Unlike most severance packages, whiich require workers to stay until the last day scheduled to collect, workers at the automobile company are eligible for its severance package even if they find a new job before they are terminated.

A) the last day scheduled to collect, workers at the automobile company are eligible for its severance package.
B) the last day they are scheduled to collect, workers are eligible for it at the automobile company's severance package.
C) their last scheduled day to collect, the automobile company offers its severance package to workers.
D) their last scheduled day in order to collect, the automobile company's severance package is available to workers.
E) the last day that they are scheduled to collect, the automobile company's severance package is available to workers

Can MGMAT tutors pleas explain between D, E. Specifically the Pronoun issue.

Saurabh Malpani

Ron, why did you move this to General SC forum. This is from GMAT PREP and not from 1000 SC.

I Searched this in question in GMAT PREP folder but didn't find it that's why I posted this in this forum. I didn't know that this is also a part of 1000 SC.

I will upload the image from GMAT PREP

Saurabh Malpani

dude!
http://thousandsc.blogspot.com/2006/04/qn996.html




if this is gmatprep, please do upload the image, and i'll move this thread back to that folder. i don't think 1000sc has ever been caught lifting questions before - iiiiiiiinteresting...

Ron,

I am sorry but I don't lie :) and I don't study from 1000SC also--I am A CORE MGMAT fan. Here you go!!!

I am glad to hear you don't study from 1000SC - it's pulled together from all kinds of sources and some are downright bad. And, hmmm, now that we have proof they've lifted from OG / GMATPrep, we might just have to ban that source too... geez, don't any of these guys write their own questions anymore? If you're really into standardized tests, it's a disgrace not to make your own - especially b/c it's fun to write questions! (If you're us, that is :)

Anyway, to your original question. Since you narrowed to D and E, I'm assuming you don't need any explanation on the apples-to-apples comparison issue. The difference between D and E is one of meaning.

D says that some severance packages require workers to stay at the company until the last scheduled day they're supposed to work (say, next Friday) or they don't get their severance (which may get paid that day or at some point in the future - we don't know).

E says that some severance packages require workers to stay until the day that they are scheduled to get their money - in other words, they stay until, say, next Friday which is the day that they are actually paid.

Either could be the way things work (though D is probably more realistic, but we don't pay attention to that on SC). So we check the meaning of the original sentence. The original says that these packages "require workers to stay until the last day scheduled to collect..." Could be confusing, because that's grammatically incorrect in general, which muddles the meaning, but concentrate on "require workers to stay until the last day scheduled" - that goes along with option D. The "to collect" here is missing "in order" which makes it a little harder to see what's going on.

But notice in E how it separates out the later clause - "the last day THAT they are scheduled to collect" - making this into a separate statement, so now "scheduled" is paired with "to collect" instead of "last day scheduled" or (as in correct answer D) "last scheduled day."

_________________
Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director of Online Community
ManhattanGMAT

What's wrong with the grammar here.

if you say "the last day that they are scheduled to collect", this means that "day" must be a direct object.

this makes no sense, unless the employees are collecting days (which they clearly aren't).

--

another example:

"the time that we were scheduled to meet" is incorrect. the literal reading of this (which is the only reading you care about, by the way) is that you were scheduled to meet the time itself. (ron: "hi, time!" time: "hi, ron!")

(in case you're wondering, the correct way to say this would be "the time at which we were scheduled to meet", since the preposition "at" must be conserved.)

Is D the correct answer , the OA is E . Please clarify.

OA: D

it's (d), not (e).