When a question has different interpretations, how do you know which one to assume?

mdedios2

Hi everyone. This is my first time using the discussion board so I apologize if it's a big longer than the typical posts. If you do decide to read it through though, I so so appreciate you.

This post is about PT5 S5 Q15 and really any other questions that have the same problem. My problem is that the question can have two meanings. Here is the question: "Q's response serves to counter any use by M of the evidence about 85-90 year-olds in support of which one of the following hypotheses?"

The first interpretation of the question can be paraphrased like this: "Which of the following is a hypothesis that Q's response supports and also counters the evidence presented by M?" The second interpretations can be paraphrased as such: "Which of the following is a hypothesis that M's evidence supports that can also be countered by Q. The difference is that in the first interpretation, the clause [in support of which one of the following hypotheses] is completely separate from the others. In the second interpretation, the clause [in support of which one of the following hypotheses] is embedded within the clause [any use by M of the evidence about 85-90 year-olds in support of which one of the following hypotheses].

(In syntactic language, interpretation one has a structure in which the PP [in support of which one of the following hypotheses] is the daughter of the main VP, while interpretation two has a structure in which the same PP is the daughter of the main DP.)

The difference between the two structures is pretty critical because it determines which person the answer choice must support, Q or M. The problem is since both structures are equally valid, both interpretations are correct. So, my question is, how are we the test takers supposed to know which interpretation to assume, when both meanings are grammatically correct?

mdedios2

https://imgur.com/rHnKErI

Here's a tree for a visual of the different structures I'm talking about. The difference again between both is what clause the clause [in support of which one of the following hypotheses] modifies.

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@mdedios2 said:

The first interpretation of the question can be paraphrased like this: "Which of the following is a hypothesis that Q's response supports and also counters the evidence presented by M?" The second interpretations can be paraphrased as such: "Which of the following is a hypothesis that M's evidence supports that can also be countered by Q. The difference is that in the first interpretation, the clause [in support of which one of the following hypotheses] is completely separate from the others. In the second interpretation, the clause [in support of which one of the following hypotheses] is embedded within the clause [any use by M of the evidence about 85-90 year-olds in support of which one of the following hypotheses].

The 2nd interpretation is preferred/correct because the 1st interpretation is descriptively wrong. M didn't counter the evidence but provided additional evidence that did not contradict Q's evidence.