The new rules in the school's code of conduct

[maxschauss]

The new rules in the school's code of conduct -- including penalties for children hoarding candy and rewards for those sharing it -- have been criticized to encourage children to share opportunistically rather than altruistically.

A: hoarding candy and rewards for those sharing it -- has been criticized to encourage

B: who hoard candy and reward those who share -- have been criticized for encouraging

C: hoarding candy and rewarding them when they share -- have been criticized because of encouraging

D: hoarding candy, rewarding those who share it -- has been criticized for encouraging

E: who hoard candy and rewards for those who share it -- have been criticized on the grounds that they encourage

I choosed A. The explanation is confusing to me, at least as a non-native speaker it is almost impossible to get your official explanation. Furthermore, the explanation says that "has" does not fit because it is singular. But actually it IS plural in the original sentence. So where is the mistake?! This one makes me quiet confusing.

[tim]

tell us a little more about this one:

1) how did you eliminate B, C, D, and E? remember, you should NOT have chosen A unless you had a solid grammar reason for eliminating the other four

2) what specifically did you not understand about the explanation?

i'm not sure what your concern is about "has", but "rules" is the subject, and since "rules" is plural we would need to use "have"..

[keenys]

Hi Tim,

As per Manhattan SC guide, "it" refers to the same instance whereas "that" signifies a new copy.

How can we assume that "it" in the answer choice refers to the same candy?

Please clarify.

Thanks

[tim]

Does it make sense to make that connection? I would argue that it does and that there is no common sense reason to make an elimination here. In general, on SC I would say that if common sense tells you an answer choice is okay but some "rule" tells you otherwise (do you have a page number for this rule you mentioned BTW?), you should be VERY wary of eliminating the answer choice. In my experience, such conflicts are *almost always* a result of misapplication or misinterpretation of the rule.

[keenys]

Does it make sense to make that connection? I would argue that it does and that there is no common sense reason to make an elimination here. In general, on SC I would say that if common sense tells you an answer choice is okay but some "rule" tells you otherwise (do you have a page number for this rule you mentioned BTW?), you should be VERY wary of eliminating the answer choice. In my experience, such conflicts are *almost always* a result of misapplication or misinterpretation of the rule.

I am referring to page 70 of the 5th edition. As per the explanation on that page, "those" which is used correctly in this sentence signifies a new copy. "It" is not used correctly as per the logic on that page.

[RonPurewal]

"it" is fine here, because it refers to candy in general, not to any particular candy.