Question

85 Find the part of the sentence that contains an error:

It remains unclear whether the board intends to implement the proposal (1)/ or if the statement was merely a strategic ploy (2)/aimed at appeasing shareholders (3)/ in light of the recent legal setbacks. (4)

• A. (1)
• B. (2)
• C. (3)
• D. (4)

Answer 1

Answer:

B. (2)

In formal English grammar, the construction "whether... or if" is considered redundant and improper when introducing alternative conditions. The Rule: The standard correlative conjunction pair is "whether... or" (or "whether... or whether"). Using if right after whether in a parallel clause creates a grammatical fault called faulty parallelism. How to Fix It: Incorrect: "It remains unclear whether the board intends to implement the proposal (1) / or if the statement was merely a strategic ploy (2)..." Correct: "It remains unclear whether the board intends to implement the proposal (1) / or whether the statement was merely a strategic ploy (2)..." (or simply: "...or the statement was merely...") So, part (2) contains the error because "or if" breaks the parallel structure started by "whether".