It has often been assumed that if governments limit fishing, the numbe

my guess A
was stuck between A and D
oa?

[quote="EBITDA"]It has often been assumed that if governments limit fishing, the numbers of fish will increase, but in the case of fish such as salmon such a recovery can come about much more readily if governments were to order the removal of the dams that limit the water-flow required by spawning fish.

a) can come about much more readily if governments were to order the removal of the dams that limit the water-flow required by spawning fish.
hypothetical subjunctive for ( if i were to ...i would .. ) hold it as not sure about can

b) would come about much more readily if governments order the removal of the dams that limit the water-flow that spawning fish requires. --
if < present tense (order)> then would -- wrong

c) came about much more readily if governments would order the removal of the dams that limit the water-flow required by spawning fish.

if < would order > then came -- wrong

d) might come about much more readily if governments were to order the removal of the dams that limit the water-flow required by spawning fish.
same as A . and this option seems inferior to A .

e) would have come about much more readily if governments ordered the removal of the dams that limit the water flow that fish need in order to spawn.

if < past tense (ordered) > then only past tense or only would is allowed , but not would have -- wrong.



IMO A.

i think a
present subjuctive,
in if clause, were is used, in main clause, present tense of verb is used.

hard
I think d.
there is no pattern in A
present tense in if clause, must go with present tense in main clause

past tense in if clause must go with past tense in main clause.

It has often been assumed that if governments limit fishing, the numbers of fish will increase, but in the case of fish such as salmon such a recovery can come about much more readily if governments were to order the removal of the dams that limit the water-flow required by spawning fish.

a) can come about much more readily if governments were to order the removal of the dams that limit the water-flow required by spawning fish.
b) would come about much more readily if governments order the removal of the dams that limit the water-flow that spawning fish requires.
c) came about much more readily if governments would order the removal of the dams that limit the water-flow required by spawning fish.
d) might come about much more readily if governments were to order the removal of the dams that limit the water-flow required by spawning fish.
e) would have come about much more readily if governments ordered the removal of the dams that limit the water flow that fish need in order to spawn.

I think B

a > refers to action in past tense , hence should not be used

b> Present tense highlights the limiting of waterflow which the fish requires

c> came about much more readily is incorrect constructions

d> were to order ... past tense

e> ordered > past tense

Please share the OA once you have it

D.) is the answer, because it correctly follows the if (past).....then(past) condition.

might(past tense) come about much more readily if governments were(past tense) to order the removal of the dams that limit the water-flow required by spawning fish.

i think ur reasoning is wrong here(were is not past tense here. its a subjunctive mood)

eg.If i were a rich man, i'll buy 1000 cars.

still looking for exact reasoning.

i was stuck with A and D. but after reading couple of times Choice D > Choice A

in A, if government limit fishing,then numbers WILL increase(can or not), but in case of salmon (IT WILL, but after comma CLEARLY states that.)

So we need MIGHT(100 % it will happen because there is contrast in the sentence with but) not CAN (50-50%)

hope it helps

Clearly answer is D .

Tense issue in most of the options.
A) can ( present ) .... if (hypothetical past)---- wrong
B) would .....if (present)
C)if....would (wrong usage)
D) might is correctly used with hypothetical past.
E) would have....if (past)


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Clearly answer is D .

Tense issue in most of the options.
A) can ( present ) .... if (hypothetical past)---- wrong
B) would .....if (present)
C)if....would (wrong usage)
D) might is correctly used with hypothetical past.
E) would have....if (past)


Sent from my Le X507 using GMAT Club Forum mobile app

I appreciate all your responses. Nonetheless, I see a very low level of reasoning or knowledge of the language in them.

B) "order" is wrong ---> It should be "ordered".
C) "came" is wrong.
E) "would have come about" (past) & "ordered" (present) ---> It should be "would have come about" (past) & "had ordered" (past)

Between A and D, I went for D. I did not like the use of "can" in option A.

Could someone please give exact reasons for discarding A?

You can not use "can come" with "the governments were"..

For if clause, rules are:
1. If V1 (infnitive), will V1 (infinitive)
2. If V2 (pas tense), would V1 (infinitive)
3. If had V3 (past participle), would have V3
In this case we use rule number 2

Hope it helps

GMATNinja, Could you help with this question?

Hi mikemcgarry,

Can you please help me understand why option D is preferred to option A

Dear mohitbahl,

I'm happy to respond.

I see that my brilliant colleague sayantanc2k responded. I will add a few thoughts.

I am highly suspicious of this question. No source is listed and I could not find a source on the web. I don't think this is a high quality well-written question. I think the "can" vs. "would" split between (A) & (D) is specious. The verb "can" denotes possibility, and it certainly would be possible for the salmon to rebound if they knocked down the dams blocking the spawning routes. There is absolutely no problem with (A)--both (A) and (D) are acceptable answers. Sometimes authors who don't understand the GMAT SC well attempt to write "tricky" questions by creating a split based on something that is significant only in their imaginations.

There are many many very good math questions, because it's reasonably easy to create math questions that are GMAT-like. There are relatively few high quality verbal questions outside the official questions, because the standards for these questions is quite sophisticated and subtle. Most of the verbal questions from sources other than GMAC are of low quality.

Here's a high quality question:
With American cryptanalysts

Does all this make sense?
Mike

I'll tell you what I used to eliminate between A and D.

Can I go to the loo? or May I go to the loo?
All those memes come handy sometimes... lol..

It aint stupid if it works is it...