pronoun Issue

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pronoun Issue

by gauravgundal » Sat Apr 16, 2011 6:48 pm
Though the law will require emissions testing of all diesel vehicles, from tractor trailers to excursion buses, it will have no effect on sport utility vehicles, almost all of which are gasoline powered, and will not be subjected to emissions-control standards as stringent as they are for
diesel-powered vehicles.
A. powered, and will not be subjected to emissions-control standards as stringent as they are for
B. powered, and therefore not subjected to emissions-control standards that are as stringent as those of
C. powered and therefore not subject to emissions-control standards as stringent as those for
D. powered, which are not subject to emissions-control standards as stringent as they are for
E. powered and therefore they are not subject to emissions-control standards as stringent as those of

[spoiler]OA: C[/spoiler]
[spoiler]IMO: E[/spoiler]

I was able to cross out answer choice A and D, but found it difficult to get down to correct answer C.
Reason to cross out answer B: The comma + and indicates parallelism that result into deducing that
law will have no effect ......, and therefore not subjected (means law will not be subjected) -- This is incorrect as author wants to say that SUV(sport utility vehicles) will not be subjected ...

From answer choice c and e: I thought that it will be better if we put/use a pronoun as show in answer choice E 'they' -- (SUV)the meaning will be properly conveyed.

But I am confused whether we can use pronoun after therefore for such kind of example where the two clauses are connected by word and.

Please clarify the use of pronoun after therefore in such example and help me out to clarify my doubt regarding why answer choice E is wrong.

Source : GMAT Test paper set 25

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by sudhir3127 » Sun Apr 17, 2011 12:38 am
I think you also need to look at "Those of" and "Those for".. And I believe those for is the right usage here..

A is out - usage of "they"
D is out- which
BE - usage of "Those of"
E also has a problem with "They"

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by lunarpower » Tue Apr 19, 2011 6:23 am
@ gauravgundal,
the pronoun itself isn't the issue -- it's quite clear from context that "they" must stand for sport utility vehicles. this is good enough; we do not require total and complete lack of pronoun ambiguity (i.e., it is ok if there are other plural nouns in the sentence, as long as the referent of the pronoun is eminently clear from context.)

the issue in choice (e) is parallelism; that choice is trying to place the following two constructions in parallel:
almost all of which are gasoline-powered
they are not subject to emissions-control standards

these don't work in parallel, for two different reasons:
* first, it's not okay to put a relative pronoun (which/that/those/etc) in parallel with a normal pronoun (they/it/etc);
* second, you can't put a modifier in parallel with an entire clause; modifiers must be parallel to other modifiers, while clauses must be parallel to other clauses.
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by Carl Incognito » Tue Apr 19, 2011 7:03 am
Just to clarify, @lunarpower, you're only referring to the usage of 'they' in option E, right? A and D both use 'they' incorrectly to refer to the emission-control standards. And your explanation of parallelism in option E is spot on! Thanks!
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by lunarpower » Tue Apr 19, 2011 8:15 pm
Carl Incognito wrote:Just to clarify, @lunarpower, you're only referring to the usage of 'they' in option E, right? A and D both use 'they' incorrectly to refer to the emission-control standards. And your explanation of parallelism in option E is spot on! Thanks!
correct, i was referring only to choice (e).
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by Target2009 » Tue Apr 19, 2011 8:58 pm
IMO-C. Nice question somehow managed it. :)
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