sc question

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sc question

by mkhanna » Sun Aug 30, 2009 8:28 am
Q) Despite recent increase in sales and cash flow that have propelled automotive companies' common stocks to new highs, several industry analysts expect automakers, in order to save money, [u]to set dividends more conservatively than they were. [/u]

A)to set dividends more conservatively than they were
B)to set dividends more conservatively than they have been
C) to be more conservative than they have been in setting dividends
D) that they will be more conservative than they were in setting dividends
E) that they will be more conservative than they have been to set dividends
Source: — Sentence Correction |

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by real2008 » Sun Aug 30, 2009 9:26 am
is it C

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Re: sc question

by crackgmat007 » Sun Aug 30, 2009 12:22 pm
mkhanna wrote:Q) Despite recent increase in sales and cash flow that have propelled automotive companies' common stocks to new highs, several industry analysts expect automakers, in order to save money, to set dividends more conservatively than they were.

A)to set dividends more conservatively than they were

they is ambigous - can refer to dividends or automakers

B)to set dividends more conservatively than they have been

they is ambigous - can refer to dividends or automakers

C) to be more conservative than they have been in setting dividends

correct

D) that they will be more conservative than they were in setting dividends

were is wrong tense. It must be have been

E) that they will be more conservative than they have been to set dividends

to set dividends must be in setting dividends
[/b]

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by BrianSmith » Sun Aug 30, 2009 11:43 pm
I seem to remember this question from GMATprep and I think it's B, not C. C seems a little awkward. How are you supposed to choose between awkwardness and ambiguity?

mkhanna can you provide OA?

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by mkhanna » Mon Aug 31, 2009 8:40 am
You're right Brian. This question is from a GMATprep test.

The correct answer is C.

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Explanation

by EMAN » Mon Aug 31, 2009 9:17 am
Can we get a detailed explanation (grammatical issues) explaining why C is correct? I can see why the other answers are wrong but do not understand exactly why C is correct.

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by mkhanna » Mon Aug 31, 2009 10:46 am
Sorry eman. I'm struggling for the explanation myself. :(

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