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akash singhal: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 152; Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2015 1:39 amFollowed by: 3 members; Location: Rourkela Odisha India; Thanked: 2 times; GMAT Score:650

by akash singhal » Sat Oct 17, 2015 9:39 pm

The analyst suggested that traders pay more attention to a broader measure of the money supply, known as M2, but still not to ignore standard indicators.

A. but still not to ignore
B. and not to ignore any longer
C. but that they still not ignore
D. and that they continue not to ignore
E. but they should still not ignore

Please explain. Correct ans: C

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Sat Oct 17, 2015 9:39 pm

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ceilidh.erickson: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2095; Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pmFollowed by: 247 members; Thanked: 1443 times

by ceilidh.erickson » Mon Oct 19, 2015 7:20 am

This question is testing PARALLELISM.

The analyst is suggesting that traders do 2 things: 1) pay more attention, 2) not ignore standard indicators. We have to make sure that both list elements work with the ROOT PHRASE "The analyst suggested..." We want a structure that reads "The analysts suggested that traders ____ but not ____."

Since only the second part is underlined, just check each answer choice against the root phrase:

A. The analysts suggested that traders ____ ... but still not to ignore... Not parallel.

B. The analysts suggested that traders ____ ... and not to ignore any longer... Not parallel.

C. The analysts suggested that traders ____ ... but that they still not ignore... Parallel!

D. The analysts suggested that traders ____ .... and that they continue not to ignore... Parallel, but the meaning changed. We want the contrast of "but," not "and."

E. The analysts suggested that traders ____ ... but they should still not ignore... Not parallel.

The answer is C.

Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education

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akash singhal: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 152; Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2015 1:39 amFollowed by: 3 members; Location: Rourkela Odisha India; Thanked: 2 times; GMAT Score:650

by akash singhal » Mon Oct 19, 2015 8:40 pm

ceilidh.erickson wrote:This question is testing PARALLELISM.

The analyst is suggesting that traders do 2 things: 1) pay more attention, 2) not ignore standard indicators. We have to make sure that both list elements work with the ROOT PHRASE "The analyst suggested..." We want a structure that reads "The analysts suggested that traders ____ but not ____."

Since only the second part is underlined, just check each answer choice against the root phrase:

A. The analysts suggested that traders ____ ... but still not to ignore... Not parallel.

B. The analysts suggested that traders ____ ... and not to ignore any longer... Not parallel.

C. The analysts suggested that traders ____ ... but that they still not ignore... Parallel!

D. The analysts suggested that traders ____ .... and that they continue not to ignore... Parallel, but the meaning changed. We want the contrast of "but," not "and."

E. The analysts suggested that traders ____ ... but they should still not ignore... Not parallel.

The answer is C.

I get this is about parallelism but my approach was since 'they' in C,D and E pointed back to the analysts (because of plausible parallelism) i eliminated C,D and E while then A and B didnt make any sense. Am I right?
If and,but and or is followed by a pronoun then its antecedent is the subject of the previous independent sentence irrespective of the other plural nouns(no ambiguity).

For Ex.. Although badgers have a history of terrorizing foxes,wolves and mountain lions,they are known to hide when approached by rabbits.
Here bold parts are all perfect antecedent candidates for 'they' but because of plausible parallelism 'they' only refers to the 'badgers',its rightful antecedent.
Please explain my mistake in reasoning..

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ceilidh.erickson: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2095; Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pmFollowed by: 247 members; Thanked: 1443 times

by ceilidh.erickson » Tue Oct 20, 2015 8:01 am

Pronoun ambiguity is a tricky topic.

In the example that you gave, the THEY would be referring to badgers. The contrast in the sentence only makes sense if badgers terrorize certain animals but hide from others. Because THEY is performing the action in the second clause, it makes most sense for it to be replacing the SUBJECT (badgers) from the first clause.

In the sentence about traders and analysts, though, I think the structure is different. If we say "Analysts suggest that traders ____ but that they not ____," the THEY is in a subordinate clause beginning with "that" just as "traders" was prior. The structure "suggest THAT _______ but THAT _______" implies that we want the subordinate clauses to be parallel to each other. Thus, it makes more sense / is more parallel for THEY to replace TRADERS.

Did that clarify it?

Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education

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