eybrj2 wrote:
The medical profession is not in agreement about how to treat
snakebites; physicians are unsure about how much antiserum
to use, and there is controversy over the relative merits of surgery and antivenins.
A) unsure about how much antiserum to use, and there is controversy over
B) not sure how much antiserum they should use and have a controversy about
C) unsure how much antiserum they should use, and they have controversy about
D) not sure as to how much antiserum they should be using, and there is a controversy over
E) unsure about how much antiserum should be used, and they have a controversy as to what is
Should "sure" or "unsure" be used with "about" ?
I googled this Q, and some people say that "sure" or "unsure" has to have "about" like A.
But I saw examples that did not use "about" with "sure".
Ex) Ask me if you're not sure how to do it. I am not sure whether I should tell you this.
The rule that "sure" has to have "about" is right? I doubt it.
The medical profession is not in agreement about how to treat
snakebites; physicians are
unsure about how much antiserum
to use, and there is controversy over the relative merits of surgery and antivenins.
"how much antiserum to use" is used as one entity.
Also, "unsure
about" is parallel to "controversy
over" - Hence the parallelism requires "about"
A) unsure about how much antiserum to use, and there is controversy over
It's a very clear construction.
Structure:
Physicians are unsure about X and there is controversy over YX= how much antiserum to use
Y= the relative merits of surgery and antivenins.
B) not sure how much antiserum
they should use and have a controversy
aboutThis construction may imply that physicians are unsure about two things
1- use of antiserum
2- have a controversy about
Pronoun "they" is redundant.
Compare- I'm not sure about how much oil to use. / I'm not sure about how much oil I should use. The latter version is unnecessarily wordy.
On GMAT "should" is tested in regard to subjunctives. It can also be used to show an obligations. However the context here only points to the right quantity to be use.
Also, "controversy about" is unidiomatic. Correct idiom is - "controversy over"
C) unsure how much antiserum
they should use, and they have
controversy aboutD) not sure as to how much antiserum
they should be using, and there is a controversy over
E) unsure about how much antiserum
should be used, and they have a
controversy as to what isHope this helps!
Dolly Sharma
Verbal Trainer
CrackVerbal