Question # 92 from the Verbal Review - 2nd Edition of the Official Guide - Sentence Correction (page 310)

Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in hot, humid climates, and it has become more widespread as irrigation projects have enlarged the habitat of THE FRESHWATER SNAILS THAT ARE THE PARASITE'S HOSTS FOR PART OF ITS LIFE CYCLE.

A. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle
B. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts in part of their life cycle
C. freshwater snails which becomes the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycles
D. freshwater snails which become the hosts of the parasite during the parasite's life cycles
E. parasite's hosts, freshwater snails which become their hosts during their life cycles

I said B, which I can see how it's wrong because after reading the answers I understood they meant the life cycle is of the parasite, not the host - so my mistake was more in the meaning of the sentence rather than grammar.

The right answer is A - my questions is this: in MGMAT sentence correction book I remember reading that one should be very careful using a pronoun of a possessive term and that it's usually incorrect. So in A, they are saying that "its" refers to parasite's - this seems wrong. Does anyone else agree? Or am I misunderstanding something? To me it is not clear what "it" refers to because the term parasite is in a possessive term.

Please help

Thanks a lot!!
G

mohan514, thanks for your reply.

I see that part now but, like i mentioned, what confused me was that i thought they meant that the life cycle was of the snails, not of the parasite, in which case my answer B would have been correct ( i misunderstood the meaning). so the way i understood it, option A would have actually been wrong because "snails" (plural) doesn't work with "its" (singular), so I eliminated for that reason. So I see why it's not B for this particular question, but I was asking more in general about the concept of a pronoun referring to something in a possessive form. I thought the rule was that you cannot do this?

Thanks.

tricky - only got it after reviewing the answers again.

IMO "A" as it is the only valid answer with singular (parasit) options

Can some explain when in the same sentence it <any pronoun> can have two references?

MGMAT( in a reversal form its earlier rigid stand perhaps) says that the issue of possessive poison is not worth worrying about, since there has been hardly any case that has been rejected on the score of the possessive pronoun’s antecedence in the realm of GMAT.

The take away of possessive pronoun custom is;

1. A possessive pronoun can stand for a possessive noun
2. A possessive pronoun can stand for a non- possessive noun
3. A non possessive pronoun can stand for a non- possessive noun.
4. The only case where it can‘t be accepted is when a
Non- possessive is used to stand for a possessive noun


A. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle --- here its is possessive and parasite’s is possessive. So ther is no issue. correct choice
B. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts in part of their life cycle – pronoun number agreement
C. freshwater snails which becomes the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycles—snails which becomes – S-V mismatch
D. freshwater snails which become the hosts of the parasite during the parasite's life cycles--- how many life cycles does the parasite have? Secondly do all the hosts have one parasite? Illogical
E. parasite's hosts, freshwater snails which become their hosts during their life cycles— parasite is singular while the there is a plural pronoun.
_________________

” I truly believe in online learning, I have been a student in both an Ivy League school (brick and mortar) and in an online setting and I have learned 1,000 times more in an online setting. You do not have anyone there lecturing you and then you do the work, online you are made to do it all yourself. Amazing how different the results are. - Heather(a student)”

Alicia Helle, an online student at the UW, "Obtaining my degree online has been a blessing. With two small children, I am able to work when it is convenient for my family and me. I have nothing but positive comments and experiences from my time at UW-Stout.”

Find out what's new at GMAT Club - latest features and updates

I initially chose B.
My doubt is why can't the answer be B. I mean meaning-wise B is also correct, though it distorts the meaning. So can anyone tell me whether the sole reason to eliminate B is that it diverts itself away from the intended meaning OR is there some other reason?
If, meaning-wise, two outcomes are plausible then how can I deduce that this particular meaning is correct and the other is not?
_________________

Prepositional Phrases Clarified|Elimination of BEING| Absolute Phrases Clarified
Rules For Posting