The first decision for most tenants living in a building undergoing

Question

The first decision for most tenants living in a building undergoing  being converted to cooperative ownership is if to sign  a no-buy pledge with the other tenants.

(A) being converted to cooperative ownership is if to sign

(B) being converted to cooperative ownership is whether they should be signing

(C) being converted to cooperative ownership is whether or not they sign

(D) conversion to cooperative ownership is if to sign

(E) conversion to cooperative ownership is whether to sign

DmitryFarberMPrep · Accepted Answer

Yes, "whether or not" is considered redundant on the GMAT.

Also, we don't want to say "undergoing being converted." Like most uses of "being," this is awkward and unnecessary. In this case, we have a simple noun--"conversion"--so there's no reason not to use that.

Geethu · Answer

e.

Whether to sign- is the right usage here. When there is an alternative we need to use whether.

Paul · Answer

Agree with E Geethu here. When given the alternative, avoid using "if". Pick "whether" instead

Bhai · Answer

unless there is a conditional statement do not use if.

E is good here

hdwnkr · Answer

A B C eliminated for using being.

In case of an option, we should choose whether. if is used only for conditional statements. For example, if x then y.

arirux92 · Answer

There is no such thing as ' avoid if'

If is use in case of conditions with certainties :

If it rains, I will take the cab.

In case of uncertain conditions : use whether

The President didn't know whether his cabinet will support him or not. 
(Uncertain condition : Using if is wrong here )

sowragu · Answer

To add more even we can skip the usage of "Or not" in whether statements.
I am unable to recall the exact source, but read somewhere as the usage of "or not" is redundant.

canders5 · Answer

Are there cases where the use of 'being' is accepted on the gmat?

Abhishek009 · Answer

Please go through this post - https://e-gmat.com/blog/gmat-verbal/sen ... -questions

lary301254M7 · Answer

in GMAT, " if " is used in conditional statements

whether  is better in this question

also, in GMAT SC, there is no " whether or not

rszarate · Answer

Hi everyone.
Instead of answer choice (E) is clearly correct, I have a doubt regard the use of WHETHER.

WHETHER should introduce a relative clause (i.e. WHETHER + SUBJECT + VERB), but in this case (I think) is acting as an object.
Could anyone help me to understand this issue?

Thank you in advance!

Regards,
R.

CrackverbalGMAT · Answer

The first decision for most tenants living in a building undergoing …  what? 
 
I feel this is the entry point in this question. 
You need to figure out  what the building is undergoing …  Conversion !

There is no need for the passive construction of ‘being converted’ here. We only need a simple noun.

Now let’s scan the options and narrow down our options:

(A)  being converted  to cooperative ownership is if to sign

(B)  being converted  to cooperative ownership is whether they should be signing

(C)  being converted  to cooperative ownership is whether or not they sign

(D)  conversion  to cooperative ownership is if to sign

(E)  conversion  to cooperative ownership is whether to sign

Eliminate Options A, B and C.

You see that the split here in these two options is between  if/whether .

We know that ‘if’ is a conditional and that ‘whether’ is used when there are two options. What are the two options here? To sign or not to sign.

Eliminate Option D.

Option E is the best choice.

Hope this helps!

h31337u · Answer

The first decision for most tenants living in a building undergoing being converted to cooperative ownership is if to sign a no-buy pledge with the other tenants.

(A) being converted to cooperative ownership is if to sign
—> usually participle “being” is wrong

(B) being converted to cooperative ownership is whether they should be signing
—> usually participle “being” is wrong

(C) being converted to cooperative ownership is whether or not they sign
—> usually participle “being” is wrong

(D) conversion to cooperative ownership is if to sign
—> “the first decision” can’t be the subject of “IF’ clause. Wrong.

(E) conversion to cooperative ownership is whether to sign
—> correct

ChiranjeevSingh · Answer

Here's the   official explanation   provided by the GMAC for this question:

This sentence fails because of poor word choice:  undergoing being converted  is as redundant as it is awkward. The process of  being converted  does not need to be shown since  undergoing  already contains the idea of process. To complete the sentence grammatically,  undergoing  should be followed by the noun  conversion  rather than the phrase  being converted . When only two alternatives are possible, to sign or not to sign,  whether  (or  whether or not ) is properly used rather than  if .

Option A:   Being converted  is redundant and awkward;  if  is incorrectly substituted for  whether

Option B:   Being converted  must be replaced by the noun  conversion ;  whether  must be followed by the concise infinitive  to sign

Option C:   Being converted  must be replaced by the noun  conversion ;  whether  must be followed by the concise infinitive  to sign

Option D:   Whether  should be used in place of  if

Option E: Correct.  In this sentence, the noun  conversion  grammatically completes the phrase begun by  undergoing , and  whether  is correctly followed by  to sign .

The correct answer is E.

Please note that I'm not the author of this explanation. I'm just posting it here since I believe it can help the community.

CEdward · Answer

The first decision for most tenants living in a building undergoing being converted to cooperative ownership is if to sign a no-buy pledge with the other tenants.

(A)  being  converted to cooperative ownership is  if  to sign

If should be used for conditional sentences

(B)  being  converted to cooperative ownership is whether they should be  signing

Signing is present continuous. Sign here would be correct. The decision is not about whether tenants should be SIGNING as if to say this is done continually, but it's about whether tenants should sign (a one off).

(C)  being  converted to cooperative ownership is whether  or not  they sign

Whether or not is not idiomatic on the GMAT

(D) conversion to cooperative ownership is  if  to sign

Same issue as A

(E) conversion to cooperative ownership is whether to sign Correct

VerbalBot · Answer

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The first decision for most tenants living in a building undergoing

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