Equestrian enthusiasts predict that the alleged abuse of anabolic ster

I think the "if . . . were" structure is used when your conditional refers to the impossible.

For example, "If I were you . . ." states an impossible condition because I cannot be you.

Here, steroid testing being enforced is not an impossible condition.

E.
Predict => present tense => only C,D,E left
Cross out C "will have subsided"
Cross out D " were" , unreal condition.

As per the subject verb agreement , number of verb has to agree with the subject. In the underlined portion "testing of the animals is more random" it is the testing that should be random. Since testing is singular the verb should be singular.Hence the options with were have to be eliminated. More over subject + "of ..." constructions we have to ignore the "of .." part right??

It must be E,

Conditional Structure:

If Present tense then future tense

Pls correct me If I am wrong

Required construction is IF PRESENT, THEN FUTURE

Choice E

The question here is whether if will take IS or WERE..... as used for conditional statements.
Is were to be used only in unreal situations ???
eg:

If i were to choose , i would have chosen the red one.

Is this wrong ????
Experts please throw some light...

hi Shikhar, again trying to think on this one. Does the "is" and "were" have something to do with singular and plural tense?

the only thing i can think of why E is correct over D is...the statement reads "if the random testing of the animals were/is"... here random testing is singular and hence should be "is".

if i used that to your statement i think it would be..."if i had to choose, i would have chosen the red one".

OR

As MGMAT puts it, the "were" is used only for impossible conditions and here it doesnt represent a impossible condition and hence is.


again, im trying to justify the answer E here and hence could be way off the mark.


can the experts pls help? all this wild guessing wont help!!

AndrewN, I was confused between A and E, was going to choose E but then went with A.
What is your take on this question ?

It is funny, kntombat. Your query surrounds the verb predict, and I recently helped one of my clients with a similar question that, I believe, was based on the same word. To keep matters simple, consider the following two sentences:

1) I predict that Candidate A will win the election.
2) I predict that Candidate A would win the election.

The first sentence outlines a prediction, while the second does not. The second seems to launch into a conditional instead, unless we are to believe that predict is meant to be predicted instead.

In the sentence at hand, predict in the present tense calls for will, so (A) and (B) can be eliminated. In choice (C), even if you want will have subsided to work, you still have to come to terms with splitting up testing and random. That is, what does testing... is more random achieve in the way of clarity that the more streamlined random testing in (D) or (E) lacks? Nothing. If we have a few reasons to doubt an answer choice, then we should probably remove it from consideration. Finally, between (D) and (E), we have to qualify the nature of this prediction. If random testing [is or were] performed, then what will happen? The definitive outcome of will implies that such testing can be conducted, not that it is an elusive or theoretical process. This is why is works instead of were. That leaves (E) as the last answer standing.

I hope that helps. Thank you for thinking to ask me about this one.

- Andrew

Hi AndrewN..

I would like to delve into the usage of "would". I don't think that inclusion of "would" always launches a conditional statement. As my very first sentence and the below example show that "would" is also applicable in one of the many use cases, in which some expectation or wish is to be expressed :

Example : I would like to attend the meeting.

The word "predict" brushes very close to "expectation", and I am little fuzzy that the combination of "predict" and "would" is wrong. Kindly enlighten us from your as usual insightful clarification.

Funny, abhishekmayank. I do not recall using the word always in my post. Rather, I was examining one sentence and pointing out the conveyed meaning of predict + will or predicted + would in that particular context. Certainly, you could craft a sentence in which predict + would coexist: I predict that he would win the chess championship if only he could compete. Notice the conditional nestled within the overarching prediction. If I want to place more emphasis on the outcome and less on the condition, I could write a different (and perfectly legitimate) sentence: I predict that he will win the chess championship if he competes. But now we are talking in circles. The present-tense verb within the if clause pairs with will in the main clause, while the earlier sentence with its could compete calls for would instead. The sample sentence you wrote follows a different path altogether, centered on the verb like rather than on predict. What it comes down to is that predictions, forecasts, prognostications, and other similar actions pair with will or would depending on how they are framed. More often than not, the GMAT™ seems to opt to test the present-tense verb with will as the correct answer. (I seem to recall something about the probability of an asteroid colliding with Earth in one such question, but I have to run for now to get to my next lesson.)

- Andrew

Okay, easy question. And fair credit to Marty from TTP for explaining the conditional sentences perfectly. This is a case of first conditional i.e. indicative where we are making a statement about future but its not theory or completely hypothetical.

When we use indicative conditional, the "if" clause uses simple future "will" and the "then" clause uses simple present. Only E fits this choice.

Hey,
Since predict is used why is conditional would not used here.
Please help

Hello, satjain. I have addressed this issue in two of my posts above. If you read them over and still have questions, let me know, and I would be happy to answer them.

- Andrew

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