Last visit was: 19 Nov 2025, 06:01 It is currently 19 Nov 2025, 06:01
Home
GMAT
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Rewards
Chat
My Profile
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   3   
555-605 Level|   Idioms/Diction/Redundancy|   Verb Tense/Form|                     
User avatar
english_august
User avatar
Joined: 25 Jul 2007
Last visit: 03 Mar 2009
Posts: 44
Own Kudos:
302
 [293]
Posts: 44
Kudos: 302
 [293]
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers Updated on: 10 Aug 2021, 00:08
Originally posted by english_august on 28 Oct 2007, 19:05.
Last edited by Bunuel on 10 Aug 2021, 00:08, edited 5 times in total.
Edited the question.
26
Kudos
Add Kudos
267
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
00:00
Start Timer
Pause Timer
Resume Timer
Show Answer
Hide
Show
History
D
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!

Difficulty:

25% (medium)

Question Stats:

73% (01:10) correct 27% (01:14) wrong based on 8498 sessions

History

Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic determinants of fertility.

(A) have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic
(B) have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical
(C) would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical
(D) would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economic
(E) would have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic

Show Spoiler
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Marriage and Fertility in the Developed Countries
Charles F. Westoff
Scientific American
Vol. 239, No. 6 (December 1978), pp. 51-57

Published by: Scientific American, a division of Nature America, Inc.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/24955864
Page Count: 7

To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers would have to know a lot more than they now do about the social and economic determinants of fertility. Even assuming such theoretical understanding, one would then have to predict the future course of the appropriate social and economic indexes, and there is no evidence that the relevant social-science disciplines have developed any such capability.

Attachment:
scientificamerican1278-51.pdf [515.89 KiB]
Downloaded 134 times
ShowHide Answer
Official Answer
D
Most Helpful Reply
User avatar
TommyWallach
User avatar
Manhattan Prep Instructor
Joined: 21 Jan 2010
Last visit: 14 Nov 2011
Posts: 323
Own Kudos:
7,316
 [94]
Given Kudos: 11
Affiliations: ManhattanGMAT
Location: San Francisco
Concentration: Journalism
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 323
Kudos: 7,316
 [94]
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers 02 Sep 2010, 11:08
55
Kudos
Add Kudos
38
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hey All,

I got asked about this privately, but I think the same question was asked by mymisc as well. The question is, do we need the "would" here, and why? The issue is that this sentence is a hypothetical/conditional:

To develop more accurate population forecasts

We could reword this as "If we wanted more accurate forecasts, demographers..."

In a conditional construction, we need the "would". Look at how it would work in a NON-conditional:

To develop accurate population forecasts, demographers have to know a great deal more...

See how, in that example, without the "more," we're just talking about a fact (how forecasts are developed accurately)? But with the conditional, we need the complete conditional construction, with "would."

Let me know if you have any follow-up questions!

-t
User avatar
x2suresh
User avatar
Joined: 07 Nov 2007
Last visit: 18 Aug 2012
Posts: 715
Own Kudos:
3,139
 [30]
Given Kudos: 5
Location: New York
Posts: 715
Kudos: 3,139
 [30]
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers 25 Dec 2008, 00:31
24
Kudos
Add Kudos
4
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
hbs2012
Question 32 Set 1

To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers have to know a great deal more tha now about the social and economic detriments of fertility.

b. have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical
c. would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical
d. would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economic.
e. would have to know a great deal more then now about the social and economical.

help
Show more

A,E --> comparing "have to know a great deal" vs "now" ---> INCORRECT.

"have to know a great deal" vs "they do [know]now" --> Proper comparision

B,C,E -- economical -- which means "cheap" is not appropriate in this contest

Economic means "having to do with the economy or the study of economics."

Economical means "careful or prudent in managing finances, money- saving."

D is the best.
User avatar
EMPOWERgmatVerbal
User avatar
EMPOWERgmat Instructor
Joined: 23 Feb 2015
Last visit: 17 Feb 2025
Posts: 1,694
Own Kudos:
15,175
 [19]
Given Kudos: 766
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 1,694
Kudos: 15,175
 [19]
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers Updated on: 23 Mar 2019, 12:11
Originally posted by EMPOWERgmatVerbal on 06 Nov 2018, 16:33.
Last edited by EMPOWERgmatVerbal on 23 Mar 2019, 12:11, edited 1 time in total.
11
Kudos
Add Kudos
8
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hello Everyone!

Let's tackle this question, one issue at a time, and come up with the correct choice! First, let's take a quick look at the original question, and highlight any major differences between the options in orange:

To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic determinants of fertility.

(A) have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic
(B) have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical
(C) would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical
(D) would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economic
(E) would have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic

After a quick glance over the options, we see a few places we can focus on:

1. have to know / would have to know
2. now / they do now
3. economic / economical

Let's start with #3 on our list: economic vs. economical. This is an easy way to eliminate 2-3 options because it's a common mistake we see on the GMAT:

economic = dealing with the economy
economical = inexpensive, cheap, thrifty, etc.

Since the sentence is talking about the economy, we can eliminate options B & C because they use the word "economical," which isn't the correct word for this sentence. That was quick, right?

Let's move up to #2 on the list: now vs. they do now. Here are the remaining sentences with the non-underlined parts added in to better catch any problems:

(A) To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic determinants of fertility.

This is INCORRECT because it creates a non-parallel comparison. We are supposed to compare what demographers would have to know (knowledge) to what demographers know now (knowledge). This is comparing what demographers would have to know (knowledge) to now (time), which isn't parallel!
(This is also wrong because "have to know" isn't how to write a conditional statement. "Would have to know" is a condition, which would make this a conditional statement.)

(D) To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economic determinants of fertility.

This is CORRECT! It compares what demographers would have to know (knowledge) to what they know now (knowledge), which is parallel! It's also best to use "would have to know" to indicate this is a conditional statement, and it does that correctly!

(E) To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers would have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic determinants of fertility.

This is INCORRECT because it creates a non-parallel comparison. We are supposed to compare what demographers would have to know (knowledge) to what demographers know now (knowledge). This is comparing what demographers would have to know (knowledge) to now (time), which isn't parallel!

There you have it - option D is the correct choice! Even if you weren't confident on how to deal with conditional statements and verb tenses, you could still answer this question by focusing on parallel comparisons and proper word usage!


Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
User avatar
CrackverbalGMAT
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 03 Oct 2013
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 4,844
Own Kudos:
8,945
 [3]
Given Kudos: 225
Affiliations: CrackVerbal
Location: India
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 4,844
Kudos: 8,945
 [3]
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers 30 Aug 2020, 07:17
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
2
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic determinants of fertility.

(A) have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic
(B) have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical
(C) would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical
(D) would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economic
(E) would have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic

The question tests the concept of Modifiers, Comparison, and Conditional sentences.

“To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic determinants of fertility.”
We can identify three points in the question that need to be examined.
When we do a vertical scan of the options, we see that two options begin with “have to know” and three options begin with “would have to know”.

Two options end in ‘economical’ and three options end in ‘economic’.

Two options have the phrase “more than now” and three options have the phrase “more than they do now”.

The choice between ‘economic’ and ‘economical’ is simple. The word ‘economic’ is the adjective form of the word ‘economy’ and is the better choice in this sentence because the sentence discusses the “social and ….. determinants of fertility. The word ‘economical’ means avoiding waste or extravagance. It doesn’t fit into the sentence.
On this basis, we can eliminate Options B and C.

To choose the best among Options A, D, and E, we can either use the rule of the Conditional sentence by choosing between the phrases ‘have to know’ and ‘would have to know’, or the rule of Comparison by choosing between the phrase “more than now’ and “more than they do now”.

Let us start with the rule of Comparison. The comparison should be between how much ‘demographers’ know now and how much the ‘demographers’ should know. The comparison will be complete only when the noun demographers is mentioned again or a pronoun is used to refer to them.
“demographers have to know a great deal more than now”

“demographers would have to know a great deal more than they do now”
It is only in the second construction that the comparison is complete.
On this basis, we can rule out Options A and E.

The Conditional sentence starts with ‘if’. However, in this sentence, the condition is conveyed through the prepositional phrase “To develop more accurate population forecasts”.
The construction of a conditional sentence is as follows:
If + subject + verb in the past tense, Subject + would/could + verb in the present tense.

If demographers wanted to develop more accurate population forecasts, they would have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic determinants of fertility.

In this sentence too, that construction has to be maintained to make a proper conditional sentence. On this basis, Option A can be ruled out.

Therefore, Option D is the most appropriate option.

Jayanthi Kumar.
User avatar
ExpertsGlobal5
User avatar
Experts' Global Representative
Joined: 10 Jul 2017
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,195
Own Kudos:
4,765
Given Kudos: 43
Location: India
GMAT Date: 11-01-2019
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 5,195
Kudos: 4,765
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers 07 Oct 2021, 07:29
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
english_august
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic determinants of fertility.

(A) have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic
(B) have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical
(C) would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical
(D) would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economic
(E) would have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic

Show more

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that in order to develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the determinants of fertility that are related to social and economic factors.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Tenses + Comparison

• The "would + simple present tense verb" construction is used to refer to hypothetical future actions and habitual actions in the past.
• Comparison must always be made between similar elements.
• The simple present tense is only used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature.

A: This answer choice incorrectly uses the simple present tense verb "have" to refer to a hypothetical future action; please remember, the "would + simple present tense verb" construction is used to refer to hypothetical future actions, and the simple present tense is only used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature. Further, Option A incorrectly compares "know" to "now"; please remember, a comparison must always be made between similar elements.

B: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "social and economical"; the use of "economical" incorrectly implies that to develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the determinants of fertility that are inexpensive; the intended meaning is that to develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the determinants of fertility that are related to economic matters. Further, Option B incorrectly uses the simple present tense verb "have" to refer to a hypothetical future action; please remember, the "would + simple present tense verb" construction is used to refer to hypothetical future actions, and the simple present tense is only used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature.

C: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "social and economical"; the use of "economical" incorrectly implies that to develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the determinants of fertility that are inexpensive; the intended meaning is that to develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the determinants of fertility that are related to economic matters.

D: Correct. This answer choice uses the phrase "economic and social", conveying the intended meaning - that to develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the determinants of fertility that are related to economic factors. Further, Option D correctly uses the "would + simple present tense verb ("have" in this sentence)" construction to refer to a hypothetical future action. Additionally, Option D correctly compares "know" with "do".

E: This answer choice incorrectly compares "know" to "now"; please remember, a comparison must always be made between similar elements.

Hence, D is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team
General Discussion
User avatar
GMATBLACKBELT
User avatar
Joined: 29 Mar 2007
Last visit: 03 Jun 2013
Posts: 1,139
Own Kudos:
1,878
 [6]
Posts: 1,139
Kudos: 1,878
 [6]
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers 28 Oct 2007, 23:23
5
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
english_august
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic determinants of fertility.

A. have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic
B. have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical
C. would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical
D. would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economic
E. would have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economical

OA is E. IMO it should be D. What do you think?
Show more


D

AB: would establishes meaning better elim these two choices.

C: economical is inappropriate here. means inexpensive
E: same economical is inappropriate here. means inexpensive

please check out this link https://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic4710.html
User avatar
Mikus
User avatar
Current Student
Joined: 10 May 2008
Last visit: 15 Dec 2015
Posts: 70
Own Kudos:
50
 [6]
Posts: 70
Kudos: 50
 [6]
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers 24 Dec 2008, 16:05
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
4
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
I'd go with (D).


This is future conditional, so I would eliminate (A) and (B) since they do not have "would".

I would eliminate (E) because of the faulty comparison. Comparing "know a great deal" and "now" is not apples to apples.

Your remaining choices are identical except for economic v. economical. Economical sounds weird to me in this context, so I'd go with (D).
User avatar
ykaiim
User avatar
Joined: 25 Aug 2007
Last visit: 21 Aug 2012
Posts: 519
Own Kudos:
5,901
 [7]
Given Kudos: 40
WE 1: 3.5 yrs IT
WE 2: 2.5 yrs Retail chain
Posts: 519
Kudos: 5,901
 [7]
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers 02 Jun 2010, 00:22
6
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
OA is D.

Q41 - OG12:
Verb form; Logical predication
Th is sentence explains a hypothetical situation and therefore calls for a conditional—or contraryto- fact—construction, because in order to more accurately predict population, demographers would have to know more than they presently
know. A present-tense verb is required to describe the current state of demographers’ knowledge, and the comparison made by the sentence must be
between current and conditional knowledge, not between knowledge and time of knowing (now). A Wrong comparison—between knowledge and time (now); conditional verb is needed. B Conditional verb is needed; economical is the
wrong adjective. C Economical is the wrong adjective. D Correct. Conditional knowledge, indicated by would have to know, is correctly compared
to current knowledge. E Wrong comparison—between what demographers need to know and now.

The correct answer is D.
User avatar
nusmavrik
User avatar
Joined: 26 Nov 2009
Last visit: 03 Apr 2022
Posts: 467
Own Kudos:
2,635
 [2]
Given Kudos: 36
Status:Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. It's a dare. Impossible is nothing.
Affiliations: University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Location: Singapore
Concentration: General Management, Finance
Schools: Chicago Booth - Class of 2015
Schools: Chicago Booth - Class of 2015
Posts: 467
Kudos: 2,635
 [2]
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers 07 Jun 2010, 06:34
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
I will choose D

social and economic --> economic means related to finance ---> intended meaning

economical -thrifty ---> changes the meaning of the sentence --> making the fertility sound economical

A is clear OUT

D is left.
User avatar
TommyWallach
User avatar
Manhattan Prep Instructor
Joined: 21 Jan 2010
Last visit: 14 Nov 2011
Posts: 323
Own Kudos:
7,316
 [1]
Given Kudos: 11
Affiliations: ManhattanGMAT
Location: San Francisco
Concentration: Journalism
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 323
Kudos: 7,316
 [1]
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers 28 Aug 2010, 11:36
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hey Noburu,

Just to weigh in real quickly, we don't want "efficient" here. We want "economic", meaning "related to the economy" (economy meaning "wealth and resources" of a region or country). We want to know how economic (money-related) factors relate to fertility, etc.

-t
User avatar
daagh
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Last visit: 16 Oct 2020
Posts: 5,264
Own Kudos:
42,418
 [4]
Given Kudos: 422
Status: enjoying
Location: India
WE:Education (Education)
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 5,264
Kudos: 42,418
 [4]
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers 31 Dec 2011, 02:20
4
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
@ Bibli

Even a casual look at the choices will prove E as a wrong choice. There is no need to entertain any doubt about the inappropriate and absurd use of the word economical in the context. Rather, you must evaluate the topic first and eliminate unfit ones.

Secondly, look at the following post.

to-develop-more-accurate-population-forecasts-demographers-54658.html -- 18 posts

It contains at least 18 posts on these topics and there are at least another five posts that run up to another 30 posts . In spite of all these, do you still want a new discussion?. The same thing will hold good for your other posts, which have all been thoroughly discussed in the pages of this forum. Please remember you have to look before you leap and search before you script
avatar
vaibhav123
avatar
Joined: 07 Nov 2011
Last visit: 28 Mar 2012
Posts: 10
Own Kudos:
19
 [1]
Given Kudos: 9
Posts: 10
Kudos: 19
 [1]
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers 03 Jan 2012, 07:05
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
TommyWallach
Hey All,

I got asked about this privately, but I think the same question was asked by mymisc as well. The question is, do we need the "would" here, and why? The issue is that this sentence is a hypothetical/conditional:

To develop more accurate population forecasts

We could reword this as "If we wanted more accurate forecasts, demographers..."

In a conditional construction, we need the "would". Look at how it would work in a NON-conditional:

To develop accurate population forecasts, demographers have to know a great deal more...

See how, in that example, without the "more," we're just talking about a fact (how forecasts are developed accurately)? But with the conditional, we need the complete conditional construction, with "would."

Let me know if you have any follow-up questions!

-t
Show more
Don't u think that "more accurate" and "accurate" are both conditional??
In both scenarios , It is a condition to achieve something..Can you give some more examples? :)
User avatar
rustypolymath
User avatar
Joined: 09 Nov 2010
Last visit: 22 Feb 2012
Posts: 54
Own Kudos:
92
 [2]
Given Kudos: 3
Location: Paris, FRANCE
Posts: 54
Kudos: 92
 [2]
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers 13 Feb 2012, 10:38
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
devinawilliam83
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic determinants of fertility.

A. have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic
B. have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical
C. would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical
D. would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economic
E. would have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economical

Had a query.. Am not sure how this compares to the following
- He believed it would work
- He believes it will work

Am i right in saying that since the second statement is in present tense the will work is not conditional.. if yes..why is "would have" in the question posted above right? if B was not ruled out because of "economical" could it be considered as a proper statement?
Show more

Ooh... now we're getting deep! :)

In the "pure" Anglo-Saxon system, the "conditional mood" does not exist because there is no inflected conditional mood. Idem for "future tense." What we call "future tense" and "conditional mood" are actually composed tenses from, respectively, the present and past forms of modal verbs.

However, neither of the two statements you proposed is actually a "conditional" statement. The second simply expresses factual belief about the future ("it will work"); the second refers to a future that is posterior to his belief but may well be anterior to the present moment; this is why we use the past tense form of "will" ("it would work"), also known as past posterior. The expression of his belief does not hinge on any condition.

In the case of this problem, however, we are dealing with a conditional statement, since the development of more accurate forecasts DOES depend on a condition (whether demographers can gather more information).

Whether the "if [present] then [present/future]" qualifies as a hypothetical conditional depends on the perspective and semantics. In this case it is clearly a conditional. The use of the present in the then-clause would make no sense, because while present tense can imply futurity in some cases, here we contrast this futurity to what they know now, so we would need another word (the "will") to "kick" it into the future.

Therefore, in answer to your question, it would not be correct to write: "To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economic determinants of fertility." It would be correct to write, "To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers will have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economic determinants of fertility."

This does, of course, imply a slightly different angle than does the correct answer D. D suggests that this is idle, parlour game hypothesizing, whereas the sentence I just wrote reads as an instruction or a prescription.
User avatar
alchemist009
User avatar
Joined: 22 Apr 2011
Last visit: 06 Oct 2016
Posts: 102
Own Kudos:
662
 [1]
Given Kudos: 18
Concentration: Accounting
Schools:Mccombs business school, Mays business school, Rotman Business School,
GPA: 3.44
Posts: 102
Kudos: 662
 [1]
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers 08 Jun 2012, 07:24
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
hbs2012
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic detriments of fertility.

(A) have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic
(B) have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical
(C) would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical
(D) would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economic
(E) would have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economical

Question 32 Set 1

help
Show more

i pick D here. this is a conditional sentence. one condition is to be fulfilled to develop more accurate population forecasts that demographers need to know more social and economic detrimental facts of fertility. So A and B are out. "economical" is just wrong here so C is out. in E comparison is not expressed properly. correct me if i am wrong.

regards
User avatar
rajathpanta
User avatar
Joined: 13 Feb 2010
Last visit: 24 Apr 2015
Posts: 144
Own Kudos:
483
Given Kudos: 282
Status:Prevent and prepare. Not repent and repair!!
Location: India
Concentration: Technology, General Management
Schools: AGSM '15 YLP '16 IIMC (PGPEX) Melbourne '15
GPA: 3.75
WE:Sales (Telecommunications)
Schools: AGSM '15 YLP '16 IIMC (PGPEX) Melbourne '15
Posts: 144
Kudos: 483
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers 10 Feb 2013, 03:13
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
MGMAT says 'would' is used to express the future from the past's point of view.

Ex- The scientist believes that the machine would be wonderful

The above example is wrong as 'believes' is in present. If believes is replaced by 'believed' the ex becomes correct.

Now can someone explain why would is used here as the tense used in the question is simple present/present perfect.
User avatar
Vercules
User avatar
Joined: 23 Dec 2010
Last visit: 07 Aug 2019
Posts: 440
Own Kudos:
5,692
 [3]
Given Kudos: 82
Status:Making every effort to create original content for you!!
Location: United States
Concentration: Healthcare, Social Entrepreneurship
Schools: Kenan-Flagler '15 (A) McCombs '15 (I) Tepper '15 (M) Kellogg '15 (I) HBS '15 (D) Wharton '15 (D) Stern '15 (WL) Simon '15 (A)
GMAT 1: 660 Q48 V34
GMAT 2: 750 Q49 V42
Expert
Expert reply
Schools: Kenan-Flagler '15 (A) McCombs '15 (I) Tepper '15 (M) Kellogg '15 (I) HBS '15 (D) Wharton '15 (D) Stern '15 (WL) Simon '15 (A)
GMAT 2: 750 Q49 V42
Posts: 440
Kudos: 5,692
 [3]
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers 11 Feb 2013, 08:34
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
rajathpanta
MGMAT says 'would' is used to express the future from the past's point of view.

Ex- The scientist believes that the machine would be wonderful

The above example is wrong as 'believes' is in present. If believes is replaced by 'believed' the ex becomes correct.

Now can someone explain why would is used here as the tense used in the question is simple present/present perfect.
Show more

Hi rajathpanta,

The scientist believes that the machine would be wonderful --> is incorrect because here we are mixing present with conditional.

Why is this so? because it is a rule. For conditionals there a few rules and you have to just remember them, there is not much to understand here. The rules on Conditionals are governed by set rules. MGMAT has explained the rules quite well, just make a note of them.

Consider this sentence: The scientist said that the machine would be wonderful. --> here "would" is expressing past as it is being used in the reported speech. The sentence is correct as per another rule on the usage of would.

The scientist believed that the machine would be wonderful - Correct usage, "would" expresses future from the past point of view.

Hope that helps,

Vercules
User avatar
Vercules
User avatar
Joined: 23 Dec 2010
Last visit: 07 Aug 2019
Posts: 440
Own Kudos:
5,692
Given Kudos: 82
Status:Making every effort to create original content for you!!
Location: United States
Concentration: Healthcare, Social Entrepreneurship
Schools: Kenan-Flagler '15 (A) McCombs '15 (I) Tepper '15 (M) Kellogg '15 (I) HBS '15 (D) Wharton '15 (D) Stern '15 (WL) Simon '15 (A)
GMAT 1: 660 Q48 V34
GMAT 2: 750 Q49 V42
Expert
Expert reply
Schools: Kenan-Flagler '15 (A) McCombs '15 (I) Tepper '15 (M) Kellogg '15 (I) HBS '15 (D) Wharton '15 (D) Stern '15 (WL) Simon '15 (A)
GMAT 2: 750 Q49 V42
Posts: 440
Kudos: 5,692
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers 11 Feb 2013, 08:48
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi rajathpanta,

Which question you are referring to. The main question of the post or your specific question. If it is your specific question, the please let me know which one.

Vercules
User avatar
Vercules
User avatar
Joined: 23 Dec 2010
Last visit: 07 Aug 2019
Posts: 440
Own Kudos:
5,692
 [3]
Given Kudos: 82
Status:Making every effort to create original content for you!!
Location: United States
Concentration: Healthcare, Social Entrepreneurship
Schools: Kenan-Flagler '15 (A) McCombs '15 (I) Tepper '15 (M) Kellogg '15 (I) HBS '15 (D) Wharton '15 (D) Stern '15 (WL) Simon '15 (A)
GMAT 1: 660 Q48 V34
GMAT 2: 750 Q49 V42
Expert
Expert reply
Schools: Kenan-Flagler '15 (A) McCombs '15 (I) Tepper '15 (M) Kellogg '15 (I) HBS '15 (D) Wharton '15 (D) Stern '15 (WL) Simon '15 (A)
GMAT 2: 750 Q49 V42
Posts: 440
Kudos: 5,692
 [3]
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers 11 Feb 2013, 11:12
3
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
rajathpanta
Vercules
Hi rajathpanta,

Which question you are referring to. The main question of the post or your specific question. If it is your specific question, the please let me know which one.

Vercules

To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic detriments of fertility.

(A) have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic
(B) have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical
(C) would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical
(D) would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economic
(E) would have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economical

Here, why is would used?? I wanted to understand that as per your explanation given.
Show more

Hi rajathpanta,

In my last explanation I did not discuss hypothetical would, but a few rules related to would. I guess that you are confused because you are not able to find any conditional construct in the question above. The hypothetical would is used based on the context of the sentence. In almost all the questions which test standard conditional constructs "if then" constructions are used.

See the below question from OG12 which uses the conditional if x happened, then y would happen.

Q 67) Affording strategic proximity to the Strait of Gibraltar,.......

In the question above hypothetical conditional would is used. The sentence expresses a hypothetical situation, which needs a hypothetical conditional would. But, the incorrect answers are incorrect for different reasons, other than the use of would.

The question does not really test your knowledge on conditionals if you solve it by POC. The following question will also have the correct answer as (D). I have just made a change in option (D) ( "would have to" to "have to")

To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic detriments of fertility.

(A) have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic
(B) have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical
(C) would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical
(D) have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economic
(E) would have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economical


Correct choice is (D) because other options are wrong for clear grammatical and contextual errors; Although, "would have to know" will be better because the hypothetical situation is being discussed

The same conditional is tested in the following OG question;

Q 16) Retail sales rose 0.8 of 1 percent in August,
intensifying expectations that personal spending.....

I hope the above explanation helps,

Vercules
User avatar
Thoughtosphere
User avatar
Joined: 02 Jul 2012
Last visit: 24 Nov 2021
Posts: 149
Own Kudos:
795
 [3]
Given Kudos: 84
Location: India
Schools: IIMC  (A)
GMAT 1: 720 Q50 V38
GPA: 2.6
WE:Information Technology (Consulting)
Products:
My Reviews
Schools: IIMC  (A)
GMAT 1: 720 Q50 V38
Posts: 149
Kudos: 795
 [3]
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers 20 Sep 2014, 08:07
3
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic determinants of fertility.

A. have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic - Since it is a hypothetical situation, a conditional clause must be used. Economic is correct
B. have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical - Hypothetical Situation + Economical is wrong
C. would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical - Would Have is correct. Economical is wrong.
D. would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economic - Correct
E. would have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economical - Illogical Comparison between knowledge and Time (Now). Economical is wrong

Economic - Is used to refer to general general economy
Economical is used for cost wise reference. E.g. Product X is economical (not economic)
 1   2   3   
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7443 posts
GMATNinjaTwo
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
231 posts
miag
188 posts