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Hi aaba,

Another great question! Let's go through the answers, one problem at a time, and narrow things down to (hopefully) one correct answer!

The main differences between each answer seem to be pronoun-related. Let's look at two common problems with pronouns: pronoun-antecedent agreement and vague pronouns. By doing this, we should be able to narrow down our answers quickly.

A. to their new customers all the costs, including taxes, that they will be expected to pay.

Answer A is INCORRECT because the pronoun "they" is too vague - it's not clear if "they" is referring to the cable companies or the customers.

B. to their new customers all the costs, including taxes, that the customers will be expected to pay.

This is CORRECT because the pronoun "their" is plural and agrees with its plural antecedent "cable companies." It also doesn't have any unclear or vague pronouns at the end, making it very clear who will be paying.

C. to its new customers all the costs, including taxes, that they will have to pay.

Answer C is INCORRECT because it uses the singular pronoun "its" to refer to the plural "cable companies." It also uses the vague pronoun "they," which means it's unclear if the cable companies or the customers are paying the costs.

D. to the companies' new customers all the costs, including taxes, that the companies have paid.

Answer D is INCORRECT because it changes the meaning of the original sentence. It ends by saying that cable companies will report the costs the cable companies paid, NOT what the customers will be paying.

E. to their new customers all the costs, including taxes, that its customers will be expected to pay.

Answer E is INCORRECT because it uses the singular pronoun "its" to refer back to the plural "cable companies."
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aaba
A new initiative requires that cable companies report to their new customers all the costs, including taxes, that the customers will be expected to pay.


A. to their new customers all the costs, including taxes, that they will be expected to pay.

B. to their new customers all the costs, including taxes, that the customers will be expected to pay.

C. to its new customers all the costs, including taxes, that they will have to pay.

D. to the companies' new customers all the costs, including taxes, that the companies have paid.

E. to their new customers all the costs, including taxes, that its customers will be expected to pay.

KAPLAN OFFICIAL EXPLANATION:



With two pronouns underlined, this sentence is likely to test your knowledge of proper pronoun usage. The pronoun their should refer to cable companies. Both items are plural and the referent of the pronoun is clear so all's well so far. Eliminate (C). Next, you have they in the final phrase of the sentence. Now, at this point, you've been given a lot of plural nouns, including companies, costs, taxes, and customers. While it's logical that customers is the intended referent of they, the sentence itself allows for some ambiguity (technically speaking, the companies could be the ones expected to pay these costs). Where a pronoun is ambiguous, a pronoun is used incorrectly. Eliminate (A), and take out (E) as well since its certainly doesn't help matters any: What singular subject could its logically and usefully refer to? Of your remaining options, you can remove (D) from consideration because changing the verb to have paid unnecessarily distorts the meaning of the original sentence. (B) survives.
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Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

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