In the 1950s, when the Chrysler Corporation sponsored a live televisio

Question

In the 1950s, when the Chrysler Corporation sponsored a live television show about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln,  it forbade the actors to mention Lincoln’s name or the name of the Ford Theater because it  did not want to plug the competition.

(A) it forbade the actors to mention Lincoln’s name or the name of the Ford Theater because it
(B) they forbade the actors from mentioning Lincoln or the Ford Theater because they
(C) it was forbidden to mention Lincoln or the Ford Theater as they
(D) the actors were forbidden to mention Lincoln’s name or the name of the Ford Theater because they
(E) the actors were forbidden from mentioning Lincoln or the Ford Theater, since they

daagh · Accepted Answer

The critical issue is what the pronoun 'they' in the second leg refers to. 
It can refer to neither the Chrysler nor the Ford Theater, as both are singular. We cannot also logically justify that the actors forbade themselves. Therefore the use of the plural 'they' is wrong and choices B through E are out. 
A is the correct one.

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem: 
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that when the Chrysler Corporation sponsored a live television show about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, it forbade the actors to mention Lincoln’s name or the name of the Ford Theater.

Concepts tested here: Pronouns + Meaning + Verb Forms + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• For referring to the purpose or intent of an action, the infinitive verb form (“to + base form of verb” – “to + mention” in this sentence) is preferred over the present participle verb form ("verb+ing" – “mentioning” in this sentence).

A:   Correct.  This answer choice correctly uses the singular pronoun “it” to refer to the singular noun “Chrysler Corporation”. Further, Option A uses the phrases "it forbade the actors", “Lincoln’s name”, and “the Ford Theater”, conveying the intended meaning- that when the Chrysler Corporation sponsored a live television show about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, it forbade the actors to mention Lincoln’s name or the name of the Ford Theater. Additionally, Option A uses the infinitive verb form (“to + base form of verb” – “to + mention” in this sentence) to refer to the intent of the action “forbade”. Besides, Option A is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

B:  This answer choice incorrectly uses the plural pronoun “they” to refer to the singular noun “Chrysler Corporation”. Further, Option B alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “mentioning Lincoln or the Ford Theater”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the actors were forbidden from mentioning mentioning "Lincoln" or the "Ford Theatre"   at all   ; the intended meaning is that the actors were forbidden from mentioning Lincoln's or the Ford Theatre's   names  . Additionally, Option B uses the present participle (“verb+ing” – “mentioning” in this sentence) to refer to the intent of the verb “forbade”; please remember, for referring to the purpose or intent of an action, the infinitive verb form (“to + base form of verb”) is preferred over the present participle verb form ("verb+ing" – “mentioning” in this sentence).

C:  This answer choice incorrectly uses the plural pronoun “they” to refer to the singular noun “Chrysler Corporation”. Further, Option C alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrases “it was forbidden” and "Lincoln or the Ford Theater"; the omission of the phrase “the actors” and the word "name" incorrectly implies that the Chrysler Corporation forbade   all people   from mentioning   Lincoln   or   the Ford Theatre  ; the intended meaning is that the Chrysler Corporation specifically forbade   the actors   to mention the   name   of Lincoln or the   name   of the Ford Theatre.

D:  Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses the plural pronoun “they” to refer to the singular noun “Chrysler Corporation”. Further, Option D uses the passive voice construction “the actors were forbidden to mention”, rendering it needlessly indirect.

E:  Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses the plural pronoun “they” to refer to the singular noun “Chrysler Corporation”. Further, Option D uses the passive voice construction “the actors were forbidden to mention”, rendering it needlessly indirect. Additionally, Option E uses the present participle (“verb+ing” – “mentioning” in this sentence) to refer to the intent of the verb “were forbidden”; please remember, for referring to the purpose or intent of an action, the infinitive verb form (“to + base form of verb”) is preferred over the present participle verb form ("verb+ing" – “mentioning” in this sentence).

Hence, A is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Infinitive vs Present Participles" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKizVOYx0_k

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

Tracy95 · Answer

I think (D)

Passive voice is preferred here to emphasize the action. Who forbade is not a matter of concern here. So A and B are out because they use active voice, mentioning the agents.

(C) it was forbidden to mention Lincoln or the Ford Theater as they -> in the original sentence, it says actors are the ones who were particularly forbidden. We must not miss this element in the choice. C out.

(D) the actors were forbidden to mention Lincoln’s name or the name of the Ford Theater because they -> grammartically correct + convey the complete original meaning. D is correct!

(E) the actors were forbidden from mentioning Lincoln or the Ford Theater, since they -> “forbid from” is okay, but again this choice is lacking in the element “name” of the original sentence. E is out.

Posted from my mobile device

ssshyam1995 · Answer

Bunuel  Do we get notified when the results are out for each of the questions involved in the competition??

Abhishek009 · Answer

Yes certainly you do if you use GMAT club Timer.

Happy learning !!

MrBaby · Answer

I agree with daagh.

I eliminate other answer choices, except (A), using the meaning of pronoun 'it/they' in this question.

However, I want to know more about 'forbid to' or 'forbid from', which one is correct or both are acceptable?

Sorry for super late question.

kntombat · Answer

I was going to select A but chose not to go for it as 'it' can refer back to Chrysler or Lincoln right ?

Could someone help me out please?

Konstantin1983 · Answer

"It" couldn't refer to Lincoln because he couldn't influence competion. "It" may only refer to Chrysler

apurv09 · Answer

if there are two clauses joined , the subject of the second clause if its a pronoun refers to the subject of the first clause.
see gmat ninja's sc series on youtube it might help

CrackverbalGMAT · Answer

In the 1950s, when the Chrysler Corporation sponsored a live television show about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, it forbade the actors to mention Lincoln’s name or the name of the Ford Theater because it did not want to plug the competition.

(A)  it  forbade the actors to mention Lincoln’s name or the name of the Ford Theater because  it 
(B)  they  forbade the actors from mentioning Lincoln or the Ford Theater because  they 
(C)  it  was forbidden to mention Lincoln or the Ford Theater as  they 
(D) the actors were forbidden to mention Lincoln’s name or the name of the Ford Theater because  they 
(E) the actors were forbidden from mentioning Lincoln or the Ford Theater, since  they

A quick scan of the options shows us the different pronouns used- the singular “it” and the plural “they”

Let’s look at the meaning of the sentence to identify what the subject of the pronoun is to take a call.

When Chrysler corporation sponsored a live TV show about the assassination of lincoln, the corporation forbade the actors to mention Lincoln’s name or the name of the Ford Theater because the corporation did not want to plug the competition.

The antecedent of the pronoun HAS to be the Chrysler corporation as it cannot logically refer to anything else ( the TV show, Lincoln, or actors) 
It is the sponsors (Chrysler corporation ) who did not want to plug the competition.

Eliminate all options that use a plural pronoun-  B, C, D, and E.

Option A is correct.

VP
GMAT SME

NVR · Answer

Dear Experts,

I feel this is a terrible question. Please evaluate the reasoning below.

Sentence says -> In the 1950s, "when" the Chrysler........Lincoln, "it" forbade.....
My way of looking at the sentence-> At the time "When" something happened, "it" forbade

It seems that the referent for "it" does not exist in the sentence

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Hello  NVR ,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, in the sentence formed by Option A - the correct answer choice - "it" refers to “Chrysler Corporation”

Consider these example sentences:

"Last night, when John entered the building, John slipped."

"Last night, when John entered the building, he slipped."

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team

rsvelc · Answer

Hi  ExpertsGlobal5  
I’m also considering the possibility that ‘it’ may refer to Chrysler corporation or Live television show and I see ambiguity in here hence eliminated the answer. 
and I see no mention of possibility of ‘it’ being referred to ‘Live Television show’ in any of the comments above.

When we read it in the first go you understand the intent and ‘it’ refers to co-operation.

But here the pronoun ‘it’ matches to corporation and the Live television show which is ambiguous. Can you explain how to approach this case?

Posted from my mobile device

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Hello @ramyasree0299",

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, in this case, logic dictates that "it" cannot refer to "live television show", as it does not make much sense to say that the show forbade the mention of "Lincoln" or the "Ford theatre" in order to avoid promoting the competition.

More importantly, however, even if we accept that there is pronoun ambiguity, Option A is still the best answer choice because the other four feature outright disagreement in number between the singular "the Chrysler Corporation" and the plural "they"; ambiguity is not as severe a demerit as an outright grammatically incorrect usage.

Remember, on the GMAT, you must look for the  best  answer choice among the options given, not for a  perfect  answer choice.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team

VerbalBot · Answer

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In the 1950s, when the Chrysler Corporation sponsored a live televisio

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