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stolyar
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In the late seventh century, in a dispute over whether the Prophet Muh Updated on: 04 Jun 2019, 03:42
Originally posted by stolyar on 19 Dec 2003, 11:36.
Last edited by Bunuel on 04 Jun 2019, 03:42, edited 2 times in total.
Renamed the topic and edited the question.
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Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!

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35% (medium)

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66% (01:33) correct 34% (01:45) wrong based on 813 sessions

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In the late seventh century, in a dispute over whether the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali, should carry on as the fourth caliph, Muhammad's successor, Islam split into two branches, the Sunnis and the Shiites.


(A) over whether the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali, should carry on as the fourth caliph, Muhammad's successor

(B) over if Ali, the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, was going to carry on and be the fourth caliph, Muhammad's successor

(C) over whether Ali, the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, was going to carry on and be the fourth caliph, Muhammad's successor

(D) as to whether the fourth caliph, Muhammad's successor, is to be the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-low, Ali

(E) concerning if the fourth caliph, Muhammad's successor, was to be the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali
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A
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mikemcgarry
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In the late seventh century, in a dispute over whether the Prophet Muh 30 May 2017, 11:42
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ammuseeru
stolyar
In the late seventh century, in a dispute over whether the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali, should carry on as the fourth caliph, Muhammad's successor, Islam split into two branches, the Sunnis and the Shiites.

(A) over whether the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali, should carry on as the fourth caliph, Muhammad's successor
(B) over if Ali, the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, was going to carry on and be the fourth caliph, Muhammad's successor
(C) over whether Ali, the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, was going to carry on and be the fourth caliph, Muhammad's successor
(D) as to whether the fourth caliph, Muhammad's successor, is to be the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-low, Ali
(E) concerning if the fourth caliph, Muhammad's successor, was to be the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali

Hello mikemcgarry

Could you tell me why C is wrong in above sentence. I was able to eliminate B, D and E. But i got stuck between Option A and C. I selected C because A says "....dispute over whether....should...". I thought "should" should not be used with whether(decision word).

Could you please clear my understanding.

Regards,
Ammu
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Dear ammuseeru,

I'm happy to respond. :-)

To be honest, I am not impressed with this question at all. First of all, the GMAT would never pick so sensitive a topic. I could imagine that some devout Muslims might take offense that the name of God's holy Prophet, peace be upon him, appears in something a trivial as a practice question. All religions should be treated with the utmost of respect, and the official GMAT never touches these topics. Furthermore, I don't think the grammar is sound: I think the posted OA has problems--in fact, I think all five answer choices are wrong.

I think "carry on" is a sloppy casual way to say "continue"--the GMAT would never use this casual construction. Even (A) uses this. The structure "carry on and be the fourth caliph," in both (B) & (C) is even worse!! This makes it sound like two different activities. In American slang, "to carry on" means to have an extramarital sexual affair, so the possible implication to a native speaker's ears are absolutely scandalous! Arguably, (B) and (C) not only are wrong but verge on blasphemous. This questions has numerous shortcomings: its overall quality as a practice question is atrocious.

The word "whether" is perfectly fine with "should." Suppose there's a GMAT student named John. If we know John and know his struggles with math, we might make the factual statement.
John should study more GMAT Quant.
Suppose someone else doesn't know John as well, and wants to ask about this fact. That person might say:
I don't know whether John should study more GMAT Quant.
This can arise whenever our question ("whether") is about the nature of the decision ("should").

Does all this make sense?
Mike :-)
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dj
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In the late seventh century, in a dispute over whether the Prophet Muh 19 Dec 2003, 11:49
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A
islam split over "Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law" 'S appointment not on ali's.. furthermore, 'muhammad' in the opening sentence modifies 'muhammad' in the succeeding
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In the late seventh century, in a dispute over whether the Prophet Muh 19 Dec 2003, 12:21
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A

Gmat language explanation ...

- 'dispute over' is the corect idiom.
- 'whether' shall beat 'if' most of the times.
- 'was' cannot come here, 'should' is correct.
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In the late seventh century, in a dispute over whether the Prophet Muh 22 Aug 2010, 10:36
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b/w A and C

in c should carry on and be fourth khalifah is contradictory

so ans shld be A
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In the late seventh century, in a dispute over whether the Prophet Muh 23 Apr 2014, 10:00
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Dispute over is correct idiom

Nough' said

A

Hope this helps
Cheers!
J :)
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In the late seventh century, in a dispute over whether the Prophet Muh 30 May 2017, 08:48
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stolyar
In the late seventh century, in a dispute over whether the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali, should carry on as the fourth caliph, Muhammad's successor, Islam split into two branches, the Sunnis and the Shiites.

(A) over whether the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali, should carry on as the fourth caliph, Muhammad's successor
(B) over if Ali, the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, was going to carry on and be the fourth caliph, Muhammad's successor
(C) over whether Ali, the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, was going to carry on and be the fourth caliph, Muhammad's successor
(D) as to whether the fourth caliph, Muhammad's successor, is to be the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-low, Ali
(E) concerning if the fourth caliph, Muhammad's successor, was to be the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali
Show more

Hello mikemcgarry

Could you tell me why C is wrong in above sentence. I was able to eliminate B, D and E. But i got stuck between Option A and C. I selected C because A says "....dispute over whether....should...". I thought "should" should not be used with whether(decision word).

Could you please clear my understanding.

Regards,
Ammu
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In the late seventh century, in a dispute over whether the Prophet Muh 30 May 2017, 13:12
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mikemcgarry
ammuseeru
stolyar
In the late seventh century, in a dispute over whether the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali, should carry on as the fourth caliph, Muhammad's successor, Islam split into two branches, the Sunnis and the Shiites.

(A) over whether the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali, should carry on as the fourth caliph, Muhammad's successor
(B) over if Ali, the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, was going to carry on and be the fourth caliph, Muhammad's successor
(C) over whether Ali, the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, was going to carry on and be the fourth caliph, Muhammad's successor
(D) as to whether the fourth caliph, Muhammad's successor, is to be the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-low, Ali
(E) concerning if the fourth caliph, Muhammad's successor, was to be the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali

Hello mikemcgarry

Could you tell me why C is wrong in above sentence. I was able to eliminate B, D and E. But i got stuck between Option A and C. I selected C because A says "....dispute over whether....should...". I thought "should" should not be used with whether(decision word).

Could you please clear my understanding.

Regards,
Ammu
Dear ammuseeru,

I'm happy to respond. :-)

To be honest, I am not impressed with this question at all. First of all, the GMAT would never pick so sensitive a topic. I could imagine that some devout Muslims might take offense that the name of God's holy Prophet, peace be upon him, appears in something a trivial as a practice question. All religions should be treated with the utmost of respect, and the official GMAT never touches these topics. Furthermore, I don't think the grammar is sound: I think the posted OA has problems--in fact, I think all five answer choices are wrong.

I think "carry on" is a sloppy casual way to say "continue"--the GMAT would never use this casual construction. Even (A) uses this. The structure "carry on and be the fourth caliph," in both (B) & (C) is even worse!! This makes it sound like two different activities. In American slang, "to carry on" means to have an extramarital sexual affair, so the possible implication to a native speaker's ears are absolutely scandalous! Arguably, (B) and (C) not only are wrong but verge on blasphemous. This questions has numerous shortcomings: its overall quality as a practice question is atrocious.

The word "whether" is perfectly fine with "should." Suppose there's a GMAT student named John. If we know John and know his struggles with math, we might make the factual statement.
John should study more GMAT Quant.
Suppose someone else doesn't know John as well, and wants to ask about this fact. That person might say:
I don't know whether John should study more GMAT Quant.
This can arise whenever our question ("whether") is about the nature of the decision ("should").

Does all this make sense?
Mike :-)
Show more

Thank You Mike. Your wonderful explanation really helped me.

Regards,
Ammu
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In the late seventh century, in a dispute over whether the Prophet Muh 06 Oct 2023, 20:24
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