OFFICIAL EXPLANATIONQuote:
Genetics-based drugs, an emerging class of medications, are likely to be tailored at least in part to individuals; as a result, drug companies will probably try and charge patients made-to-measure prices.
A) will probably try and charge
• the correct idiom is try to
B) have probably tried to charge
• the present perfect (have . . . tried) bridges past and present.
Present perfect refers to an action or event that began in the past and that continues into the present.
The genetics-based drugs have not yet even been made on a large scale, let alone priced by drug companies.
C) [WILL] probably try and charge
• the correct idiom is try to
• wrong verb tense
D) [WILL] probably try charging
• wrong verb tense
E) will probably try to charge
• • Native speakers, and those who listen to native speakers, take note:
there is no such thing as
TRY AND.
→ This idiom is botched more often than "10 items or less [fewer!]" and is tested by GMAC.
→ The correct idiom is
try TOYou can even use
try ___ING -- but not
try and.
• Split #1: Verb tenseThe phrases
emerging class of medications and
are likely to be tailored signal that the sentence is referring to an event that has not yet occurred (pricing).
Consequently, the future tense (
will try) should be used in order to convey the most logical meaning.
Options B (
have tried), C (
try), and D (
try) incorrectly use present perfect, simple present, and simple present, respectively.
The correct tense is simple future: drug companies
will try to charge special prices for individualized medications, prices that the drug companies do not now charge.
Eliminate B, C, and D
• Split #2: TRY TO is correct. TRY AND is wrong.Most native speakers do not know that this rule is a rule.
Listen, for example, to news anchors.
Okay, wait, I amend: listen to news anchors on
good channels such as CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera, and the like.
Only a few of those very well-spoken anchors avoid the use of
try and.GMAC does not accept
try and when we mean
try to.
Don't go overboard. though.
The rule applies when you are using "try" in the sense of "Try to do X [in order] to get Y." or "I will try to do X in order to achieve Y or because I promised to do X . . . "
You will not see this sentence on the GMAT, but it is fine because it joins two infinitives:
With respect to my obligation to exonerate wrongly imprisoned people, I promise to try every avenue and to keep trying if I fail.Eliminate option A.
By POE, option E is the correct answer.COMMENTSThe future tense can be a little weird for non-native speakers.
Try not to worry too much.
For one thing, future tense is relatively rarely tested.
For another, you will quickly get a handle on when to use simple future if you read (novels, newspapers, fancy magazines—whatever is well-written
that you enjoy.)
Finally, if the options contain different verb tenses and one tense is in the future, re-read the sentence and look for clues that the event in question has not yet occurred. The clues are often
slightly subtle.
I like the future tense summary on
this site, here.
These answers are good. Kudos.