Last visit was: 20 Nov 2025, 01:32 It is currently 20 Nov 2025, 01:32
Home
GMAT
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Rewards
Chat
My Profile
Close
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

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Back to Forum
Create Topic
   1   2 
505-555 Level|   Verb Tense/Form|         
User avatar
avigutman
User avatar
Joined: 17 Jul 2019
Last visit: 30 Sep 2025
Posts: 1,293
Own Kudos:
1,931
Given Kudos: 66
Location: Canada
Schools: NYU Stern (WA)
GMAT 1: 780 Q51 V45
GMAT 2: 780 Q50 V47
GMAT 3: 770 Q50 V45
Expert
Expert reply
Schools: NYU Stern (WA)
GMAT 3: 770 Q50 V45
Posts: 1,293
Kudos: 1,931
Avalanches at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park killed more than 28 Jun 2022, 16:33
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
jabhatta2
Is that your understanding ? the antecedent of a pronoun CAN BE in the second independent clause (After the semi-colon)

Made up sentence - I like it when it is charred ; Pizza is made with 3 ingredients only.

I think the above is okay, even though the antecedent is in the 2nd clause (and the 2nd clause is separated with a semi-colon)
Show more
I don't know, jabhatta2. I don't recall ever having to know, on any official GMAT SC problem. I've seen the pronoun precede its antecedent in official answers, but never with a semicolon in between.
Regardless, I hope that your takeaway from this problem isn't a grammar rule. You must always check the meaning when considering possible interpretations.
User avatar
himanshu0123
User avatar
Joined: 27 Mar 2016
Last visit: 20 Mar 2023
Posts: 190
Own Kudos:
5
Given Kudos: 101
Posts: 190
Kudos: 5
Avalanches at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park killed more than 13 Sep 2022, 23:16
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
in 2nd clause of A], we have used 'they' twice-

''but they are now controlled if not prevented; cannons are fired at the slopes to make snow masses fall before they become dangerous''

is there anything wrong in using two pronouns referring to different nouns. I do not see any ambiguity here that which 'they' refers to what. It seems clear to me from the context.
User avatar
KarishmaB
User avatar
Joined: 16 Oct 2010
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 16,267
Own Kudos:
77,001
 [1]
Given Kudos: 482
Location: Pune, India
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 16,267
Kudos: 77,001
 [1]
Avalanches at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park killed more than 14 Sep 2022, 00:05
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
himanshu0123
in 2nd clause of A], we have used 'they' twice-

''but they are now controlled if not prevented; cannons are fired at the slopes to make snow masses fall before they become dangerous''

is there anything wrong in using two pronouns referring to different nouns. I do not see any ambiguity here that which 'they' refers to what. It seems clear to me from the context.
Show more

You are right that the pronoun usage looks quite acceptable. We anyway have different clauses here separated with a semi colon so it is hard to get confused.

The problem is not the ambiguity but the fact that 'they' is a personal pronoun that refers to people/things mentioned previously.

"Avalanches at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park killed more than 200 people between 1885 and 1910, but they are now controlled"

means that "Avalanches at Rogers Pass that happened between 1885 and 1910" are not controlled. But they do not exist anymore!

The point is that such avalanches (similar avalanches taking place now) are controlled. That is the reason (A) is not correct.
User avatar
ExpertsGlobal5
User avatar
Experts' Global Representative
Joined: 10 Jul 2017
Last visit: 20 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,198
Own Kudos:
4,768
Given Kudos: 43
Location: India
GMAT Date: 11-01-2019
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 5,198
Kudos: 4,768
Avalanches at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park killed more than 14 Sep 2022, 04:42
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
himanshu0123
in 2nd clause of A], we have used 'they' twice-

''but they are now controlled if not prevented; cannons are fired at the slopes to make snow masses fall before they become dangerous''

is there anything wrong in using two pronouns referring to different nouns. I do not see any ambiguity here that which 'they' refers to what. It seems clear to me from the context.
Show more

Hello himanshu0123,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, there is indeed an issue with pronoun usage in Option A; a pronoun and its derivatives can only be used to refer to one noun in a sentence.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
User avatar
jabhatta2
User avatar
Joined: 15 Dec 2016
Last visit: 21 Apr 2023
Posts: 1,294
Own Kudos:
317
Given Kudos: 188
Posts: 1,294
Kudos: 317
Avalanches at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park killed more than 14 Sep 2022, 06:33
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
egmat
MPRS22
Dear experts how do we know that in A, the they is referring specifically to the older ones?

Thanks

AndrewN VeritasKarishma


Hello MPRS22,
Thank you for the query. :-)

Although your query is not for me, here are my two cents anyway. :-)

We must bear in mind that a pronoun is a replacement for a particular noun in the sentence. When a pronoun is used in place of a particular noun, it stands for that specific noun only. It represents its antecedent with all its modifiers.

In the original sentence, the pronoun "they" has been used as the replacement for "Avalanches". However, the sentence talks about very specific avalanches in the first part. The use of "they" represents the very same avalanches as the pronoun is the mere replacement of the noun used in the sentence. But we understand that the second part of the sentence does not intend to talk about the very same avalanches. The meaning conveyed thus by Choice A is no logical. Therefore, the use of the pronoun "they" leads to the meaning error in Choice A.


Hope this helps. :-)
Thanks.
Shraddha
Show more

Hi egmat / Shraddha - i thought your error above was ACROSS all 5 answer choices.

Specifically (D) and (E) refers to "such avalanches"

The term : "Such avalanches" - gave me the impression that (D) and (E) also were referring to the "old avalanches"

How can one be sure that "Such avalanches" DOES NOT REFER to the old avalanches
User avatar
RonTargetTestPrep
User avatar
Target Test Prep Representative
Joined: 19 Jul 2022
Last visit: 07 Nov 2022
Posts: 430
Own Kudos:
537
 [1]
Given Kudos: 1
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V51
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V51
Posts: 430
Kudos: 537
 [1]
Avalanches at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park killed more than 17 Sep 2022, 21:42
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
jabhatta2
How can one be sure that "Such avalanches" DOES NOT REFER to the old avalanches
Show more

By definition, "such NOUNs" means "NOUNs that are similar to the ones previously described"—a broader category.

This wording cannot be used to mean the same NOUNs previously described" (a meaning for which you would want those NOUNs instead).
User avatar
PriyamRathor
User avatar
Joined: 17 Aug 2021
Last visit: 24 May 2024
Posts: 152
Own Kudos:
120
Given Kudos: 167
Location: India
WE:Corporate Finance (Accounting)
Posts: 152
Kudos: 120
Avalanches at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park killed more than 01 Nov 2022, 05:09
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
BillyZ
Avalanches at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park killed more than 200 people between 1885 and 1910, but they are now controlled if not prevented; cannons are fired at the slopes to make snow masses fall before they become dangerous.


(A) Avalanches at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park killed more than 200 people between 1885 and 1910, but they

(B) More than 200 people have been killed by avalanches between 1885 and 1910 at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park, but they

(C) Between 1885 and 1910, more than 200 people were killed by avalanches at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park, but they

(D) More than 200 people have been killed by avalanches at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park between 1885 and 1910, but such avalanches

(E) Avalanches at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park killed more than 200 people between 1885 and 1910, but such avalanches


SC67561.01
Show more

Hello Experts ,
avigutman DmitryFarber
AnthonyRitz

No one is talking about the Prepositional Phrase modifier Between 1885 and 1910 .
What is the correct placement of the above modifier ?

Modified Option D'.

Option D'-More than 200 people were killed by avalanches between 1885 and 1910 at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park , but such avalanches

Quote:
Now let's compare Option D' and Option E

Option D'- More than 200 people were killed by avalanches between 1885 and 1910 at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park , but such avalanches

Here , Between 1885 and 1910 is modifying avalanches

Option E - Avalanches at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park killed more than 200 people between 1885 and 1910, but such avalanches

Here , Between 1885 and 1910 is modifying more than 200 people
Show more

Why am I asking such question ?

Because I was confused -what is the meaning intended by the author :-
Whether more than 200 people were killed between 1885 and 1910 by avalanches.
or
Whether Avalanches between 1885 and 1910 killed more than 200 people.

Thanks
User avatar
ExpertsGlobal5
User avatar
Experts' Global Representative
Joined: 10 Jul 2017
Last visit: 20 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,198
Own Kudos:
4,768
Given Kudos: 43
Location: India
GMAT Date: 11-01-2019
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 5,198
Kudos: 4,768
Avalanches at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park killed more than 01 Nov 2022, 05:48
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
PriyamRathor
BillyZ
Avalanches at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park killed more than 200 people between 1885 and 1910, but they are now controlled if not prevented; cannons are fired at the slopes to make snow masses fall before they become dangerous.


(A) Avalanches at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park killed more than 200 people between 1885 and 1910, but they

(B) More than 200 people have been killed by avalanches between 1885 and 1910 at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park, but they

(C) Between 1885 and 1910, more than 200 people were killed by avalanches at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park, but they

(D) More than 200 people have been killed by avalanches at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park between 1885 and 1910, but such avalanches

(E) Avalanches at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park killed more than 200 people between 1885 and 1910, but such avalanches


SC67561.01

Hello Experts ,
avigutman DmitryFarber
AnthonyRitz

No one is talking about the Prepositional Phrase modifier Between 1885 and 1910 .
What is the correct placement of the above modifier ?

Modified Option D'.

Option D'-More than 200 people were killed by avalanches between 1885 and 1910 at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park , but such avalanches

Quote:
Now let's compare Option D' and Option E

Option D'- More than 200 people were killed by avalanches between 1885 and 1910 at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park , but such avalanches

Here , Between 1885 and 1910 is modifying avalanches

Option E - Avalanches at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park killed more than 200 people between 1885 and 1910, but such avalanches

Here , Between 1885 and 1910 is modifying more than 200 people

Why am I asking such question ?

Because I was confused -what is the meaning intended by the author :-
Whether more than 200 people were killed between 1885 and 1910 by avalanches.
or
Whether Avalanches between 1885 and 1910 killed more than 200 people.

Thanks
Show more

Hello PriyamRathor,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, the two sentence constructions you have put together convey what is essentially the same meaning, so the placement of "between 1885 and 1910" is not particularly important here.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
User avatar
VerbalBot
User avatar
Non-Human User
Joined: 01 Oct 2013
Last visit: 04 Jan 2021
Posts: 18,832
Own Kudos:
986
Posts: 18,832
Kudos: 986
Avalanches at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park killed more than 07 Nov 2023, 00:53
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.
   1   2 
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7443 posts
GMATNinjaTwo
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
231 posts
miag
189 posts