OFFICIAL EXPLANATIONProject SC Butler: Sentence Correction (SC1)
According to United Nations estimates, more than three percent of the world’s population currently lives in a country
other than where they were born.
A) other than
where they were born
B) other than
those of where they were born
C) other than
what they were born in
D) other than the one in which they were born
E) other than
that of their birth country[/quote]
• The phrase
other than is a signal that this question is testing the construction of a comparison.
→ First we determine the items being compared. Then we determine whether those items are parallel.
→ The non-underlined portion of the comparison contains a
noun:
country.
→ The underlined portion of the comparison must also contain a noun or equivalent pronoun (such as
it or
one).
• Option A is incorrect because the noun
country is not equivalent to the
relative pronoun
where.
Regular pronouns can stand in for a noun.
Relative pronouns modify or describe a noun.
• Option B contains the same error as that in (A).
Furthermore,
those of is unnecessary because the first part of the comparison is not possessive.
• Option C is incorrect because it, too, compares a noun,
country, with a relative pronoun,
what• Option E is incorrect because
country is not possessive in the first side of the comparison. The possessive phrase
that of is unnecessary.
The answer is D.→ the pronoun
one can substitute for the noun
country, making the comparison parallel:
. . . three percent of the world’s population currently lives in a country other than the country [=the one] in which they were born.NOTESrenzofig , you asked a good question.
This usage of
they with
population is fairly controversial because although
population can take a plural verb on occasion, this author committed to a singular population by using the verb
lives.
As you note, the word
people is not actually used.
The author would have been wiser to use
people instead of
population. Still, although Option D is not perfect, it is better than the other four.
That is, the issue is present in all five options and hence not central to eliminating options.
We are looking for the four worst answers, not the one best answer.
Finally this usage is very idiomatic.
Meaning-wise,
they refers to the noun
[the people who constitute] three percent of the world's populationThis sentence (with the correct pronoun) sounds bizarre:
. . . more than three percent of the world’s population currently lives in a country other than where it was born. (3) If GMAC ever were to use
they to refer to
population in a similar context, GMAC, too, would keep "they" in every option.
Every now and then, GMAC publishes a question that seems to break GMAC's own rules.
When this phenomenon happens, either the strange construction is placed in the non-underlined portion or the four wrong answers are quite a bit worse than the correct answer, as is the case in this question.
Nice catch!
COMMENTS
Rickyrocks and
renzofig , welcome to SC Butler.
Today is a "reward courage" day.
If you dared to post and explained at least a bit, you get kudos.