Unlike most severance packages, whiich require workers to

[ecisn33186]

The reason I chose (D) over (E) is because of meaning. For me, (D), like (A)-(C), seems to say that the workers are required to stay until the last day they are able to collect money; (D), on the other hand, says that they are required to stay until the last day they are scheduled to work.

[RonPurewal]

The reason I chose (D) over (E) is because of meaning. For me, (D), like (A)-(C), seems to say that the workers are required to stay until the last day they are able to collect money; (D), on the other hand, says that they are required to stay until the last day they are scheduled to work.

Choice D says "their last scheduled day".
"In order to collect" doesn't modify "last scheduled day". In fact, it can't, because "in order to ___" isn't allowed to describe nouns; it can only describe entire actions.
So, you know for sure that "in order to collect" is talking about the action of staying until the last day of work.

Choice E illogically suggests that the workers are collecting days (whatever that means), as addressed earlier in this thread.

[RonPurewal]

Cool.

[SohamM699]

Hi Manhattan staff

Was going through this thread and a question popped up.
the original sentence, after adding Ans choice D (correct Ans), will finally end up as

Unlike most severance packages, which require workers to stay until their last scheduled day in order to collect, the automobile company's severance package is available to workers even if they find a new job before they are terminated.

The "their" highlighted, can it be considered ambiguous as it may refer to the workers as well as the severance packages?

Thanks in advance

[RonPurewal]

DO NOT question the correct answers!

here's a handy FAQ:

Q: Is the correct answer correct?
A: Yes.

Q: Is the correct answer wrong?
A: No.

Q: I disagree with the correct answer. Who's wrong, me or GMAC?
A: You.

Q: I wrote this other version. Is it better than the correct answer?
A: No.

[RonPurewal]

also, two more things:

1/
common sense is integral here.
if something has one sensible interpretation and one nonsense interpretation, then ... it has one interpretation, not two. (in other words, absurd interpretations do not create 'ambiguity'.)

2/
this exam doesn't test 'pronoun ambiguity' in the first place.
if the correct noun is there, and it matches the pronoun (singular/plural), then the pronoun is fine.

[EnriqueE64]

Hey Ron,

I am having a hard time understanding what's wrong with answer C. I suspect it has to do with the absence of "in order", but wanted to confirm.

Thank you

[RonPurewal]

no, the problem with C is much, much more fundamental than that.

Unlike most severance packages ... the automobile company does xxxxx
oops... nonsense comparison.

since the sentence begins with 'Unlike', this should be THE FIRST THING you consider here. you can't miss this sort of thing.

[RonPurewal]

(A and B have the same issue)

[RichaChampion]

Ron Sir,

I also belive that "the last day" has a meaning issue in general.

As "the" is too definite it means that their is just one day in a month which can be treated as last day. However each employee may have a different day of a month that could be his last day.

So the presence of "their' is must, Isn't it?

[RonPurewal]

i suppose so -- but no problem will ever depend on anything nearly as subtle as that!

[RichaChampion]

i suppose so -- but no problem will ever depend on anything nearly as subtle as that!

Ok thanks sir.

[tim]

[RonPurewal]

you're welcome.

[naftalih93]

Hi Manhattan staff

Was going through this thread and a question popped up.
the original sentence, after adding Ans choice D (correct Ans), will finally end up as

Unlike most severance packages, which require workers to stay until their last scheduled day in order to collect, the automobile company's severance package is available to workers even if they find a new job before they are terminated.

The "their" highlighted, can it be considered ambiguous as it may refer to the workers as well as the severance packages?

Thanks in advance

Unlike most severance packages, which require workers to stay until the last day scheduled to collect, workers at the automobile company are eligible for its severance package even if they find a new job before they are terminated.


I read through all of the replies to this thread and still do not completely understand why this "their: pronoun is not considered ambiguous.
When narrowing down the choices, D and E are easily chosen.
However, on the CAT, I couldnt help but notice that they both have what appeared to be ambiguous pronouns:


D )their last scheduled day in order to collect, the automobile company's severance package is available to workers
- here "Their" seems like it can refer to both workers and packages,
E) the last day that they are scheduled to collect, the automobile company's severance package is available to workers
- here "they" can refer to both workers and packages.

My question:
1. Are these pronouns considered OK because the other nouns are would be nonsensical in their place?
2. Is it also true that when a pronoun refers to a noun that is in the same dependent clause, then the GMAT would consider it OK, even if another noun exists elsewhere in the independent clause?