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20 Mar 2022, 20:41
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I had learnt that there are certain types of structures for If-then clauses.
For example, if we have a "If" followed by "simple present" then our "then" will be followed by a "simple present or simple future".
similarly-> If+simple past is followed by then+simple past or then+would verb.
Is this true ? if yes then why does this question not follow this structure ?
For example, if we have a "If" followed by "simple present" then our "then" will be followed by a "simple present or simple future".
similarly-> If+simple past is followed by then+simple past or then+would verb.
Is this true ? if yes then why does this question not follow this structure ?
21 Mar 2022, 06:15
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PRNDL
Hello PRNDL,
We hope this finds you well.
To answer your query, the simple present tense verb "commits" is correct here because it refers to information that is permanent in nature; please remember, information that is permanent in nature is best conveyed through the simple present tense.
We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
05 Apr 2022, 07:30
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PRNDL
Good question!
We are given a past tense verb in the non-underlined "if" clause ("if the corporation benefited"). If we're being lazy, we might decide, without really using our brains, that we NEED a past tense verb in the corresponding "then" clause (which in this case comes before the "if" part -- and if you're thinking, "Where the heck is the 'then' part?", check out this post).
But notice that all five choices use a present tense verb in the "then" part!
- (A) a corporation commits
(B) a corporation is committing
(C) corporations commit a crime
(D) corporations commit
(E) the corporation {...} commits a crime
This tells us that having a past tense verb in the "if" clauses MUST be okay. The question-writers probably recognized that this shift in tenses would cause confusion, so they gave us a break and didn't really give us a choice.
The shift in tenses makes sense when we think about the alternative: "a corporation commits a crime whenever one of its employees commits a crime, if the employee acts..."
- The first part is a general statement: whenever one of a corporation's employees commits a crime, that corporation commits a crime.
- The use of the simple present for the "if" part seems to suggest that the "if" part is a general statement as well. Does that mean that the corporation commits a crime only if the employee generally acts within the scope of his or her authority?
- The shift to the past tense tells the reader that we're moving from a general statement to a specific statement about a hypothetical employee who has committed a hypothetical crime. This tense change might FEEL unexpected, but it actually helps clarify the intended meaning.
That's a really subtle point, and the good news is that the question-writers are NOT asking us to worry about this. So don't take this as an invitation to update your "if-then" algorithm with new rules for shifting tenses. Instead, take it as a reminder that you have to use your brain when thinking about grammar -- GMAT SC requires you to think really hard about meaning and context, and trying to circumvent that hard work with a list of memorized rules often backfires.
I hope that helps!
