| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
tar.goyal
Rising GMAT Star
Joined: 28 Jan 2008
Posts: 50
Thanks given: 0
Thanked 1 times in 1 posts
Target GMAT Score: 720
|
 Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 10:14 am Post subject: SC1 |
 |
|
Although the manager agreed to a more flexible work schedule, he said that it must be posted on the bulletin board so that both management and labor will know what everyone is assigned to do.
(A) he said that it must be posted on the bulletin board so that both management and labor will know what everyone is
(B) he said it had to be posted on the bulletin board so that both management and labor knows what everyone is
(C) he said that they would have to post the assignments on the bulletin board so that management and labor knew what everyone was
(D) he said that the schedule would have to be posted on the bulletin board so that both management and labor would know what everyone was
(E) saying that the schedule had to be posted on the bulletin board so that both management and labor would know what everyone had been
The answer is A.
_________________
I have started to realize that I am the one!!! |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
|
|
netigen
GMAT Destroyer!
Joined: 18 Feb 2008
Posts: 633
Thanks given: 3
Thanked 23 times in 23 posts
|
| Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 12:09 pm Post subject: |
|
|
B out because of 'had' as posting will happen after he agreed
C has pronoun issue "they"
D out because have is used for singular verb schedule
E out - what is "saying" modifying |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
lunarpower
GMAT Instructor
Joined: 03 Mar 2008
Posts: 504
Thanks given: 0
Thanked 63 times in 61 posts
GMAT Score: 800
|
| Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 11:37 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| netigen wrote: | B out because of 'had' as posting will happen after he agreed
C has pronoun issue "they"
D out because have is used for singular verb schedule
E out - what is "saying" modifying |
the past tense in choice b is acceptable, as long as the rest of the verbs in the sentence are consistent with it. the problem isn't so much 'had' by itself, but, rather, the inconsistency between 'had' and 'is'.
however,
the problem that should be MUCH MORE OBVIOUS in choice (b) is the mismatch between the compound subject 'both management and labor' and the singular verb 'knows'. the compound subject is plural, and so it requires a plural verb.
your explanations for choices (c) and (e) are perfect. on choice (e), you can point out an even stronger fact: choice (e) isn't a sentence at all. (the entire thing would constitute a giant modifier.)
the only thing that's actually mistaken in these explanations is choice (d), because the verb is 'would have' - which is perfectly good as either a singular or a plural verb ('would', like almost all other past-tense forms in english, doesn't conjugate).
in fact, both choices (a) and (d) are legitimate sentences.
- both sets of verb tenses are mutually consistent - and the non-underlined context provides no 'anchor points' to help us resolve what the verb tenses should be, so either set of verb tenses is fine
- if you have to strike one of the choices, then strike (d) and go with (a), for reasons of concision.
- i'm assuming this isn't a gmatprep problem...? after all, when official problems are predicated on concision, the differences between the concise and non-concise versions are normally more stark than the differences between (a) and (d) here.
_________________
ron purewal
instructor, mgmat
Learn more about me |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
s_raizada
Really wants to Beat The GMAT!
Joined: 27 Mar 2008
Posts: 146
Thanks given: 2
Thanked 0 times in 0 posts
|
| Posted: Sat May 17, 2008 11:59 am Post subject: |
|
|
B - subject verb error 'management and labor knows'
C - pronoun error. who are 'they'
D - certian vs uncertain error. In the original sentence author says 'must be' where as in this sentence use of 'would' reflect uncertainity. Remember certain vs uncertain rule from Manhatten SC book. Another problem with this sentence is the tense in clause 'what everyone was assignmend to do'. Concision is also a problem in this sentence.
E - sentence fragement
A - correct one |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
lunarpower
GMAT Instructor
Joined: 03 Mar 2008
Posts: 504
Thanks given: 0
Thanked 63 times in 61 posts
GMAT Score: 800
|
| Posted: Sun May 18, 2008 12:54 am Post subject: |
|
|
| s_raizada wrote: | In the original sentence author says 'must be' where as in this sentence use of 'would' reflect uncertainity. Remember certain vs uncertain rule from Manhatten SC book.
|
you're correct that the use of 'would', in certain contexts, can signal uncertainty. however, the uncertainty factor is generally limited to those cases in which 'would' indicates a hypothetical - usually when it's paired with an 'if' clause.
in this case, the use of 'would' is of a different variety: 'would' is also the past tense of 'will'. therefore, the sentence
he said/says that the schedule will have to be posted on the bulletin board so that both management and labor will know what everyone is assigned to do
is legitimately rendered into the past tense as
he said that the schedule would have to be posted on the bulletin board so that both management and labor would know what everyone was assigned to do
note that nothing in either of these sentences is hypothetical, and each of them is internally consistent.
therefore, there are only two really good reasons to choose (a) over (d):
1) it's more concise
2) it's never wise to alter the meaning of the original sentence (i.e., if the original is rendered in the present tense, and there's no good reason to change it into the past tense, then it should be left in the present tense).
#2 is actually a better reason than #1, because clarity / preservation of meaning ranks higher than concision in the SC hierarchy.
_________________
ron purewal
instructor, mgmat
Learn more about me |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You cannot download files in this forum
|
|
"GMAT" and other GMAC™ trademarks are registered trademarks of the Graduate Management Admission Council™. The Graduate Management Admission Council™ does not endorse, nor is it affiliated in any way with the owner or any content on this website. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author or those of the members of this website. Copyright © 2008 BTG Test Prep, LLC. Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group.
|
|
