Created in 1731, Anders Celsius’ original thermometer had a scale wher

Question

Created  in 1731, Anders Celsius’ original thermometer had a scale where the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after he died in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form .

(A) in 1731, Anders Celsius’ original thermometer had a scale where the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after he died in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form.

(B) in 1731, Anders Celsius’ original thermometer had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after his death in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form.

(C) in 1731, Anders Celsius’ original thermometer had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after he died in 1744 the scale had reversed to its present form.

(D) by Anders Celsius in 1731, his original thermometer had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; reversing the scale to its present form after his death in 1744.

(E) by Anders Celsius in 1731, his original thermometer had a scale where the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after his death in 1744 the scale reversed to its present form.

This question is part of the  GMAT Club Sentence Correction : Pronoun Revision Project.

chetan2u · Accepted Answer

Created  in 1731, Anders Celsius’ original thermometer had a scale where the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after he died in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form.

A. in 1731, Anders Celsius’ original thermometer had a scale where the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after  he  died in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form.
 ''he' does not have proper antecedents... Anders Celsius’ is possesesive noun so should refer to 'his' as pronoun

B. in 1731, Anders Celsius’ original thermometer had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after his death in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form.
 'he ' has been changed to his.. so correct

C. in 1731, Anders Celsius’ original thermometer had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after he died in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form. same problem as A

D.  by  Anders Celsius in 1731, his original thermometer had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water;  reversing the scale to its present form after his death in 1744 .
 by is wrong... and 2nd part is wordy..

E. by Anders Celsius in 1731, his original thermometer had a scale where the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after his death in 1744  the scale reversed  to its present form. by is wrong... and in 2nd part it seems as if scale reversed on its own..

ans B

Ergenekon · Answer

Would be glad to help. When we have a possessive noun as it is here -Anders Celsius’ original thermometer, we can't use pronouns such as 'he' to refer to it, because pronouns are used to refer to nouns or other pronouns. But here Anders Celsius’ is not a noun. It is used as an adjective to modify thermometer. However, we can use 'him' to refer to it in such sentences. Remember these as rules. No need to try to understand it wholly. Feel free to ask if you have further questions.

x2suresh · Answer

A,C --> out.. Possessive posion.. he can't refer to Anders Celsius’s

Created by Anders Celsious in 1731, thermometer --> would have been better choice..
D and E are out.

B is the best.

JohnLewis1980 · Answer

Hi mates,

IMO  B

a) in 1731, Anders Celsius’ original thermometer had a scale where the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after he died in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form.
b) in 1731, Anders Celsius’ original thermometer had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after his death in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form.
c) in 1731, Anders Celsius’ original thermometer had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after he died in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form.
d) by Anders Celsius in 1731, his original thermometer had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; reversing the scale to its present form after his death in 1744.
e) by Anders Celsius in 1731, his original thermometer had a scale where the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after his death in 1744 the scale reversed to its present form.

D out: "; reversing "
E out: the scale reversed is wrong, it should be in pasive voice
A out: where is for places, not for things

Between B and C, I'd go with B because "after he died" sounds like inmediately

OA and Source?

Cheers

arslano · Answer

The reason is not that is 'sounds' like that.

between B and C following is the difference :

In B, 'his' is a possessive pronoun (check the context) and therefore it can refer to a possessive noun 'Anders Celsius' while as in C, 'he' is a non-possesive pronoun and lacks an antecedent ; therefore option B is correct.

-
Ars

daagh · Answer

a)In 1731, Anders Celsius’ original thermometer had a scale where the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after he died in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form. ----  faulty combination of possessive noun plus non possessive pronoun --- wrong
 
b) in 1731, Anders Celsius’ original thermometer had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after his death in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form.------  Correct combination of possessive noun plus possessive pronoun 
Correct choice

c) in 1731, Anders Celsius’ original thermometer had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after he died in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form. ------  Same as A

d) by Anders Celsius in 1731, his original thermometer had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; reversing the scale to its present form after his death in 1744. ----------------  Straight out; the second IC after semi-colon is a glaring fragment

e) by Anders Celsius in 1731, his original thermometer had a scale where the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after his death in 1744 the scale reversed to its present form. ---  can we expect a lifeless scale to reverse itself?

Why the first three choices do not indicate who reversed it, is because, the focus of the issue is more on the reversal rather than on the agent of reversal, I suppose.

Ergenekon · Answer

Nice question. Chose B.
In A, 'where' usage is wrong. 'He' cannot refer to possessive noun.
In C, the same as in A.

ayushman · Answer

“where” in A and E cannot refer to “scale”. “he” in C does not have a reference. D is not correct structure after the semicolon, since we should normally have an independent clause of a parallel list.

So, B is the best choice.

So, B is the best choice.

Konstantin1983 · Answer

B is the best choice. A and E are out because of "where". In D semicolon is incorrect since the second clause is run-on sentence. Between C and B...I think "after his death" sounds better than "after he died". Hope it helps

Konstantin1983 · Answer

Hi Ergenekon! Could you please explain about possesive noun?=)). I don't get this idea. Thanks

souvik101990 · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION 
In the original sentence, the use of the relative pronoun “where” to describe ”a scale” is incorrect because the pronoun “where” can refer only to physical locations.

(A) This answer choice is incorrect as it repeats the original sentence.

(B) CORRECT. This answer choice corrects the original by replacing the relative pronoun “where” with “in which,” to correctly refer to the immediately preceding noun “a scale.”

(C) By replacing the original passive construction “ was reversed ” with the active form “ had reversed ,” this answer choice illogically suggests that "a scale” changed itself rather than was changed by others. Also, the  past perfect tense  is used incorrectly, as “ reversed ” is not the earlier of two past actions; it is the only action in the clause after the semi-colon, and is in fact the last event of the sentence as a whole.

(D) In this answer choice, the semicolon is used incorrectly to connect two clauses, only one of which can stand alone. Specifically, the phrase “reversing the scale to its present form after his death in 1744” is not an independent clause and cannot follow the semicolon.

(E) In this answer choice, the use of the relative pronoun “where” to describe “a scale” is incorrect because this pronoun can refer only to physical locations. Furthermore, by replacing the original passive construction “was reversed” with the active form “reversed,” this answer choice illogically suggests that "a scale” changed itself rather than was changed by others. While the active form is more concise, the use of the passive construction in this case is warranted by fact that the subject (“scale”) is not capable of performing the action described by the verb (that is, reversing itself).

Konstantin1983 · Answer

Thanks Ergenekon! I read about possessive nouns but now i have a chance to apply my knowledge in practice. Yes i will contact you if i have a questions=))

Ergenekon · Answer

Would be glad to help. When we have a possessive noun as it is here -Anders Celsius’ original thermometer, we can't use pronouns such as 'he' to refer to it, because pronouns are used to refer to nouns or other pronouns. But here Anders Celsius’ is not a noun. It is used as an adjective to modify thermometer. However, we can use 'him' to refer to it in such sentences. Remember these as rules. No need to try to understand it wholly. Feel free to ask if you have further questions.

Thanks Ergenekon! I read about possessive nouns but now i have a chance to apply my knowledge in practice. Yes i will contact you if i have a questions=))

You are welcome. You can google this question and see Ron's answers about this topic.

abhishekdadarwal2009 · Answer

Created in 1731, Anders Celsius’ original thermometer had a scale where the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after he died in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form.

A. in 1731, Anders Celsius’ original thermometer had a scale where the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after he died in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form.

he died is wrong,as there is no mention of anders celsius,it cannot refer to anders celsius.

B. in 1731, Anders Celsius’ original thermometer had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after his death in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form.  Correct answer where he is replaced by his

C. in 1731, Anders Celsius’ original thermometer had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after he died in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form.  same error as A

D. by Anders Celsius in 1731, his original thermometer had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; reversing the scale to its present form after his death in 1744. 
Reversing is wrongly used.

E. by Anders Celsius in 1731, his original thermometer had a scale where the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after his death in 1744 the scale reversed to its present form. 
Where is wrongly used for scale.

pragya007 · Answer

is it exception to the common possessive noun

TarunKumar1234 · Answer

Created in 1731, Anders Celsius’ original thermometer had a scale where the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after he died in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form.

A. in 1731, Anders Celsius’ original thermometer had a scale where the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after he died in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form.
''he' does not have proper antecedents... Anders Celsius’ is possesesive noun so should refer to 'his' as pronoun

B. in 1731, Anders Celsius’ original thermometer had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after his death in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form.
'he ' has been changed to his.. so correct

C. in 1731, Anders Celsius’ original thermometer had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after he died in 1744 the scale was reversed to its present form.same problem as A

D. by Anders Celsius in 1731, his original thermometer had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; reversing the scale to its present form after his death in 1744.
by is wrong... and 2nd part is wordy..

E. by Anders Celsius in 1731, his original thermometer had a scale where the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after his death in 1744 the scale reversed to its present form.by is wrong... and in 2nd part it seems as if scale reversed on its own..

ans B

HoustonRocks · Answer

G'day team - is any of the sentences below correct?

1- Created by Anders Celsius in 1731, his original thermometer had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after his death in 1744 the scale reversed to its present form

2- By Anders Celsius in 1731, his original thermometer had a scale in which the value of 0 corresponded to the boiling point of water; after his death in 1744 the scale reversed to its present form

VerbalBot · Answer

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Created in 1731, Anders Celsius’ original thermometer had a scale wher

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