Last visit was: 21 Apr 2026, 14:59 It is currently 21 Apr 2026, 14:59
Home
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
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.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Back to Forum
Create Topic
   1   2 
605-655 (Medium)|   Idioms/Diction/Redundancy|                  
User avatar
EducationAisle
User avatar
Joined: 27 Mar 2010
Last visit: 21 Apr 2026
Posts: 3,903
Own Kudos:
3,585
 [2]
Given Kudos: 159
Location: India
Schools: ISB
GPA: 3.31
Expert
Expert reply
Schools: ISB
Posts: 3,903
Kudos: 3,585
 [2]
The sale of government surplus machinery will begin at 9 a.m. and cont 24 Jun 2021, 10:19
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
SantoshN
In E Continue(Plural verb) takes Sale (Singular Subject) Is that Okay Iam Confused and thats why dint consider E Can you clarify that ?
Show more
Hi SantoshN, sentences in future tense, always take the plural form of the verb.

For example:

Children will go to the school.
- Plural subject children takes the plural verb go

The child will go to the school.
- Singular subject "the child" again takes the plural verb go

The construct in the sentence under consideration is:

...the sale will continue....

Since the sentence is in future tense ("will"), we use the plural verb continue.
User avatar
mSKR
User avatar
Joined: 14 Aug 2019
Last visit: 10 Mar 2024
Posts: 1,211
Own Kudos:
959
Given Kudos: 381
Location: Hong Kong
Concentration: Strategy, Marketing
Schools: IE (A) IIML-IPMX '22 (A) HKUST '22
GMAT 1: 650 Q49 V29
GPA: 3.81
Schools: IE (A) IIML-IPMX '22 (A) HKUST '22
GMAT 1: 650 Q49 V29
Posts: 1,211
Kudos: 959
The sale of government surplus machinery will begin at 9 a.m. and cont 24 Jun 2021, 14:40
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi AjiteshArun GMATNinja

Although I choose A because as long as indicates times and with meaning it makes sense. starts at x time and ends at y time ( as long as )
But I think A is still not wrong just because it uses until

It is very normal to say end time based on some event.
The car will go on UNTIL/TILL the fuel lasts
here event is fuel lasts . time will continue till this event doesn't happen
I will continue to study till cracks GMAT


another way could be as in option E
The car will go on AS LONG AS fule lasts- here emphasis is on timings till event doesn't happen


So my query:

Is my understanding on A wrong? Please suggest.
We choose E because it is better or there is something really wrong in A .

AjiteshArun GMATNinja
User avatar
AjiteshArun
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 15 Jul 2015
Last visit: 21 Apr 2026
Posts: 6,074
Own Kudos:
5,139
Given Kudos: 743
Location: India
GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
GMAT 1: 780 Q50 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V169
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
GMAT 1: 780 Q50 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V169
Posts: 6,074
Kudos: 5,139
The sale of government surplus machinery will begin at 9 a.m. and cont 24 Jun 2021, 23:20
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
mSKR
We choose E because it is better or there is something really wrong in A .
Show more
Hi mSKR,

Does this post help?
User avatar
lakshya14
User avatar
Joined: 31 Jan 2019
Last visit: 27 Jul 2022
Posts: 348
Own Kudos:
45
Given Kudos: 529
Posts: 348
Kudos: 45
The sale of government surplus machinery will begin at 9 a.m. and cont 25 Jun 2021, 07:59
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Can we eliminate (C) by striking off the appositive "until the supply lasts", which would make the sentence "The sale ...will begin and will continue."?

AndrewN
User avatar
100mitra
User avatar
Joined: 29 Apr 2019
Last visit: 06 Jul 2022
Posts: 707
Own Kudos:
634
Given Kudos: 49
Status:Learning
Posts: 707
Kudos: 634
The sale of government surplus machinery will begin at 9 a.m. and cont 19 Sep 2021, 10:05
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Correct option : E
WOW! 2007 post

The sale of government surplus machinery will begin at 9 a.m. and continue until the supply lasts.
Straight B, C, and D to be eliminated due to
Comma Before And That Joins Two Independent Clauses. The word and is a conjunction, and when a conjunction joins two independent clauses, you should use a comma with it. The proper place for the comma is before the conjunction. ... If you use a comma without a conjunction, you'll end up with a comma splice

(B) begins at 9 a.m., continuing until the supply lasts
(C) will begin at 9 a.m. and, until the supply lasts, will continue
(D) begins at 9 a.m. and, as long as the supply may last, it continues

Now between A, and E
(A) will begin at 9 a.m. and continue until the supply lasts
Until - is a preposition - upto - makes it grammertically incorrect

(E) will begin at 9 a.m. and continue as long as the supply lasts
as long as phrase means - during the whole time that, provided that - Correct idiom - Correct
User avatar
Raman109
User avatar
Joined: 17 Aug 2009
Last visit: 28 Jul 2025
Posts: 706
Own Kudos:
212
Given Kudos: 33
Posts: 706
Kudos: 212
The sale of government surplus machinery will begin at 9 a.m. and cont Updated on: 02 Dec 2023, 09:48
Originally posted by Raman109 on 05 Sep 2023, 04:10.
Last edited by Raman109 on 02 Dec 2023, 09:48, edited 1 time in total.
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
The sale of government surplus machinery will begin at 9 a.m. and continue until the supply lasts.

Option Elimination -

A bit of basics on the usage of "until" and "as long as" first

1. "Until":
"Until" is used to indicate the point in time when an action or event will stop or a condition will be met. It suggests that something will continue to happen or remain true up to a specific time or event.

Example 1: "I will wait here until you come back."
In this sentence, the action of waiting will continue until the person returns. As soon as the person returns, the waiting will stop.

Example 2: "She studied until midnight."
This sentence means that the person studied continuously, and their studying stopped at midnight.

2. "As long as":
"As long as" is used to express a condition that must be met for something to happen or continue. It implies that if the condition remains true, the action or event will continue.

Example 1: "You can borrow my car as long as you return it by 6 p.m."
This means the person can borrow the car but only if they return it before 6 p.m. If they don't return it by that time, they may not be allowed to borrow it again.

Example 2: "I'll support you as long as you keep working hard."
This sentence indicates that the speaker will provide support, but only if the person continues to work hard. If the person stops working hard, the support may be withdrawn.

In summary, "until" is used to indicate the point in time when an action stops or a condition is met, while "as long as" expresses a condition that must be fulfilled for something to happen or continue.

Here, "supply lasts" means the duration or period of time during which a particular supply or resource remains available or in stock. So, we'll use "as long as." Had it been "supply ends or supply is depleted," then the usage of "until" would still be okay, as that would indicate a point in time, i.e., ends or depleted. But as we can't change "supply lasts" means the duration or period of time, we need to use "as long as" and not "until."

(A) will begin at 9 a.m. and continue until the supply lasts - not ok, as discussed above.

(B) begins at 9 a.m., continuing until the supply lasts - is this a perpetual action? No. Moreover, "until" is wrong.

(C) will begin at 9 a.m. and, until the supply lasts, will continue - the same issue of "until" with supply lasts.

(D) begins at 9 a.m. and, as long as the supply may last, it continues - the same issue as B.

(E) will begin at 9 a.m. and continue as long as the supply lasts - ok.
User avatar
DrashThaker
User avatar
Joined: 31 Oct 2022
Last visit: 13 Jul 2025
Posts: 1
Given Kudos: 4
Posts: 1
Kudos: 0
The sale of government surplus machinery will begin at 9 a.m. and cont 06 Sep 2023, 12:09
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
My understanding is that GMAT prefers simple tense over continuous or perfect tense.
Couldn't this activity be something that happens usually? In that case why not simple present tense?
   1   2 
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7391 posts
AbhishekP220108
495 posts
bhanu29
358 posts