an intrinsic property, and “because” is used to indicate a cause-effect relationship.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Idioms + Redundancy/Awkwardness

A: Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "avoidance of duplicated facilities"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that building large new hospitals in the bistate area would constitute a wasteful use of resources because facilities that have already been duplicated should be avoided; the intended meaning of the sentence is that building large new hospitals in the bistate area would constitute a wasteful use of resources, if for no other reason than the fact that the duplication of facilities should be avoided. Further, Option A uses the needlessly indirect construction "on the basis of avoidance of duplicated facilities alone", leading to awkwardness.

B: Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "avoiding duplicated facilities"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that building large new hospitals in the bistate area would constitute a wasteful use of resources because facilities that have already been duplicated should be avoided; the intended meaning of the sentence is that building large new hospitals in the bistate area would constitute a wasteful use of resources, if for no other reason than the fact that the duplication of facilities should be avoided. Further, Option B uses the needlessly indirect construction "on the grounds of avoiding duplicated facilities alone", leading to awkwardness.

C: Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “solely in that duplicated facilities”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that building large new hospitals in the bistate area would constitute a wasteful use of resources only because facilities that have already been duplicated should be avoided; the intended meaning of the sentence is that building large new hospitals in the bistate area would constitute a wasteful use of resources, if for no other reason than the fact that the duplication of facilities should be avoided. Additionally, Option C incorrectly uses “in that” rather than “because” to refer to a cause-effect relationship; please remember, “in that” is used to reflect an intrinsic property, and “because” is used to indicate a cause-effect relationship.

D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “while the duplication of facilities should be avoided”; the use of “while” conveys a sense of concurrence, incorrectly implying that building large new hospitals in the bistate area would constitute a wasteful use of resources during the time period wherein the duplication of facilities should be avoided; the intended meaning of the sentence is that building large new hospitals in the bistate area would constitute a wasteful use of resources, if for no other reason than the fact that the duplication of facilities should be avoided.

E: Correct. This answer choice correctly uses the phrase “if only because the duplication of facilities should be avoided", conveying the intended meaning - that building large new hospitals in the bistate area would constitute a wasteful use of resources, if for no other reason than the fact that the duplication of facilities should be avoided. Further, Option E correctly uses “because” to refer to a cause-effect relationship. Additionally, Option E is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Because" vs "In That" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team

C, D and E are wrong - the reason needs to be there, and like it has been mentioned, after the comma, it should be "on the...
For that B is the most appropriate. What is the OA?

IMO E. "If" is ok here because its a different clause.

"If only because" is a special phrase. It is sometimes expressed more fully as "if for no other reason than (that)"

No one spoke about the duplicated facilities / duplication of facilities.

Latter is correct. Between D and E.

E it is.

I am still sticking to B ..E is not sinking in ..

Can someone say why B is wrong

Posted from my mobile device

There are quite some reasons why E is correct:
Reason#1 : Presence of comma which calls for a clause to explain the cause of non underlined sentence. We dont need that comma if we are using phrases "on the basis of ..." or "on the grounds of ...". This is a good enough reason to kick A and B out.

Reason#2 : It is typical cause-effect scenario where battle between "in that" and "because" happens. Spideys notes does say that "in that" (as in C) is mostly correct, but it is not so. This is a typical example of that. If any time, a "why" needs to be addressed, we have to use a "because" and that is what E does. So C is gone.

Reason#3 : Idiom to be crammed "if only because" Even I learnt it hard way.
"If only" is an addendum to "because" which specifies that there is no other reason apart from this reason.
https://www.englishforums.com/English/If ... d/post.htm

Jack ate the last cookie if only because he wanted to wash the plate.
Jack ate the last cookie because he wanted to wash the plate.

The difference is that the second sentence leaves out the idea that the only reason for eating the cookie was to wash the plate. It also leaves out that certain stylistic 'something' that the first has. The reason in the first sentence has a certain subtractive value, whereas the reason in the second has additive value. In the first sentence, but only because might replace if only because. In the second sentence, one can easily imagine extending the thought with further reasons: because ... and because ... and because ...

Once you know Reason#3, it is flat E.

But even if you know only Reason#1 and 2, you should be able to get rid of A,B, and C. Usage of while is really bad in D to kick it out.

HTH

I am really not sure how this is a subjunctive, because I am not able to figure out "unreal" condition here which has to be there in an interrogative(if-kind of) subjunctive.

Answer: E

This is what I think it is...

A, B and C - 'on the grounds of', 'on the basis of' and 'solely in that':
In most cases, for these choices to be correct, you need a person or a body (govt agency or organization) to be present (or implied to be present) in the statement.

Sentence structure:
What comes before 'On the grounds of' and 'On the basis of' ...should involve an action or a decision (usually, between two choices i.e. polarity should be present e.g. to do or not to do, to agree with or not to agree with, to terminate or to continue...etc)
What comes after 'On the grounds of' and 'On the basis of' ...should be the reasoning/logic, which substantiates the choice of action or stand that a person or body has decided to go with
E.g. He terminated his contract with AT&T on the grounds of frustration.
E.g. Thaddeus is suing Bartholomew on the basis of U.S. patents or U.S. laws.

C is almost a variation of A and B - 'solely in that' is akin to 'the reason being'.

In the question:
1. No specific person/body
2. No obvious polarity and choice made between two options before 'on the grounds of/on the basis of'

Soooooooo...answer is most probably not A, B or C.

For 'D', 'while' is usually used when two things happen simultaneously.
E.g. While Sally plays, Sue works.
E.g. While I work hard, I make sure to play hard as well.
This is not the case for the above question statement. Hence, incorrect!

If you look at the question wholistically, is building hospitals a wasteful use of resource in reality? NO! So, that means this is a conditional situation. Therefore, answer should be E even though it sounds a little awkward.

Hope this helps!

IMO (e)
Took some time .. but at the end finally chose the right answer..

Building large new hospitals in the bistate area would constitute a wasteful use of resources, on the basis of avoidance of duplicated facilities alone.
<The intention of the statement is that duplication of facilities should be avoided, and by creating new hospitals we are adding to duplication in bistate

(A) on the basis of avoidance of duplicated facilities alone
< Vaguely carries out the intention of the statement but the placement of alone is awkward
(B) on the grounds of avoiding duplicated facilities alone
< "on the basis of" is better option than "on the grounds of"..
(C) solely in that duplicated facilities should be avoided
<changes the meaning of the statement.. it no more provides an explanation as to why the new hospitals should be built.. Usage of 'solely' also cumbersome..
(D) while the duplication of facilities should be avoided
<changes the meaning of the statement.. it no more provides an explanation as to why the new hospitals should be built..
(E) if only because the duplication of facilities should be avoided
Correct usage of "if" with the preceding "would".. (subjunctive clause)... since the premises is hypothetical (..'would constitute..'), the conculding statement should also be in the same sense...

Anybody want to address the logic on this one? Being a native English speaker, I ended up with E just because it sounded the most natural. I cannot say why B or C are incorrect

OA is E.

(A) on the basis of avoidance of duplicated facilities alone
(1) In the context we see subjunctive mood "would", and therefore we need a condition. There is no conditional meaning in this option.
(2) The phrase "duplicated facilities" means that these facilities are the copies of original hospitals. No such meaning in the context.

(B) on the grounds of avoiding duplicated facilities alone
Same as A.

(C) solely in that duplicated facilities should be avoided
Same as A.

(D) while the duplication of facilities should be avoided
(1) Here “While” means transition. There is no such meaning in the context.
(2) In the context we see subjunctive mood "would", and therefore we need a condition. There is no conditional meaning in this option.

(E) if only because the duplication of facilities should be avoided
Correct.

E seems to be the right choice to me since it's the only choice along with D that uses the correct term "Duplication". It's the duplication of facilities that should be avoided. Avoiding DUPLICATED facilities suggests that we are avoiding facilities that have already been duplicated. Hope I am making sense here. It's not the "duplicated facilities" but the action of "duplication" that needs to be avoided.

Option D is wrong because the subordinate clause starts with "While" that denotes simultaneity when it should rather be giving a reason as to why Building large new hospitals in the bi-state area would constitute a wasteful use of resources.

Hope this was helpful.

Thanks

Sentence core:
Building X would constitute a wasteful use of Y, (modifier).

Meaning:
Building X would be wasteful, at the very least because of one particular reason. (It's not the only reason, but it's a large enough reason that it is sufficient all by itself as a reason not to build.

C changes the meaning - it indicates that the duplicated facilities thing is the ONLY reason why it would be wasteful, but that's not the original meaning. Eliminate.

D also changes the meaning. The modifier is supposed to be a reason why building is wasteful. The use of "while" here seems to be introducing a new general piece of info, not providing that piece of info as a reason not to build.

A's modifier has multiple prepositional phrases in a row. That's often a warning sign on this test - the GMAT writers generally prefer to avoid 3+ prepositional phrases in a row.

The placement of the word "alone" also is a bit problematic. Logically, we know they're trying to say "for this reason alone" but just that word alone could also be interpreted to mean "facilities alone" - as in, facilities by themselves, with nothing else around them. Finally, the "alone" part of the meaning here is a key part of what ties the main clause to this modifier: X is wasteful, and one reason for this is Y. So it would be better to have the "alone" language between the two - if we have that as an option in one of the choices.

B has many of the same problems as A. But take a look at E. It moves the "alone" meaning (but changed to "if only because") to the beginning of the modifier. And it make the remaining meaning very clear. Why is this wasteful? At the very least, because duplication should be avoided.

Building X would constitute a wasteful use of Y, if only because Z.

So my pick would be E. Smile

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can someone please elaborate on the right answer further?