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Scientists have found new evidence

by AnjaliOberoi » Thu May 15, 2014 7:36 pm
Scientists have found new evidence of people initially registering emotions like sadness or anger in much the same way as heartburn-by monitoring what's going on within their bodies.

(A) of people initially registering emotions like sadness or anger in much the same way as
(B) of people initially registering emotions such as sadness or anger much the same as experiencing
(C) that people initially register emotions such as sadness or anger in much the same way as they experience
(D) that a person initially registers emotions such as sadness or anger much the same way as experiencing
(E) that a person initially registers emotions like sadness or anger much the same as

Although i have filtered out the options and according to me the answer is C but "they" sounds ambiguous to me.
I am not able to make out that whether "they" is going to people or scientist. Can anyone help me to understand the usage of "they" in the above question.

Thanks
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by aditya8062 » Thu May 15, 2014 8:57 pm
but "they" sounds ambiguous to me.
pronoun ambiguity is never a issue. in fact without "they" this sentence would be wrong as it will not be parallel ."they" is referring to "people" and not to "scientists"
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by ceilidh.erickson » Fri May 16, 2014 9:56 am
aditya8062 wrote:
but "they" sounds ambiguous to me.
pronoun ambiguity is never a issue. in fact without "they" this sentence would be wrong as it will not be parallel ."they" is referring to "people" and not to "scientists"
This is not strictly true. Pronoun ambiguity is sometimes an issue, but sometimes ignored. Consider two OG cases:

#68 in V2 tests the ambiguity: "... the new telecommunications company has not only captured customers from other phone companies but also forced them to offer competitive prices" - considered INCORRECT, and corrected in the OA.

#21 in V2 allows the ambiguity: "While depressed property values can hurt some large investors, they are potentially devastating for homeowners..." - considered CORRECT

The test writers might argue that the meaning in the first case is unclear, while in the second it is clear. I think that's certainly debatable. All we can do is be aware of the rule, but know that for the most part, it isn't tested. Deal with all other grammar issues first.
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by ceilidh.erickson » Fri May 16, 2014 9:58 am
For more on pronoun ambiguity, see:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/hawaiian-t270401.html#696438
https://www.beatthegmat.com/bear-markets ... tml#549435
https://www.beatthegmat.com/declaration- ... tml#539397
https://www.beatthegmat.com/parallel-and ... tml#581362
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by e-GMAT » Mon May 19, 2014 12:15 pm
AnjaliOberoi wrote:Scientists have found new evidence of people initially registering emotions like sadness or anger in much the same way as heartburn-by monitoring what's going on within their bodies.

(A) of people initially registering emotions like sadness or anger in much the same way as
(B) of people initially registering emotions such as sadness or anger much the same as experiencing
(C) that people initially register emotions such as sadness or anger in much the same way as they experience
(D) that a person initially registers emotions such as sadness or anger much the same way as experiencing
(E) that a person initially registers emotions like sadness or anger much the same as

Although i have filtered out the options and according to me the answer is C but "they" sounds ambiguous to me.
I am not able to make out that whether "they" is going to people or scientist. Can anyone help me to understand the usage of "they" in the above question.

Thanks
Hi @AnjaliOberoi,

Thanks for posting this question. I'm happy to help with your doubt. :-)

First, let's do the error analysis for this sentence.

Error Analysis

There are no subject-verb, verb tense, modifier or pronoun errors in the sentence.

However, this sentence has a comparison error. It also has two idiom errors, but let's focus on the comparison issue since that's what we need to look at to address your question on the use of 'they'.

Comparison Error: The phrase 'same as' is a comparison marker, meaning that the two entities it compares should be both logically and grammatically similar. These are the two elements compared in the original sentence:

"¢ People initially registering emotions like sadness or anger in much the same way as heartburn.

Now, 'people initially registering emotions like sadness or anger' is in no way parallel to 'heartburn'. 'Heartburn' can be parallel to 'emotions like sadness or anger', since both are noun entities. However, this comparison is clearly not intended by the sentence. The phrase 'in much the same way' tells us that the author obviously wants to refer to a WAY in which something happens. In other words, the author wants to convey an ACTION. 'Heartburn' is not an action; it's a thing. Clearly, there are some elements missing in the way the comparison has been structured.

Let's see how the correct answer resolves this error.

Process of Elimination: Option A Versus Option C

Option A: INCORRECT as discussed in the error analysis.

Option C: CORRECT.

Comparison: The clause people initially register emotions such as sadness or anger is perfectly parallel to the clause as they experience heartburn. This also takes care of the pronoun issue that you were concerned about. Since "they" is clearly parallel to "people" in this option, it must refer to "people". There is no other possible logical antecedent for this pronoun, thanks to the perfectly parallel comparison in this option.

I hope this analysis helps! Let me know if you have doubts about any of the other options. :-)

Regards,
Meghna
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by GMATGuruNY » Tue May 20, 2014 7:55 am
AnjaliOberoi wrote:Scientists have found new evidence of people initially registering emotions like sadness or anger in much the same way as heartburn-by monitoring what's going on within their bodies.

(A) of people initially registering emotions like sadness or anger in much the same way as
(B) of people initially registering emotions such as sadness or anger much the same as experiencing
(C) that people initially register emotions such as sadness or anger in much the same way as they experience
(D) that a person initially registers emotions such as sadness or anger much the same way as experiencing
(E) that a person initially registers emotions like sadness or anger much the same as

Although i have filtered out the options and according to me the answer is C but "they" sounds ambiguous to me.
I am not able to make out that whether "they" is going to people or scientist. Can anyone help me to understand the usage of "they" in the above question.

Thanks
Context matters.
In the OA, if they serves to refer to scientists, we get the following:
People initially register emotions such as sadness or anger in much the same way as scientists experience heartburn.
No reasonable reader is going to interpret the sentence this way.

In general, the default referent for a subject pronoun is the subject of the nearest preceding clause.
The OA abides by this principle, since they (subject pronoun) serves to refer to people (the subject of the nearest preceding clause).
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by Saggii27 » Wed May 21, 2014 12:01 pm
e-GMAT wrote:
AnjaliOberoi wrote:Scientists have found new evidence of people initially registering emotions like sadness or anger in much the same way as heartburn-by monitoring what's going on within their bodies.

(A) of people initially registering emotions like sadness or anger in much the same way as
(B) of people initially registering emotions such as sadness or anger much the same as experiencing
(C) that people initially register emotions such as sadness or anger in much the same way as they experience
(D) that a person initially registers emotions such as sadness or anger much the same way as experiencing
(E) that a person initially registers emotions like sadness or anger much the same as

Although i have filtered out the options and according to me the answer is C but "they" sounds ambiguous to me.
I am not able to make out that whether "they" is going to people or scientist. Can anyone help me to understand the usage of "they" in the above question.

Thanks
Hi @AnjaliOberoi,

Thanks for posting this question. I'm happy to help with your doubt. :-)

First, let's do the error analysis for this sentence.

Error Analysis

There are no subject-verb, verb tense, modifier or pronoun errors in the sentence.

However, this sentence has a comparison error. It also has two idiom errors, but let's focus on the comparison issue since that's what we need to look at to address your question on the use of 'they'.

Comparison Error: The phrase 'same as' is a comparison marker, meaning that the two entities it compares should be both logically and grammatically similar. These are the two elements compared in the original sentence:

"¢ People initially registering emotions like sadness or anger in much the same way as heartburn.

Now, 'people initially registering emotions like sadness or anger' is in no way parallel to 'heartburn'. 'Heartburn' can be parallel to 'emotions like sadness or anger', since both are noun entities. However, this comparison is clearly not intended by the sentence. The phrase 'in much the same way' tells us that the author obviously wants to refer to a WAY in which something happens. In other words, the author wants to convey an ACTION. 'Heartburn' is not an action; it's a thing. Clearly, there are some elements missing in the way the comparison has been structured.

Let's see how the correct answer resolves this error.

Process of Elimination: Option A Versus Option C

Option A: INCORRECT as discussed in the error analysis.

Option C: CORRECT.

Comparison: The clause people initially register emotions such as sadness or anger is perfectly parallel to the clause as they experience heartburn. This also takes care of the pronoun issue that you were concerned about. Since "they" is clearly parallel to "people" in this option, it must refer to "people". There is no other possible logical antecedent for this pronoun, thanks to the perfectly parallel comparison in this option.

I hope this analysis helps! Let me know if you have doubts about any of the other options. :-)

Regards,
Meghna


why is explosion and emission independent here?
why not cause(exposion) effect(radiation)

can you please explain?
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by Saggii27 » Wed May 21, 2014 12:02 pm
e-GMAT wrote:
AnjaliOberoi wrote:Scientists have found new evidence of people initially registering emotions like sadness or anger in much the same way as heartburn-by monitoring what's going on within their bodies.

(A) of people initially registering emotions like sadness or anger in much the same way as
(B) of people initially registering emotions such as sadness or anger much the same as experiencing
(C) that people initially register emotions such as sadness or anger in much the same way as they experience
(D) that a person initially registers emotions such as sadness or anger much the same way as experiencing
(E) that a person initially registers emotions like sadness or anger much the same as

Although i have filtered out the options and according to me the answer is C but "they" sounds ambiguous to me.
I am not able to make out that whether "they" is going to people or scientist. Can anyone help me to understand the usage of "they" in the above question.

Thanks
Hi @AnjaliOberoi,

Thanks for posting this question. I'm happy to help with your doubt. :-)

First, let's do the error analysis for this sentence.

Error Analysis

There are no subject-verb, verb tense, modifier or pronoun errors in the sentence.

However, this sentence has a comparison error. It also has two idiom errors, but let's focus on the comparison issue since that's what we need to look at to address your question on the use of 'they'.

Comparison Error: The phrase 'same as' is a comparison marker, meaning that the two entities it compares should be both logically and grammatically similar. These are the two elements compared in the original sentence:

"¢ People initially registering emotions like sadness or anger in much the same way as heartburn.

Now, 'people initially registering emotions like sadness or anger' is in no way parallel to 'heartburn'. 'Heartburn' can be parallel to 'emotions like sadness or anger', since both are noun entities. However, this comparison is clearly not intended by the sentence. The phrase 'in much the same way' tells us that the author obviously wants to refer to a WAY in which something happens. In other words, the author wants to convey an ACTION. 'Heartburn' is not an action; it's a thing. Clearly, there are some elements missing in the way the comparison has been structured.

Let's see how the correct answer resolves this error.

Process of Elimination: Option A Versus Option C

Option A: INCORRECT as discussed in the error analysis.

Option C: CORRECT.

Comparison: The clause people initially register emotions such as sadness or anger is perfectly parallel to the clause as they experience heartburn. This also takes care of the pronoun issue that you were concerned about. Since "they" is clearly parallel to "people" in this option, it must refer to "people". There is no other possible logical antecedent for this pronoun, thanks to the perfectly parallel comparison in this option.

I hope this analysis helps! Let me know if you have doubts about any of the other options. :-)

Regards,
Meghna


why is explosion and emission independent here?
why not cause(exposion) effect(radiation)

can you please explain?
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by e-GMAT » Sat May 24, 2014 2:22 pm
Hi @Saggii27,
I would be happy to respond to your query, but I believe you may have posted the query in this thread that is actually meant for another question. Reason - I could not find any reference of explosion or radiation in this question. :(

If you have a doubt in this question, please feel free to edit your post and I will be happy to help.
Regards,
Payal
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