meaning - Precedence: and > or?


The question Precedence of “and” and “or” asks if there is any notion of precedence ordering in the English and it would seem not, based on the answers.


Regardless of that, if you saw the following piece of text, how would interpret it and why?



The prerequisite(s) of module AB1234:


GN3001 and GN3002 or BC3006 and BC3007.




Answer



I would intepret it as


either "GN3001 and GN3002"


or "BC3006 and BC3007"


are required


But I would also consider that it is badly formulated, and they should have made it crystal clear.


One reason for interpreting this in this way is that the two pair would appear to go together - two GN units or two BC units makes sense ( without knowing what they are ). So there are subtle suggestions in the content that would point me one way or the other.


However, when this is being defined as course pre-requisites, it should be made completely clear and unambiguous. I would feel a need to contact whoever to clarify this, which means that the communication has failed.


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