Events & Promotions
|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Apr 1612:00 PM EDT
-11:59 PM EDT
You’re first to know: Save $200 on GMAT prep starting tomorrow, 4/13. Get 6 official practice tests and study with real questions. Be ready to save!
Apr 2610:00 AM EDT
-11:00 AM EDT
The Target Test Prep course represents a quantum leap forward in GMAT preparation, a radical reinterpretation of the way that students should study. Try before you buy with a 5-day, full-access trial of the course for FREE!
Apr 2711:00 AM EDT
-12:00 PM EDT
Prefer video-based learning? The Target Test Prep OnDemand course is a one-of-a-kind video masterclass featuring 400 hours of lecture-style teaching by Scott Woodbury-Stewart, founder of Target Test Prep and one of the most accomplished GMAT instructors
Apr 2808:00 AM PDT
-11:00 AM PDT
Whether you are just beginning your MBA journey or fine-tuning your path to a 700+ score, GMAT Day is designed to give you a competitive edge.
25 Jul 2018, 21:09
Kudos
Bookmarks
zoezhuyan
Good question! Let's start with the example you encountered: "Unlike her parents, she has green eyes." Notice that when we see the possessive pronoun "her," we haven't come across a referent (the noun the pronoun refers to) yet. Because "her" is singular, we know that the referent, once it appears, will be singular. So it makes perfect sense that the subject is "she," right?
Imagine that we change the beginning of the sentence to "Unlike their parents..." Now the pronoun, "their" is plural, so our expectation is that the coming referent will be plural. Consequently, we might see something like, "Unlike their parents, the Smith girls have little interest in money laundering." Our plural pronoun, "their," refers to the subsequent plural subject, "the Smith girls." The point is that in each instance it's the pronoun that dictates what type of noun will come next.
Back to the original construction: “Almost like clones in their similarity to one another...”
This is similar to our second example above. Just as "Unlike their parents," is setting up the expectation for a plural noun to come, "Almost like clones in their similarity," is doing the exact same thing. And just as "their" doesn't refer to "parents" in the first case - it refers to whomever we're comparing the parents to - "their" doesn't refer to "clones" in the second case, but rather to a plural noun that is being compared to clones later in the sentence.
I hope that helps!
22 Aug 2018, 22:08
Kudos
Bookmarks
Sentence Analysis
As we read the sentence from the beginning, we understand that somethings are almost like clones, and they are like clones in terms of their similarity to each other. So, as we read further, we expect to see a plural noun that can be “like clones”. However, we encounter the noun “the cheetah species’ homogeneity”. Please note that “cheetah species” is not a noun here; it’s acting as an adjective to “homogeneity”.
So, we have an error here – Illogical modification. We know that homogeneity cannot be like clones!
Also, since we have a pronoun “them” (‘makes them especially”), it needs to refer to a noun; however, cheetah species is not acting as a noun in this sentence. Thus, we do not have an antecedent for “them”.
As we read the sentence from the beginning, we understand that somethings are almost like clones, and they are like clones in terms of their similarity to each other. So, as we read further, we expect to see a plural noun that can be “like clones”. However, we encounter the noun “the cheetah species’ homogeneity”. Please note that “cheetah species” is not a noun here; it’s acting as an adjective to “homogeneity”.
So, we have an error here – Illogical modification. We know that homogeneity cannot be like clones!
Also, since we have a pronoun “them” (‘makes them especially”), it needs to refer to a noun; however, cheetah species is not acting as a noun in this sentence. Thus, we do not have an antecedent for “them”.
09 Apr 2019, 14:49
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hello Everyone!
Let's tackle this question, one issue at a time, and narrow it down to the correct choice! First, let's take a closer look at the original question and highlight any major differences we can find in orange:
Almost like clones in their similarity to one another, the cheetah species’ homogeneity makes them especially vulnerable to disease.
(A) the cheetah species’ homogeneity makes them especially vulnerable to disease
(B) the cheetah species is especially vulnerable to disease because of its homogeneity
(C) the homogeneity of the cheetah species makes it especially vulnerable to disease
(D) homogeneity makes members of the cheetah species especially vulnerable to disease
(E) members of the cheetah species are especially vulnerable to disease because of their homogeneity
After a quick glance over the options, a couple things jump out that we can focus on:
1. Modifiers (leading with homogeneity or cheetahs)
2. Pronouns (them / its / it / their)
Let's start off with #1 in our list: modifiers. Whenever we look at modifiers, we need to ask ourselves these two things:
1. Where is the modifier?
2. What is the modifier referring to?
If we can figure out those two things, we can probably figure out if there are any misplaced, misleading, or just plain wrong modifiers! Here's the original sentence:
Almost like clones in their similarity to one another, the cheetah species’ homogeneity makes them especially vulnerable to disease.
The modifier is the non-underlined portion of the sentence, so we know that has to stay as is. Now we need to ask ourselves, "WHAT is the modifier referring to?" WHAT is almost like clones? Cheetahs! We need to make sure that the modifier is right next to the cheetahs, and nothing else:
(A) the cheetah species’ homogeneity makes them especially vulnerable to disease
(B) the cheetah species is especially vulnerable to disease because of its homogeneity
(C) the homogeneity of the cheetah species makes it especially vulnerable to disease
(D) homogeneity makes members of the cheetah species especially vulnerable to disease
(E) members of the cheetah species are especially vulnerable to disease because of their homogeneity
We can eliminate options A, C, & D because they mislead the reader into thinking that the modifier is referring to homogeneity, and not cheetahs.
Now that we have it narrowed down to only 2 options, let's tackle #2 on our list: pronouns. We need to make sure all pronouns have clear antecedents and that they agree with their antecedents in number:
(B) the cheetah species is especially vulnerable to disease because of its homogeneity
This is INCORRECT because the singular pronoun "its" doesn't agree with the plural antecedent "species."
(E) members of the cheetah species are especially vulnerable to disease because of their homogeneity
This is CORRECT! The pronoun "their" and antecedent "members" are both plural. It's also clear that the modifier in the beginning is referring to cheetahs, and not homogeneity.
There you have it - option E is the correct choice! By focusing on the obvious differences between the options, we can narrow down options quickly to get the right one.
Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
Let's tackle this question, one issue at a time, and narrow it down to the correct choice! First, let's take a closer look at the original question and highlight any major differences we can find in orange:
Almost like clones in their similarity to one another, the cheetah species’ homogeneity makes them especially vulnerable to disease.
(A) the cheetah species’ homogeneity makes them especially vulnerable to disease
(B) the cheetah species is especially vulnerable to disease because of its homogeneity
(C) the homogeneity of the cheetah species makes it especially vulnerable to disease
(D) homogeneity makes members of the cheetah species especially vulnerable to disease
(E) members of the cheetah species are especially vulnerable to disease because of their homogeneity
After a quick glance over the options, a couple things jump out that we can focus on:
1. Modifiers (leading with homogeneity or cheetahs)
2. Pronouns (them / its / it / their)
Let's start off with #1 in our list: modifiers. Whenever we look at modifiers, we need to ask ourselves these two things:
1. Where is the modifier?
2. What is the modifier referring to?
If we can figure out those two things, we can probably figure out if there are any misplaced, misleading, or just plain wrong modifiers! Here's the original sentence:
Almost like clones in their similarity to one another, the cheetah species’ homogeneity makes them especially vulnerable to disease.
The modifier is the non-underlined portion of the sentence, so we know that has to stay as is. Now we need to ask ourselves, "WHAT is the modifier referring to?" WHAT is almost like clones? Cheetahs! We need to make sure that the modifier is right next to the cheetahs, and nothing else:
(A) the cheetah species’ homogeneity makes them especially vulnerable to disease
(B) the cheetah species is especially vulnerable to disease because of its homogeneity
(C) the homogeneity of the cheetah species makes it especially vulnerable to disease
(D) homogeneity makes members of the cheetah species especially vulnerable to disease
(E) members of the cheetah species are especially vulnerable to disease because of their homogeneity
We can eliminate options A, C, & D because they mislead the reader into thinking that the modifier is referring to homogeneity, and not cheetahs.
Now that we have it narrowed down to only 2 options, let's tackle #2 on our list: pronouns. We need to make sure all pronouns have clear antecedents and that they agree with their antecedents in number:
(B) the cheetah species is especially vulnerable to disease because of its homogeneity
This is INCORRECT because the singular pronoun "its" doesn't agree with the plural antecedent "species."
(E) members of the cheetah species are especially vulnerable to disease because of their homogeneity
This is CORRECT! The pronoun "their" and antecedent "members" are both plural. It's also clear that the modifier in the beginning is referring to cheetahs, and not homogeneity.
There you have it - option E is the correct choice! By focusing on the obvious differences between the options, we can narrow down options quickly to get the right one.
Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
