In a 5-to-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that two upstate New York counties owed restitution to three tribes of Oneida Indians for the unlawful seizure of their ancestral lands in the eighteenth century.
a)that two upstate New York counties owed restitution to three tribes of Onedida Indians for the unlawful seizure of
b)that two upstate New York counties owed restitution to three tribes of Oneida Indians because of their unlawful seizure of
I know that the correct idiom for the above question is
"Owed restitution to X for Y"
However, I am not convinced with the explanation that "their" in Option (B) is ambiguously referring to "Indians" because when we say
X owed restitution to Y: We know that X has done some damage to Y that is why it owes restitution to Y.
For instance : If (B) is changed to
that two upstate New York counties owed restitution to three tribes of Oneida Indians
for their unlawful seizure of
It should be correct as "
first their" in the underlined portion should correctly refer to X(counties) and "
second their" present in the non-underlined portion correctly refers to "Indians".
If "THEIR" in the underlined part is incorrect , then the "THEIR" in the non-underlined part should also be incorrect. However, as the SECOND THEIR is present in non-underlined part it is presumed to be correct.Please advise whether the usage of "FIRST THEIR" is correct or not and my reasoning is PROPER or not?
Quoted from
MGMAT SC Guide for pronoun reference:
Researchers claim to have developed new "nano-papers" incorporating tiny
cellulose fibers, which THEYallege give THEM the strength of cast iron.
What nouns do they and them refer to? We might ~ that they refers to researchers (who
claim something) and that them refers to new "nano-papers" However, in reality,
both they
and them have ambiguous antecedents. Either pronoun could refer to researchers or to "nanopapers.
"After reading above explanation why is the case that "their" in the non-underlined part correctly refers to "Indians".
Rgds,
TGC!