Although some parents believe that the local all-girls school should

Question

Although some parents believe that the local all-girls school should begin to admit boys, others claim  that girls would participate actively in class only if they had all-girls classes .

(A) that girls would participate actively in class only if they had all-girls classes

(B) that girls will only participate actively in a class if it is all-girls

(C) that girls will only participate actively in an all-girls class

(D) that girls would participate actively only in a class that were all-girls

(E) that girls in all-girls classes will participate actively in that situation only

Abhishek009 · Answer

Must be (C) for the highlighted errors in other options, as "Only" correctly modifies the intended word "participate"

sumit411 · Answer

Hey Abhishek,

Don't you think C says girls will ONLY participate whereas the intended meaning should be - girls would participate actively ONLY in a class that were all girls.

Regards,
Sumit

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Bunuel · Answer

KAPLAN OFFICIAL EXPLANATION:

The initial sentence is a mess in terms of word order and clarity. Break down the different options. First of all, would participate is the incorrect tense; the verbs up to this point in this sentence have been in the simple present tense and there's no reason to switch into the conditional would. Eliminate (A) and (D). Next, in an all-girls class is far more succinct than in a class if it is all-girls so take out (B). Finally, (C) is the best of your remaining options because it is less repetitive and is more consistent with the meaning of the original sentence than (E). Go with (C).

GittinGud · Answer

The correct answer should be: "that girls will participate actively only in an all-girls class".
This means that the girls would not actively participate if the class were co-ed.

ravigupta2912 · Answer

I'm confused on the "would" vs "will" here? Isn't the hypothetical situation here requiring a "would"?

aritrar4 · Answer

I think this isn't a hypothetical situation because of the word "claim". Similar to "believe" the word claim implies a that the group thinks that the girls "will" not participate and thus we do not consider the situation to be hypothetical.

I believe I will visit tomorrow. - correct
I believe I would visit tomorrow. - incorrect (not hypothetical)

If I can manage i will visit tomorrow. (Conditional)
If I had a choice, I would visit tomorrow.(hypothetical)

AndrewN   VeritasKarishma  could you please validate if my understanding is correct?

Posted from my mobile device

AndrewN · Answer

Hello,  aritrar4 . I agree with your reasoning  in general , and with the application of that logic in the sentences you have written. You do have to be careful, though, if (most likely outside of a GMAT™ setting) you run into a sentence that combines a bit of both elements. The original sentence here comes close, since there is a conditional nestled within the overarching claim, but it then runs into other issues, since the girls already  have  all-girls classes. Likewise, to draw from your own sentences, I could see a sentence that ran,  I believe I would visit tomorrow if   given the choice.  Just be careful not to blindly apply "rules" when tendencies seem to be more fitting. You may have to adjust your understanding to the question at hand.

- Andrew

KarishmaB · Answer

Neither "will" nor "would" looks appropriate here.

As per the sentence, all-girls classes are going on currently. The point is not what will happen if boys are admitted too. The point is what some parents believe - that girls participate actively in an all girls class only. 
It should be presented as a "fact"/"belief" using simple present then.

... that girls participate actively in an all-girls class only

vedha0 · Answer

lot of nuance to this question. great stuff from kaplan!

Although some parents believe that the local all-girls school should

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

Although some parents believe that the local all-girls school should

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