Last visit was: 11 Jul 2025, 10:39 It is currently 11 Jul 2025, 10:39
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.
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
User avatar
daagh
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Last visit: 16 Oct 2020
Posts: 5,264
Own Kudos:
42,345
 [16]
Given Kudos: 422
Status: enjoying
Location: India
WE:Education (Education)
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 5,264
Kudos: 42,345
 [16]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
15
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Most Helpful Reply
User avatar
rjacobsMGMAT
User avatar
Manhattan Prep Instructor
Joined: 05 Jun 2012
Last visit: 06 Mar 2023
Posts: 71
Own Kudos:
522
 [8]
Given Kudos: 3
Location: United States
Schools: UCSD (Rady) - Class of 2011
GMAT 1: 760 Q49 V44
GPA: 3.7
WE:Education (Education)
Expert
Expert reply
Schools: UCSD (Rady) - Class of 2011
GMAT 1: 760 Q49 V44
Posts: 71
Kudos: 522
 [8]
4
Kudos
Add Kudos
4
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
General Discussion
User avatar
daagh
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Last visit: 16 Oct 2020
Posts: 5,264
Own Kudos:
42,345
 [1]
Given Kudos: 422
Status: enjoying
Location: India
WE:Education (Education)
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 5,264
Kudos: 42,345
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
rjacobsMGMAT
User avatar
Manhattan Prep Instructor
Joined: 05 Jun 2012
Last visit: 06 Mar 2023
Posts: 71
Own Kudos:
522
 [1]
Given Kudos: 3
Location: United States
Schools: UCSD (Rady) - Class of 2011
GMAT 1: 760 Q49 V44
GPA: 3.7
WE:Education (Education)
Expert
Expert reply
Schools: UCSD (Rady) - Class of 2011
GMAT 1: 760 Q49 V44
Posts: 71
Kudos: 522
 [1]
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
I see what you mean, here is some further explanation:

When the GMAT first says "its military" and then says "that of Japan," it's not immediately clear to me that they are making a comparison because those two noun phrases are not in the same format. Of course in real life I understand that we are comparing militaries, so the meaning is clear, but the structure is a problem.

However, when the GMAT says "its military" and then says "Japan's," it's clear that these two things are comparable. Even though the word "military" does not appear the second time, it's legal to use possessives to imply a noun that appeared earlier in the sentence. For example:

I like Sally's pies more than Rachel's.

This is a legal sentence. It implies the following:

I like Sally's pies more than Rachel's pies.


Hope that clears things up!
User avatar
ankurgupta03
User avatar
Retired Moderator
Joined: 24 Aug 2011
Last visit: 07 Nov 2023
Posts: 1,372
Own Kudos:
1,848
 [2]
Given Kudos: 833
Location: India
Concentration: Technology, Strategy
GMAT 1: 760 Q50 V42
GPA: 3.35
WE:Consulting (Computer Software)
Products:
GMAT 1: 760 Q50 V42
Posts: 1,372
Kudos: 1,848
 [2]
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Because its military is larger and more technologically sophisticated than Japan, the United States shoulders much
of the burden for patrolling and protecting the shipping lanes of the West Pacific.

(A) its military is larger and more technologically sophisticated than Japan
Incorrect comparision of US military with Japan
(B) their military is larger and more technologically sophisticated than Japan
Their is cannot be used as United States is a singular entity
(C) their military is larger and more technologically sophisticated than that of Japan
Their is cannot be used as United States is a singular entity
(D) its military is larger and more technologically sophisticated than Japan’s
Correct - correct comparision, pronoun
(E) its military has been larger and more technologically sophisticated than those of Japan
those is wrong
User avatar
NR91
User avatar
Current Student
Joined: 03 Aug 2012
Last visit: 06 Mar 2023
Posts: 95
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 8
Concentration: Operations, General Management
GMAT 1: 740 Q50 V40
GPA: 3.85
WE:Analyst (Consulting)
Products:
GMAT 1: 740 Q50 V40
Posts: 95
Kudos: 42
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
appreciate your quick reply.

But can you help me with my doubt - i just rejected A,D and E as it contains "its" which is a possessive pronoun and as per my understanding, possessive pronoun refers to only possessive noun.
avatar
gultrage
Joined: 21 Apr 2013
Last visit: 15 Jan 2014
Posts: 6
Own Kudos:
19
 [1]
Posts: 6
Kudos: 19
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
rishi0109
appreciate your quick reply.

But can you help me with my doubt - i just rejected A,D and E as it contains "its" which is a possessive pronoun and as per my understanding, possessive pronoun refers to only possessive noun.
On the contrary, start by looking at what follows United States - 'shoulders' which shows that the sentence treats USA as a 'singular' entity. Therefore options with 'their' are eliminated.
Now the second thing to look out for is what is being compared to what..A compares 'military' with Japan
Military is a singular therefore E is wrong as it says 'those'
Answer is D

As far as the use of possessive noun is concerned: Look at this statement - 'India is known for its brilliant mathematicians'
I didn't use a possessive pronoun here yet the statement is right..In the question USA is possessive of the military...therefore its has been used correctly

add kudos if this helped you
User avatar
VeritasPrepRon
User avatar
Veritas Prep GMAT Instructor
Joined: 11 Dec 2012
Last visit: 28 Jul 2015
Posts: 308
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 66
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 308
Kudos: 682
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
rishi0109
Because its military is larger and more technologically sophisticated than Japan, the United States shoulders much
of the burden for patrolling and protecting the shipping lanes of the West Pacific.

(A) its military is larger and more technologically sophisticated than Japan
(B) their military is larger and more technologically sophisticated than Japan
(C) their military is larger and more technologically sophisticated than that of Japan
(D) its military is larger and more technologically sophisticated than Japan’s
(E) its military has been larger and more technologically sophisticated than those of Japan

I rejected all the its choices because its refers to it's and does not have any antecedent because as per my knowledge possessive pronouns only refer to possessive nouns.

The original statement has a huge flaw which is comparing a military to a country, so that knocks out A and B.

The possessive "their" must be singular, because the United States is singular. This is reinforced by the fact that the verb outside the underlined portion is the singular "shoulders", so B (again) and C are eliminated.

We're down to D and E. E is incorrect twice, once for using the plural "those" when referring to its military, and second for the timeline of "has been larger..." not working with the present tense used outside of the underlined portion.

The answer is indeed D, and it's fairly obvious from eliminating clearly incorrect answer choices. I can understand the confusion on "its", but all the other answer choices must be eliminated (often twice) for egregious errors. I don't see this question as 700+.

Hope this helps!
-Ron
User avatar
chetan2u
User avatar
GMAT Expert
Joined: 02 Aug 2009
Last visit: 11 Jul 2025
Posts: 11,295
Own Kudos:
41,682
 [1]
Given Kudos: 333
Status:Math and DI Expert
Products:
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 11,295
Kudos: 41,682
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Because its military is larger and more technologically sophisticated than Japan, the United States shoulders much of the burden for patrolling and protecting the shipping lanes of the West Pacific.

A. its military is larger and more technologically sophisticated than Japan

B. their military is larger and more technologically sophisticated than Japan

C. their military is larger and more technologically sophisticated than that of Japan

D. its military is larger and more technologically sophisticated than Japan’s...correct

E. its military has been larger and more technologically sophisticated than those of Japan
User avatar
souvik101990
Joined: 19 Mar 2012
Last visit: 17 Jan 2025
Posts: 4,321
Own Kudos:
52,736
 [1]
Given Kudos: 2,326
Location: United States (WA)
Concentration: Leadership, General Management
GMAT 1: 760 Q50 V42
GMAT 2: 740 Q49 V42 (Online)
GMAT 3: 760 Q50 V42 (Online)
GPA: 3.8
WE:Marketing (Non-Profit and Government)
Products:
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 3: 760 Q50 V42 (Online)
Posts: 4,321
Kudos: 52,736
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
The original sentence contains a faulty comparison: it compares the military of the
United States to Japan, rather than to Japan’s military.
(A) This choice is incorrect as it repeats the original sentence.
(B) This choice repeats the comparison error in the original sentence. Additionally,
this choice creates a pronoun error by using the plural pronoun “their” to refer to the
singular “United States.”
(C) This choice corrects the comparison error by comparing the military of the United
States to “that” of Japan. However, this choice includes a pronoun error by using the
plural pronoun “their” to refer to the singular “United States.”
(D) CORRECT. This choice correctly compares the military of the United States to
“Japan’s”; although “military” is not explicitly stated, the possessive form implies that it
refers to Japan’s military. Additionally, the singular pronoun “its” correctly refers to the
singular “United States.”
(E) This choice unnecessarily shifts to the present perfect tense “has been
larger,” which is not parallel with the present tense verb “shoulders” in the main
clause of the sentence. Furthermore, a military is a singular entity, whereas “those of
Japan” incorrectly refer to something plural.
User avatar
sowragu
Joined: 25 Dec 2012
Last visit: 26 Apr 2016
Posts: 104
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 148
Posts: 104
Kudos: 126
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Can someone explain the usage of Possessive pronoun in comparison [in Option D]?
Many Thanks
User avatar
daagh
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Last visit: 16 Oct 2020
Posts: 5,264
Own Kudos:
42,345
 [1]
Given Kudos: 422
Status: enjoying
Location: India
WE:Education (Education)
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 5,264
Kudos: 42,345
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
The possessive 'Japan's' , standing for Japan's military' is used to parallel the other possessive 'its'
avatar
lovenish
Joined: 20 Aug 2016
Last visit: 08 Aug 2021
Posts: 13
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 36
Location: India
Concentration: Strategy, International Business
WE:Operations (Computer Software)
Posts: 13
Kudos: 22
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Because its military is larger and more technologically sophisticated than Japan, the United States shoulders much
of the burden for patrolling and protecting the shipping lanes of the West Pacific.
• its military is larger and more technologically sophisticated than Japan (Wrong Comparison of Army of one country to Country)
their military is larger and more technologically sophisticated than Japan(Their is plural hence wrong)
their military is larger and more technologically sophisticated than that of Japan. (Their is plural hence wrong)
• its military is larger and more technologically sophisticated than Japan’s( correct)
• its military has been larger and more technologically sophisticated than those of Japan . (Simple tense is suitable here) wrong
User avatar
Skywalker18
User avatar
Retired Moderator
Joined: 08 Dec 2013
Last visit: 15 Nov 2023
Posts: 2,052
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 171
Status:Greatness begins beyond your comfort zone
Location: India
Concentration: General Management, Strategy
GPA: 3.2
WE:Information Technology (Consulting)
Products:
Posts: 2,052
Kudos: 9,684
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
rjacobsMGMAT
I see what you mean, here is some further explanation:

When the GMAT first says "its military" and then says "that of Japan," it's not immediately clear to me that they are making a comparison because those two noun phrases are not in the same format. Of course in real life I understand that we are comparing militaries, so the meaning is clear, but the structure is a problem.

However, when the GMAT says "its military" and then says "Japan's," it's clear that these two things are comparable. Even though the word "military" does not appear the second time, it's legal to use possessives to imply a noun that appeared earlier in the sentence. For example:

I like Sally's pies more than Rachel's.

This is a legal sentence. It implies the following:

I like Sally's pies more than Rachel's pies.


Hope that clears things up!

Because its military is larger and more technologically sophisticated than Japan, the United States shoulders much of the burden for patrolling and protecting the shipping lanes of the West Pacific.

D. its military is larger and more technologically sophisticated than Japan’s -

F. its military is larger and more technologically sophisticated than that of Japan -

1. In options D and F(created by replacing the pronoun 'their' to 'its' in option C), is option D better than option F?

2. In my opinion, both options D and F seem correct since the pronoun "that" in option F can refer to the noun military, but MGMAT instructor in the above post has stated otherwise.

AjiteshArun , GMATNinja , MagooshExpert , GMATGuruNY , VeritasPrepBrian , MartyMurray , DmitryFarber , daagh , generis , other experts - please enlighten
avatar
mathislife
Joined: 28 Jan 2019
Last visit: 09 Mar 2021
Posts: 17
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 2
GMAT 1: 730 Q47 V42
GMAT 1: 730 Q47 V42
Posts: 17
Kudos: 5
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Its should refer to the united states, so immediately cross out answers that start with “their.” B&C

A) This answer incorrectly compares the US military and the country of Japan. Is the US military larger and more sophisticated than Japan itself? No.

B) Their is incorrect

C) Their is incorrect

D) its = correct and “Japan’s” is correctly used to indicate comparison between US military and Japans military.
User avatar
ayushkumar22941
Joined: 26 Apr 2019
Last visit: 01 Jun 2024
Posts: 247
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 135
Location: India
Concentration: Finance, Leadership
GMAT 1: 690 Q49 V34
GMAT 2: 700 Q49 V36
GMAT 3: 720 Q50 V37
GMAT 4: 740 Q50 V40
GPA: 3.99
Products:
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
united states is singular so it will take singular its so b and c is out . in option a military of usa is compared to japan which is wrong comparison so option d is correct option
User avatar
nivivacious
Joined: 10 Mar 2015
Last visit: 18 Aug 2024
Posts: 243
Own Kudos:
283
 [1]
Given Kudos: 175
Location: India
Concentration: Strategy, Marketing
GPA: 3.5
WE:Advertising (Advertising and PR)
Posts: 243
Kudos: 283
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Lets break this down:

United States should have singular pronoun here so straight up eliminate B and C
We can also see that sentence has its military which is possessive so it should be Japan's, so we can eliminate A and E
Now we're left with D which is the answer
Moderators:
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7349 posts
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
235 posts