At the urging of aviation industry leaders, who believed that the airp

Question

Project SC Butler: Day 149: Sentence Correction (SC2) 
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At the urging of aviation industry leaders, who believed that the airplane  can only reach its full commercial potential if federal action were taken to improve  and maintain safety standards, the Air Commerce Act was passed into law on May 20, 1926.

(A) can only reach its full commercial potential if federal action were taken to improve

(B) could only reach its full commercial potential if federal action is taken to improve

(C) could only reach full commercial potential if taking federal action to improve

(D) could only reach its full commercial potential if federal action were taken to improve

(E) could only reach its full commercial potential if federal action would be taken for the improvement

generis · Accepted Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION  
  Project SC Butler: Day 149: Sentence Correction (SC2)

At the urging of aviation industry leaders, who believed that the airplane  can only reach its full commercial potential if federal action were taken to improve  and maintain safety standards, the Air Commerce Act was passed into law on May 20, 1926.

• i f federal action WERE taken  is constructed in the subjunctive
• the result clause, then, can only be in present conditional tense (would/could/might + bare infinitive)
--   Correct: If THIS thing were to happen, then THAT thing could happen  
--  Wrong : If THIS thing were to happen, then THAT thing "can" happen 
Eliminate A

• The year is 1926. We need a past tense verb.
• option B uses "is." Only zero and Type 1 conditionals (general truths and predictions made in the present, respectively) can use simple present in the IF clause
• This situation is not a general truth or a prediction made in the present 
• Wrong: If THIS thing happens, then THAT thing IS 
Eliminate B

(C) could only reach full commercial potential if  taking  federal action to improve  
•  If taking federal action to improve  does not have a working verb
• the meaning is silly—read carefully. It sounds as though the airplane  itself  is taking federal action
Eliminate C

• Spot on.
If federal action WERE taken, then the airline could reach its full potential. 
KEEP

• modal verbs never go in the IF clause
Wrong:  If  federal action  would  be taken . . .
• not parallel.
In the non-underlined portion we have  maintain.  Maintain and improvement are not parallel.
"Improve," as in correction option D, is parallel to maintain. 
 Eliminate E.

The answer is D

• NOTES

We have a hypothetical in the past.
The aviation leaders hypothesized that if the federal government were to take action, "the airplane" (air travel)  could  reach its full potential.

We need 
IF THIS thing were to happen, then THAT thing would / could happen.

Option D gives us that structure.

COMMENTS

This one will be short.
For a good source about conditionals and hypotheticals, take a look at  THIS POST.

If your explanation . . . explained, then you get kudos.

Ashokshiva · Answer

IMO D

At the urging of aviation industry leaders, who believed that the airplane  can only reach its full commercial potential if federal action were taken to improve  and maintain safety standards, the Air Commerce Act was passed into law on May 20, 1926.

If "if clause" is in past tense then the "independent clause" can take the words "could", "would", etc

Only option-D follows this rule

A)  can  only reach its full commercial potential if federal action  were  taken to improve

B)  could  only reach its full commercial potential if federal action  is  taken to improve

C) could only reach full commercial potential if  taking  federal action to improve

D)  could  only reach its full commercial potential if federal action  were taken  to improve

E) could only reach its full commercial potential if federal action  would be taken  for the improvement

Lampard42 · Answer

Can Vs Could - Could is required as the sentence is part of "Then clause"
The If clause will require a "were + action" Hypothetical situation

A) can only reach its full commercial potential if federal action were taken to improve -  Can - tense error Incorrect

B) could only reach its full commercial potential if federal action is taken to improve -  Is taken - tense error Incorrect

C) could only reach full commercial potential if taking federal action to improve -  if taking - no verb in if clause

D) could only reach its full commercial potential if federal action were taken to improve -  Correct

E) could only reach its full commercial potential if federal action would be taken for the improvement -  To improve and to maintain conveys the meaning better + would be tense error

J2S2019 · Answer

IMO correct option is D
 
At the urging of aviation industry leaders, who believed that the airplane can only reach its full commercial potential if federal action were taken to improve and maintain safety standards, the Air Commerce Act was passed into law on May 20, 1926.

Option A,B & C is not correct because of "can", "if were" portrays a correct hypothetical situation & could is the better option to employ here.

A)  can  only reach its full commercial potential if federal action were taken to improve - Incorrect

B) could only reach its full commercial potential if federal action  is  taken to improve - Incorrect

C) could only reach full commercial potential if  taking  federal action to improve - Incorrect

D) could only reach its full commercial potential if federal action were taken to improve  - Correct

E) could only reach its full commercial potential if federal action would be taken  for the improvement  - Incorrect - "the improvement" is not parallel with verb "maintain"

kunaldutt15 · Answer

Rule for If...then... constructions -
1. If simple present, then simple present/future
2. If simple past, then simple past or could/would
3. If past perfect, then would have verb

Correct answer is D.

At the urging of aviation industry leaders, who believed that the airplane can only reach its full commercial potential if federal action were taken to improve and maintain safety standards, the Air Commerce Act was passed into law on May 20, 1926.

A) can only reach its full commercial potential if federal action were taken to improve -  "could" should be used. (incorrect)

B) could only reach its full commercial potential if federal action is taken to improve -  with could simple past tense should be used in the if condition. (incorrect)

C) could only reach full commercial potential if taking federal action to improve -  "if taking" no verb is present (incorrect)

D) could only reach its full commercial potential if federal action were taken to improve -  (Correct)

E) could only reach its full commercial potential if federal action would be taken for the improvement -   with could, simple past tense should be used in the if condition. (incorrect)

Juliiiii · Answer

A) can only reach its full commercial potential if federal action were taken to improve
"Can" is incorrectly used here.

B) could only reach its full commercial potential if federal action is taken to improve
"is" is a wrong tense in the "if condition" sentence.

C) could only reach full commercial potential if taking federal action to improve
"taking" makes no sense

D) could only reach its full commercial potential if federal action were taken to improve
CORRECT

E) could only reach its full commercial potential if federal action would be taken for the improvement 
"would be" is wrong

ccheryn · Answer

At the urging of aviation industry leaders, who believed that the airplane can only reach its full commercial potential if federal action were taken to improve and maintain safety standards, the Air Commerce Act was passed into law on May 20, 1926.

A) can only reach its full commercial potential if federal action were taken to improve  ( if were , then could/would should be used, can is wrong)

B) could only reach its full commercial potential if federal action is taken to improve  ( conditional if + simple past , then could .so wrong if clause it should have was/were

C) could only reach full commercial potential if taking federal action to improve  ( wrong due to no verb in the if clause)

D) could only reach its full commercial potential if federal action were taken to improve  ( correct ussage, in the if clause if it is hypothesis or wish ( then subjunctive) then were should be used. and if were, then could is perfect usage hence correct choice)

( one doubt here, this condition is only in past tense right, whether it works in present tense and future tense also???????)

E) could only reach its full commercial potential if federal action would be taken for the improvement  ( if construction is wrong. would be wont come in if clause)

XyLan · Answer

Sentence Structure Subject - Verb At the urging of aviation industry leaders, who( aviation industry leaders ) believed that the airplane could only reach its full commercial potential if federal action were taken to improve and maintain safety standards, the Air Commerce Act was passed into law on May 20, 1926. Issues: A prediction-done in the present mandates the usage of WILL/CAN/MAY. - Depends on the context. A prediction-done in the past mandates the usage of WOULD/COULD/MIGHT. - Depends on the context. A hypothetical-situation/wish demands the usage of base-form of the verb. Ex: If I were the God of thunder, I would annihilate Thanos, The Mad Titan, using the storm-breaker. A, B and E Improper verb-form Answer choice analysis: A) can only reach its full commercial potential if federal action were taken to improve Improper verb-form B) could only reach its full commercial potential if federal action is taken to improve Improper verb-form C) could only reach full commercial potential if taking federal action to improve Missing verb-form D) could only reach its full commercial potential if federal action were taken to improve Great. D is the champ! E) could only reach its full commercial potential if federal action would be taken for the improvement Improper verb-form TakeAway: A couple of useful links to sharpen the concept - https://gmatclub.com/forum/my-notes-sub ... l#p2160792 https://www.dominatethegmat.com/2013/10 ... tive-mood/ https://www.kaptest.com/study/gmat/gmat ... bjunctive/ https://www.prepscholar.com/gmat/blog/s ... mood-gmat/

Annet1524 · Answer

At the urging of aviation industry leaders, who believed that the airplane can only reach its full commercial potential if federal action were taken to improve and maintain safety standards, the Air Commerce Act was passed into law on May 20, 1926.

A)  can  only reach its full commercial potential if federal action were taken to improve

B) could only reach its full commercial potential if federal action  is  taken to improve

C) could only reach full commercial potential if  taking  federal action to improve

D) could only reach its full commercial potential if federal action were taken to improve -  correct conditional tense

E) could only reach its full commercial potential if federal action  would be  taken for the improvement

Prashanthr · Answer

Federal action is singular so a, d gone, c is awkard, e distorts parallelism in improving, hence, b is the answer

Posted from my mobile device

generis · Answer

I have posted the official explanation  HERE

SALAKSHYA · Answer

Hi, I have doubt regarding construction of answer choices. doesn't  could only reach full commercial potential if   mean that if the federal government were to take action then airline will reach only full commercial potential, nothing else. I think better construction  could be could reach full potential only if

PgRaul · Answer

Is federal action singular or plural? Shouldn't it be was instead of were in option D?

TryingToAceVerbal · Answer

Did not know that we are allowed to use "could" instead of "would". Are there any other words that are allowed for subjunctive type 2 and type 3?

At the urging of aviation industry leaders, who believed that the airp

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

At the urging of aviation industry leaders, who believed that the airp

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