Although it consisted of only three films, James Dean had a career tha

Question

Although it consisted of only three films,  James Dean had a career that  generated an enduring legend of him as a moody, unpredictable rebel.

A. James Dean had a career that

B. James Dean’s career had that

C. the career that was of James Dean

D. James Dean’s career

E. it was the career of James Dean that

dvishal387 · Answer

It should be D. It is referring to the career so it should come after the comma.

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sudarshan22 · Answer

+1 for   D  .

A.  James Dean  had a career that

B. James Dean’s career  had that

C.  the career that was of  James Dean

D.  James Dean’s career  -->   Correct , rectifies modifier issue

E.  it was the career  of James Dean  that

Hence,   D  .

D3N0 · Answer

Ans:   D 
It must refer to the career because the career was consisted of three films. so A and E out.
now B: Had that generated: Wrong structure and also "Had that generated" does not make any sense.
C : The Career that was of James Dean: James Dean's Career is more precise to use and not awkward.
D: Correctly usage the James Dean's Career and also the clause make sense.

Nikhil · Answer

A.  James Dean  had a career that

"Although it consisted of only three films" modifies James Dean's career and not James Dean himself. The subject of the independent clause, therefore, should be James dean's career.  INCORRECT 
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

B. James Dean’s career  had  that

No need of past perfect tense.  INCORRECT 
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

C.  the career that was of James Dean

wordy sentence. James Dean's career is more concise.  INCORRECT

James Dean's career is always James Dean's career. Use of "was" implies that his career doesn't belong to him anymore which is  INCORRECT 
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

D.  James Dean’s career  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

E. it was the career of James Dean that

wordy sentence. James Dean's career is more concise.  INCORRECT 
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hence option D

helishah142 · Answer

if we select option D, then what is "him" referring to?

JS1290 · Answer

I believe the answer should be E instead. In the latter half of the sentence, the word  him  most certainly cannot refer back to the  James Dean’s career  as option D is stating because  James Dean  is in possessive form.

Nikhil · Answer

Yup. I missed the presence of "him" in the non-underlined portion. Option D is missing an antecedent for the pronoun "him". Looks like option E is a better choice. Thanks for the correction.

sudarshan22 · Answer

Sure I remember that rule about possessive form from e-gmat course. Now I am all blah

daagh Sir Can you please help us with the confusion between D and E .

Nikhil · Answer

One more thing to note is that a pronoun can only refer back to a noun or a noun phrase or an other pronoun. "James Dean's" acts as an adjective in option D.

Nikhil · Answer

daagh   chetan2u   GMATNinja   egmat

The OA is option D but option D is missing the antecedent for pronoun "him". If I remember correctly, "James Dean's" acts as an adjective in option D and hence the pronoun "him" cannot refer to it.

I like to know your opinion on this.

Thank You.

daagh · Answer

True
The cited question flouts grammar norms.

GMATNinja · Answer

Yup, you're spot-on in noticing the issue, workout . (And as usual, so is @daagh!) Generally speaking, non-possessive pronouns ("him" in this case) can't refer to possessive antecedents ("James Dean's") on the GMAT -- at the very least, I've never seen a correct answer on an official GMAT question that does so. So yes, this question doesn't seem to follow the GMAT's norms, and since the question isn't from an official source, and it should be taken with a grain of salt, anyway.

I hope this helps!

Bunuel · Answer

KAPLAN OFFICIAL SOLUTION:

Correct Choice: (D)

The sentence begins with a subordinate clause containing an unspecified pronoun “it”. The pronoun’s antecedent — James Dean’s career —must directly follow this subordinate clause; the most precise choice is therefore (D).

Choice (A), incorrectly implies that the “it” refers to James Dean himself, but Dean would be a “he,” not an “it” and he doesn’t “consist of three films”.Because of its last two words, choice (B)makes no sense when plugged into the sentence: “had that generated”? Choices (C) and (E) make for correct pronoun reference, but are awkward and passive

jackspire · Answer

I chose D for clear meaning and proper modifier.

TheGuyDangerous · Answer

The initial modifier refers to James dean's career. Modifier preceding a clause only modifies the noun.

Although it consisted of only three films, James Dean had a career tha

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

Although it consisted of only three films, James Dean had a career tha

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