The regulation requires that the union represent all the

B
represent is bare infinitive here
if -- used for condition
for yes & no (regarding members)
Whether is correct

daag I am missing something here...

I thought it should be "union... represents" Why is represents incorrect? :D

+1 for B.

Testing if vs. whether concept. You "if" only while using a then clause to follow, else one should use whether wherever possible on the GMAT.

B I would say.

Subjunctive and If v/s whether.

BR
Mandeep

The answer choices with IF are incorrect as "whether ' is correct. D is incorrect as "would represent' sounds awkward. So the correct answer is B.

The regulation requires that the union represent all the employees in the bargaining unit, if they are members or not.

a. represent all the employees in the bargaining unit, if they are members or not.
b. represent all the employees in the bargaining unit, whether they are members or not.
c. represents all the employees in the bargaining unit, even if they are members or not
d. would represent all the employees in the bargaining unit, whether they are or not members.
e. should be representative of all the employees in the bargaining unit, if they are members or not.


Question: In option B, the expression "whether or not" is wrong in GMAT, right?

b. represent all the employees in the bargaining unit,
In option B, there is no 'whether or not'; Whether they are members or not, is structurally different from 'whether or not'

The problem with "whether or not" is primarily one of concision. If I say "I want to know whether or not it will rain," I could leave out the "or not" and express the idea just as clearly. In the context of B, however, there's no way to use "whether" without "or not," unless I use a totally different structure, such as "regardless of whether they are members."

"If they are members or not," on the other hand, is problematic. Unlike "whether," the word "if" doesn't set up two competing possibilities--it sets up a condition. IF these people are members or not THEN this will happen. However, it's a silly condition--everyone is either a member or not a member--so it doesn't make sense to use a conditional. It would be like saying "You will enjoy the movie if you are old or young." It implies that the only people who won't enjoy the movie are those who are neither old nor young! That's weird. In this case, we can say "You will enjoy the movie whether you are old or young." We didn't need "or not" because we can use the opposite of old--young. With "whether you are a member," it's easier to end with "or not" than to say "or a non-member," so we go with that.

The problem with "whether or not" is primarily one of concision. If I say "I want to know whether or not it will rain," I could leave out the "or not" and express the idea just as clearly. In the context of B, however, there's no way to use "whether" without "or not," unless I use a totally different structure, such as "regardless of whether they are members."

"If they are members or not," on the other hand, is problematic. Unlike "whether," the word "if" doesn't set up two competing possibilities--it sets up a condition. IF these people are members or not THEN this will happen. However, it's a silly condition--everyone is either a member or not a member--so it doesn't make sense to use a conditional. It would be like saying "You will enjoy the movie if you are old or young." It implies that the only people who won't enjoy the movie are those who are neither old nor young! That's weird. In this case, we can say "You will enjoy the movie whether you are old or young." We didn't need "or not" because we can use the opposite of old--young. With "whether you are a member," it's easier to end with "or not" than to say "or a non-member," so we go with that.


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Thank you daagh and Dmitry

In option B, whether they are members or NOT ..
is it correct?? as per GMAT ,
or not is redundant
on the other hand whether or not ... i have seen in OG ,but have never seen whether x or not - as correct option???

why do we have plural form of 'represent' with the word 'union'.

shouldn't it be ....the union represents...?

Hi Manik, this is (something that is) called command subjunctive.

You can watch our video on Subjunctive.

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses Subjunctive, its application and examples in significant detail. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.

we have 2 splits here:
1. represent vs represents - its a subjunctive mood so we will use represent - C OUT
2.whether vs if - whether is used when we have one than 1 option or more than 1 condition
if is used when we only 1 condition
so here we will use whether - A,C,D -OUT
D is OUT - because the sentence is in subjunctive mood we cant use "would"

Answer is B

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