Last visit was: 19 Nov 2025, 05:30 It is currently 19 Nov 2025, 05:30
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
User avatar
EMPOWERgmatVerbal
User avatar
EMPOWERgmat Instructor
Joined: 23 Feb 2015
Last visit: 17 Feb 2025
Posts: 1,694
Own Kudos:
15,175
 [18]
Given Kudos: 766
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 1,694
Kudos: 15,175
 [18]
Kudos
Add Kudos
18
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
PS17198
Joined: 30 Jul 2018
Last visit: 26 Apr 2020
Posts: 13
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 7
Posts: 13
Kudos: 3
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
sauravleo123
Joined: 27 Dec 2012
Last visit: 04 May 2020
Posts: 108
Own Kudos:
271
 [2]
Given Kudos: 23
Posts: 108
Kudos: 271
 [2]
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
jrk23
Joined: 26 Sep 2017
Last visit: 29 Oct 2021
Posts: 300
Own Kudos:
80
 [2]
Given Kudos: 29
Posts: 300
Kudos: 80
 [2]
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Quote:
Pack 10, Question 4 of 5:

The city of Fort Myers had long been expected to announce funding to its STARS Complex, but city officials just recently announced that the city will fund the recreational complex with $310,000 next year, but only if other programs, including Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were to redirect their funding by more than $130,000.

A. year, but only if other programs including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were to redirect their funding
B. year, but only if the funding of other programs, which include The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, is redirected
C. year only if the funding of other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, would be redirected
D. year only if other programs, which include The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were redirecting funding
E. year only if other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, trim output

Here if... than condition is used, if we read the sentence thoroughly...

statement after "only if...." is the if condition of the sentence.....and statement that is announced is the than statement of that if clause.

If we will see the non underline portion of the sentence or"than statement " of if...than .... we found "will"

So in conditional tense use of will is followed whenever we have simple present in the if clause.


Also, the use of "but" twice in sentence doesn't make sense. try to read it and you will find no contrast there in the second use of but.

On the basis of that we can eliminate- "a" and "b" choices

from the rest three choices i.e. among "c,d and e"

we can use the logic mentioned above.

So "E" is the correct answer.

Lets wait for the official answer
User avatar
h31337u
Joined: 26 Jul 2014
Last visit: 10 May 2023
Posts: 84
Own Kudos:
93
 [3]
Given Kudos: 32
Posts: 84
Kudos: 93
 [3]
3
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
The city of Fort Myers had long been expected to announce funding to its STARS Complex, but city officials just recently announced that the city will fund the recreational complex with $310,000 next year, but only if other programs, including Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were to redirect their funding by more than $130,000.

A. year, but only if other programs including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were to redirect their funding
--> this is a conditional case. "will" and "is" is a correct match.
--> also putting "," in front of "but" create a meaning distortion and sentence fragment.


B. year, but only if the funding of other programs, which include The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, is redirected
--> also putting "," in front of "but" create a meaning distortion and sentence fragment.


C. year only if the funding of other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, would be redirected
--> "would" and "will" can't go together. wrong.


D. year only if other programs, which include The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were redirecting funding
--> "were" is wrong as it should be singular.
--> also "were" and "will" can't go together.
--> also "other programs" can't redirect funding
--> "redirect" needs an object.


E. year only if other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, trim output
--> correct

The correct answer is "E"
User avatar
thenikhilseth
Joined: 04 Aug 2019
Last visit: 20 Jan 2022
Posts: 92
Own Kudos:
100
 [3]
Given Kudos: 126
Location: India
GPA: 3.33
3
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
My choice is E option.

1) Between 'Only If' and 'But Only If' , I think 'Only If' is preferred. EMPOWERgmatVerbal , Please shed some light here :)
Eliminate A and B

2) Now many people might think that it is subjunctive mood, but it is Not. It is not a hypothetical situation, instead it is an Conditional Statement.
So the use of Future verb - Present verb should be the priority.
C- Incorrect ( Will, Would)
D- Incorrect ( Will, Were)

A. year, but only if other programs including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were to redirect their funding
B. year, but only if the funding of other programs, which include The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, is redirected
C. year only if the funding of other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, would be redirected
D. year only if other programs, which include The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were redirecting funding
E. year only if other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, trim output- CORRECT
User avatar
aggvipul
Joined: 15 Nov 2017
Last visit: 13 Apr 2022
Posts: 229
Own Kudos:
418
 [2]
Given Kudos: 28
Status:Current Student
Concentration: Operations, Marketing
WE:Operations (Retail: E-commerce)
Posts: 229
Kudos: 418
 [2]
Kudos
Add Kudos
2
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
EMPOWERgmatVerbal
Pack 10, Question 4 of 5:

The city of Fort Myers had long been expected to announce funding to its STARS Complex, but city officials just recently announced that the city will fund the recreational complex with $310,000 next year, but only if other programs, including Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were to redirect their funding by more than $130,000.

A. year, but only if other programs including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were to redirect their funding
B. year, but only if the funding of other programs, which include The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, is redirected
C. year only if the funding of other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, would be redirected
D. year only if other programs, which include The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were redirecting funding
E. year only if other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, trim output


◀ Pack 10, Question 3
▶ Pack 10, Question 5 COMING SOON!
⏏ Question Pack Home

48 Hour Window To Win An $85 EMPOWERgmat Tuition Credit (1 Month Free!)
Share your explanation! The GMAT Club member with the most verified Kudos in total on the 5 question SC Block 10 question pack will win an $85 EMPOWERgmat tuition credit, which will entitle the winner to a full month of complete access to the EMPOWERgmat system. Even if you're not sure about your answer or your rationale, share your explanation to help boost your learning and earn a chance to win.

To be eligible, your explanation must:
    be submitted within the 48 hour window after this post was created
    should explain your reasoning why the answer you chose is correct, and why the other 4 options are incorrect within 48 hours of this post

The OA and official explanation will be held until the 48 hour window has lapsed.


That's a classy example of "if then" construction.
Rule:
If X then Y
Allowed construction:
X- present tense -> Y- simple present or simple future
X- past tense -> Y- simple past or would verb form
X- past perfect -> Y- would have verb form

Types of If then construction:
1. If i/p, then o/p
2. if i/p, o/p
3. o/p, if i/p

Conditional would- used to present the expected future actions, assumptions, hypothetical conditions etc.

Going by above rules,
here the "o/p, if i/p" construction is used

"that the city will fund the recreational complex with $310,000 next year only if the funding of other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, would be redirected
hence C is the right answer
User avatar
EMPOWERgmatVerbal
User avatar
EMPOWERgmat Instructor
Joined: 23 Feb 2015
Last visit: 17 Feb 2025
Posts: 1,694
Own Kudos:
15,175
 [1]
Given Kudos: 766
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 1,694
Kudos: 15,175
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Official Explanation

The city of Fort Myers had long been expected to announce funding to its STARS Complex, but city officials just recently announced that the city will fund the recreational complex with $310,000 next year, but only if other programs, including Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were to redirect their funding by more than $130,000.

A. year, but only if other programs including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were to redirect their funding
B. year, but only if the funding of other programs, which include The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, is redirected
C. year only if the funding of other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, would be redirected
D. year only if other programs, which include The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were redirecting funding

E. year only if other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, trim output

After a quick glance over the options, a few key differences jump out:
1. ...year, but only if / year only if
2. ...including / which include
3. ...were to redirect their funding / is redirected / would be redirected / were redirecting funding / trim output


This sentence has several issues to consider, so let’s start with an easy either/or split in #1: but only if vs. only if. Using “but only if” repeats the conjunction “but,” used earlier in the sentence. Generally, the same conjunction should not be repeated. Let’s see which options handle this correctly, and eliminate those that don’t:

A. year, but only if other programs including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were to redirect their funding
B. year, but only if the funding of other programs, which include The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, is redirected
C. year only if the funding of other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, would be redirected
D. year only if other programs, which include The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were redirecting funding
E. year only if other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, trim output

We can eliminate options A & B because they repeat conjunctions, which is a no-no on the GMAT.

Now that we have it narrowed down to 3 choices, let’s move on. The next issue is the use of the verb “include” versus the preposition “including.” We need to make sure the meaning is clear and that the verb “include” agrees with the noun it’s referring to:

C. year only if the funding of other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, would be redirected → OKAY
D. year only if other programs, which include The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were redirecting funding → WRONG
(This is INCORRECT because the verb “include” is plural, but what it’s referring to (The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida) is singular.)
E. year only if other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, trim output → OKAY

We can eliminate option D because the verb “include” doesn’t agree with the noun it’s attached to.

Finally, the form of the verb “redirect” needs examination. Differences within the text are highlighted, and we’ve also included the end of the non-underlined portion to clearly see the problem:

D. year only if other programs, which include The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were redirecting funding by more than $130,000.
This is INCORRECT. “Were redirecting” uses past tense instead of present or future like the rest of the sentence.

E. year only if other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, trim output by more than $130,000.
This is CORRECT. It doesn’t repeat conjunctions, the preposition “including” works, and it keeps the last verb in present tense.

There you have it - option E is the correct choice!


Don’t study for the GMAT. Train for it.
User avatar
EMPOWERgmatVerbal
User avatar
EMPOWERgmat Instructor
Joined: 23 Feb 2015
Last visit: 17 Feb 2025
Posts: 1,694
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 766
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 1,694
Kudos: 15,175
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
PS17198
A, B : Redundancy. ( but --only if)
C- seems correct.
D : were is incorrect
E : no discussion of trimming output.

You were really close, PS17198! Check out the official explanation in the comments for more details. :)
User avatar
EMPOWERgmatVerbal
User avatar
EMPOWERgmat Instructor
Joined: 23 Feb 2015
Last visit: 17 Feb 2025
Posts: 1,694
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 766
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 1,694
Kudos: 15,175
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
sauravleo123
The city of Fort Myers had long been expected to announce funding to its STARS Complex, but city officials just recently announced that the city will fund the recreational complex with $310,000 next year, but only if other programs, including Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were to redirect their funding by more than $130,000.

A. year, but only if other programs including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were to redirect their funding
B. year, but only if the funding of other programs, which include The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, is redirected
C. year only if the funding of other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, would be redirected
D. year only if other programs, which include The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were redirecting funding
E. year only if other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, trim output

A. If clause has to be in present tense, because the other part uses future tense. Using an additional but before if distorts the meaning.
B. Same errors as in A.
C. Here the error of using an additional but has been removed, but use of would is incorrect.
D. Were redirecting funding is incorrect.
E. Correct.
This question is based on a similar version from the official guide.
The OPEC nations....

Posted from my mobile device

Well done, sauravleo123! You cracked the code on this one!

And yes, these are all meant to be similar to the questions you might find in the Official Guide - we're just giving you more chances to practice identifying and solving each type of question! :)

Kudos to you!
User avatar
EMPOWERgmatVerbal
User avatar
EMPOWERgmat Instructor
Joined: 23 Feb 2015
Last visit: 17 Feb 2025
Posts: 1,694
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 766
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 1,694
Kudos: 15,175
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
jrk23
Quote:
Pack 10, Question 4 of 5:

The city of Fort Myers had long been expected to announce funding to its STARS Complex, but city officials just recently announced that the city will fund the recreational complex with $310,000 next year, but only if other programs, including Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were to redirect their funding by more than $130,000.

A. year, but only if other programs including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were to redirect their funding
B. year, but only if the funding of other programs, which include The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, is redirected
C. year only if the funding of other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, would be redirected
D. year only if other programs, which include The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were redirecting funding
E. year only if other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, trim output

Here if... than condition is used, if we read the sentence thoroughly...

statement after "only if...." is the if condition of the sentence.....and statement that is announced is the than statement of that if clause.

If we will see the non underline portion of the sentence or"than statement " of if...than .... we found "will"

So in conditional tense use of will is followed whenever we have simple present in the if clause.


Also, the use of "but" twice in sentence doesn't make sense. try to read it and you will find no contrast there in the second use of but.

On the basis of that we can eliminate- "a" and "b" choices

from the rest three choices i.e. among "c,d and e"

we can use the logic mentioned above.

So "E" is the correct answer.

Lets wait for the official answer

Well done, jrk23! You cracked the code on this one!

Make sure that when you discuss "if...then" statements that you use then, not than, so readers don't get confused. :)

Kudos to you!
User avatar
EMPOWERgmatVerbal
User avatar
EMPOWERgmat Instructor
Joined: 23 Feb 2015
Last visit: 17 Feb 2025
Posts: 1,694
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 766
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 1,694
Kudos: 15,175
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
h31337u
The city of Fort Myers had long been expected to announce funding to its STARS Complex, but city officials just recently announced that the city will fund the recreational complex with $310,000 next year, but only if other programs, including Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were to redirect their funding by more than $130,000.

A. year, but only if other programs including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were to redirect their funding
--> this is a conditional case. "will" and "is" is a correct match.
--> also putting "," in front of "but" create a meaning distortion and sentence fragment.


B. year, but only if the funding of other programs, which include The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, is redirected
--> also putting "," in front of "but" create a meaning distortion and sentence fragment.


C. year only if the funding of other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, would be redirected
--> "would" and "will" can't go together. wrong.


D. year only if other programs, which include The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were redirecting funding
--> "were" is wrong as it should be singular.
--> also "were" and "will" can't go together.
--> also "other programs" can't redirect funding
--> "redirect" needs an object.


E. year only if other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, trim output
--> correct

The correct answer is "E"

Well done, h31337u! You cracked the code on this one! Can't wait to see more explanations from you in future questions! Kudos to you!
User avatar
EMPOWERgmatVerbal
User avatar
EMPOWERgmat Instructor
Joined: 23 Feb 2015
Last visit: 17 Feb 2025
Posts: 1,694
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 766
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 1,694
Kudos: 15,175
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
thenikhilseth
My choice is E option.

1) Between 'Only If' and 'But Only If' , I think 'Only If' is preferred. EMPOWERgmatVerbal , Please shed some light here :)
Eliminate A and B

2) Now many people might think that it is subjunctive mood, but it is Not. It is not a hypothetical situation, instead it is an Conditional Statement.
So the use of Future verb - Present verb should be the priority.
C- Incorrect ( Will, Would)
D- Incorrect ( Will, Were)

A. year, but only if other programs including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were to redirect their funding
B. year, but only if the funding of other programs, which include The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, is redirected
C. year only if the funding of other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, would be redirected
D. year only if other programs, which include The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were redirecting funding
E. year only if other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, trim output- CORRECT

Well done, thenikhilseth! You cracked the code on another question! Check out the official explanation in the comments for more details on the "only if/but only if" split. :)

Kudos to you!
User avatar
EMPOWERgmatVerbal
User avatar
EMPOWERgmat Instructor
Joined: 23 Feb 2015
Last visit: 17 Feb 2025
Posts: 1,694
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 766
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 1,694
Kudos: 15,175
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
aggvipul
EMPOWERgmatVerbal
Pack 10, Question 4 of 5:

The city of Fort Myers had long been expected to announce funding to its STARS Complex, but city officials just recently announced that the city will fund the recreational complex with $310,000 next year, but only if other programs, including Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were to redirect their funding by more than $130,000.

A. year, but only if other programs including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were to redirect their funding
B. year, but only if the funding of other programs, which include The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, is redirected
C. year only if the funding of other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, would be redirected
D. year only if other programs, which include The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, were redirecting funding
E. year only if other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, trim output


◀ Pack 10, Question 3
▶ Pack 10, Question 5 COMING SOON!
⏏ Question Pack Home

48 Hour Window To Win An $85 EMPOWERgmat Tuition Credit (1 Month Free!)
Share your explanation! The GMAT Club member with the most verified Kudos in total on the 5 question SC Block 10 question pack will win an $85 EMPOWERgmat tuition credit, which will entitle the winner to a full month of complete access to the EMPOWERgmat system. Even if you're not sure about your answer or your rationale, share your explanation to help boost your learning and earn a chance to win.

To be eligible, your explanation must:
    be submitted within the 48 hour window after this post was created
    should explain your reasoning why the answer you chose is correct, and why the other 4 options are incorrect within 48 hours of this post

The OA and official explanation will be held until the 48 hour window has lapsed.


That's a classy example of "if then" construction.
Rule:
If X then Y
Allowed construction:
X- present tense -> Y- simple present or simple future
X- past tense -> Y- simple past or would verb form
X- past perfect -> Y- would have verb form

Types of If then construction:
1. If i/p, then o/p
2. if i/p, o/p
3. o/p, if i/p

Conditional would- used to present the expected future actions, assumptions, hypothetical conditions etc.

Going by above rules,
here the "o/p, if i/p" construction is used

"that the city will fund the recreational complex with $310,000 next year only if the funding of other programs, including The Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida, would be redirected
hence C is the right answer

You were on the right track, aggvipul! Check out the official explanation in the comments to see how to tackle this type of question better next time. :)
avatar
Amandhanani2627
Joined: 02 May 2021
Last visit: 10 Nov 2022
Posts: 28
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 22
Location: India
Posts: 28
Kudos: 7
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
i dont think "trim output" makes any sense rather something like "trim input" or "were to redirect" would make sense here
User avatar
VerbalBot
User avatar
Non-Human User
Joined: 01 Oct 2013
Last visit: 04 Jan 2021
Posts: 18,832
Own Kudos:
Posts: 18,832
Kudos: 986
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.
Moderators:
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7443 posts
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
231 posts
188 posts