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.
Nov 2007:30 AM PST
-08:30 AM PST
Learn what truly sets the UC Riverside MBA apart and how it helps in your professional growth
Nov 2001:30 PM EST
-02:30 PM IST
Learn how Kamakshi achieved a GMAT 675 with an impressive 96th %ile in Data Insights. Discover the unique methods and exam strategies that helped her excel in DI along with other sections for a balanced and high score.
Nov 2206:30 AM PST
-08:30 AM PST
Let’s dive deep into advanced CR to ace GMAT Focus! Join this webinar to unlock the secrets to conquering Boldface and Paradox questions with expert insights and strategies. Elevate your skills and boost your GMAT Verbal Score now!
Nov 2211:00 AM IST
-01:00 PM IST
Do RC/MSR passages scare you? e-GMAT is conducting a masterclass to help you learn – Learn effective reading strategies Tackle difficult RC & MSR with confidence Excel in timed test environment- Nov 23
11:00 AM IST
-01:00 PM IST
Attend this free GMAT Algebra Webinar and learn how to master the most challenging Inequalities and Absolute Value problems with ease. 
Nov 2407:00 PM PST
-08:00 PM PST
Full-length FE mock with insightful analytics, weakness diagnosis, and video explanations!
Nov 2510:00 AM EST
-11:00 AM EST
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.
31 May 2020, 02:20
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi Experts,
Can the object of preposition be the antecedent of a personal pronoun?
In OG 2019, Q761 has all answer choices with a singular pronoun (it) rejected, with the explanation that a pronoun cannot take an object of preposition as an antecedent. In the sentence "Fossils of the arm of a sloth...", any reference to the sloth should be restated according to OA.
However in OG 2019, Q761 has the phrase "The eyes of the elephant seal...", and the OA contains "... allowing it to hunt efficiently", with "it" referring to the "elephant seal" that also happens to be the object of a preposition. The OA also explicitly states that 'it" has the correct antecedent (elephant seal).
What is the rule governing the antecedent of personal pronoun wrt object of preposition?
ps: I am aware that object of prepositions can be the antecedent of relative pronouns (which / that). Asking specifically for personal pronouns (it / she / he). I also got both questions right based on other grammatical rules. Want to know specifically about this contradiction(?) in OA.
Quoted segments of OG below for your easy reference.
Thanks in advance!
---
[OG 2019]
759. Fossils of the arm of a sloth found in Puerto Rico in 1991, and dated at 34 million years old, made it the earliest known mammal of the Greater Antilles Islands.
A. Wrong: Because sloth is the object of a preposition and not the subject of the sentence, there is no reasonable antecedent for the pronoun it, in this construction, the subject of made is fossils, but it makes no sense to say that the fossils made it the earliest known mammal.
---
[OG 2019]
761. The eyes of the elephant seal adapt to darkness more quickly than do those of any other animal yet tested, allowing it to hunt efficiently under the gloomy conditions at its feeding depth of between 300 and 700 meters.
A: Correct. The subject of the comparative phrase is correctly those of any other animal yet tested, the plural verb do correctly agrees with this subject (those), and the singular pronoun it correctly agrees with its antecedent (elephant seal).
Can the object of preposition be the antecedent of a personal pronoun?
In OG 2019, Q761 has all answer choices with a singular pronoun (it) rejected, with the explanation that a pronoun cannot take an object of preposition as an antecedent. In the sentence "Fossils of the arm of a sloth...", any reference to the sloth should be restated according to OA.
However in OG 2019, Q761 has the phrase "The eyes of the elephant seal...", and the OA contains "... allowing it to hunt efficiently", with "it" referring to the "elephant seal" that also happens to be the object of a preposition. The OA also explicitly states that 'it" has the correct antecedent (elephant seal).
What is the rule governing the antecedent of personal pronoun wrt object of preposition?
ps: I am aware that object of prepositions can be the antecedent of relative pronouns (which / that). Asking specifically for personal pronouns (it / she / he). I also got both questions right based on other grammatical rules. Want to know specifically about this contradiction(?) in OA.
Quoted segments of OG below for your easy reference.
Thanks in advance!
---
[OG 2019]
759. Fossils of the arm of a sloth found in Puerto Rico in 1991, and dated at 34 million years old, made it the earliest known mammal of the Greater Antilles Islands.
A. Wrong: Because sloth is the object of a preposition and not the subject of the sentence, there is no reasonable antecedent for the pronoun it, in this construction, the subject of made is fossils, but it makes no sense to say that the fossils made it the earliest known mammal.
---
[OG 2019]
761. The eyes of the elephant seal adapt to darkness more quickly than do those of any other animal yet tested, allowing it to hunt efficiently under the gloomy conditions at its feeding depth of between 300 and 700 meters.
A: Correct. The subject of the comparative phrase is correctly those of any other animal yet tested, the plural verb do correctly agrees with this subject (those), and the singular pronoun it correctly agrees with its antecedent (elephant seal).
Archived Topic
Hi there,
This topic has been closed and archived due to inactivity or violation of community quality standards. No more replies are possible here.
Where to now? Join ongoing discussions on thousands of quality questions in our Verbal Questions Forum
Still interested in this question? Check out the "Best Topics" block below for a better discussion on this exact question, as well as several more related questions.
Thank you for understanding, and happy exploring!
rcheng2023
23 Oct 2021, 04:46
Kudos
Bookmarks
According to the Chicago Manual of Style, a possessive (=adjective) can serve as the antecedent of a pronoun, potentially economizing the sentence expression. In your case, the elephant seal in the possessive "the elephant seal's eye" can be the antecedent of the "it" in the present participle phrase, but the sloth in the possessive "the sloth arm's fossil" ambiguously serve as the antecedent of the "it" in the predicate. Maybe it's the weak reference in addition to the poorly coordinated past participle phrases that makes choice (A) in OG759 unfavorable.
29 Oct 2021, 05:30
Kudos
Bookmarks
Quote:
That explanation is poorly written.
The issue is not that "sloth" is the object of a preposition. A pronoun can refer to the object of a preposition.
The issue is that the meaning conveyed is illogical. That sentence version conveys that the fossils made the sloth the earliest known mammal. Fossils would not make an animal the earliest known mammal.
I often hear from students the idea that a pronoun can't refer to the object of a preposition. Maybe they all get that idea from this busted explanation.
