Easter Islanders claim that the island’s ancient famous statues

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION


THE PROMPT

THE OPTIONS

• pronoun ambiguity?
→ Probably not. Only one logical antecedent exists for each pronoun (they and their)

They = Easter Islanders. Enormous stone statues do not allege anything.
Their = the statues. Nothing in the sentence suggests that Easter Islanders are trying to prove that the islanders have magical powers.
The islanders think that the statues have magical powers.

→ On the other hand, once a pronoun category is "taken" by a noun (they is third person plural), GMAT writers almost never allow you to use any form of they to refer to a different noun.
I recall only a couple of official questions in which the correct answer involved two plural groups that shared they or their; they referred to one group and their referred to the other. One such official sentence is here.

• I doubt that anyone would misunderstand this sentence.
On the other hand, this usage, in which they and their refer to two different groups, is rare.
KEEP, but look for a better answer

• Wait. Just as is the case in option A, we have a problem with the word their.
→ Make the strategic decision. You have no way to choose between A and B, so both must be wrong.
Set aside the questionable their: we have no way to distinguish between options A and B because both are otherwise correct.
In that case, neither can be correct.
ELIMINATE A and B

• pronoun/noun agreement
→ singular its does not agree with plural statues
• too many words
→ as an example of evidence of = as evidence of
Do not eliminate on the basis of style alone on your first pass.
The noun/pronoun disagreement is fatal.
ELIMINATE C

• subject/verb disagreement
Claim is singular. The verb should be constitutes.
ELIMINATE D

• I do not see any errors
• In fact, the specificity of the statues' magical powers makes the sentence clearer.
Whether the other options are actual pronoun ambiguity does not matter.
This option is clear.
And "clearer" means that option E is better than options A and B.

The best answer is E

NOTES

The structure of this sentence might seem a bit strange:
[full clause] + comma + modifier of clause [noun + verb]
→ Correct: I raced up the stairs, a haste I came to regret quickly when I slipped.
The first part of the sentence says that I am hurrying but does not use a noun.

I cannot use the word which to refer to a clause. Which is a relative proNOUN and must refer to a noun.
Wrong, and GMAC tests this version frequently: I raced up the stairs, which I came to regret quickly when I slipped.

When we need a noun, we can:
(1) create a noun by summarizing the idea in the previous clause (summative modifier, this question)
(2) repeat a noun that exists in the previous clause (resumptive modifier)

In this case, we have summarized the idea in the previous clause; the correct answer contains a summative modifier.

(Resumptive modifiers are similar. See below. Resumptive modifiers repeat a word and elaborate on the word.
This sentence appears to contain a resumptive modifier, but not quite.
The verb claim and noun claim are not the same word.)

I am about to dump jargon.
Ignore the jargon unless it really helps you.
Read the examples on the sites to which I link.

Understand how these words work and do not mistake them for comma splices.
I am seeing sophisticated apposition more frequently with each new year's publication of OG questions.

Sophisticated appositives ("apposition")

→ In some SC questions, a strange-looking modifier captures the idea of the previous clause.
("Strange-looking" means that the modifier is not "which" or a participle phrase (a verbING phrase).)
These modifiers are called "summative modifiers" and are a specific kind of apposition.

• The word claim is a summative modifier. It summarizes the idea expressed in the preceding clause.
→ The first instance of claim is a verb.
The first part of the sentence describes something that Easter Islanders do.
→ If we want to describe something about that deed, we create a word—a summative modifier—to describe the action.
In this case, the noun claim refers to the whole idea that islanders insist that the statutes walked by themselves
ThoughtCo strikes again.
In this short article you can read about summative modifiers.
More importantly, you can read examples.
Examples are your best friends in SC.

→ In other SC questions, a modifier repeats a key word or phrase and then elaborates on that word.
This kind of repetition is called a resumptive modifier, which also is a special kind of appositive.
We "resume" by repeating a key word from another clause.
→ You can read a great little article about resumptive modifiers (repeated words) and good examples by clicking here.
(The article that I linked contains many examples of these modifiers. Examples are much better "teachers" than grammar rules.)

The noun claim and what it encompasses in this sentence is not a straight "repeat" of the verb claim earlier in the sentence.

[Sidebar: This level of analysis is hard.
Don't get discouraged. You can learn the patterns.]

Don't worry about the jargon.
Understand how these words work, because they are hallmarks of sophisticated writing.

• PRONOUN AMBIGUITY
If a pronoun has only one logical antecedent that we can discern from context, the pronoun is not ambiguous.
In other words, three nouns may be plural and hence qualify as the antecedent of they, but if only one of those nouns is logical, we do not have pronoun ambiguity.

Let pronoun ambiguity among the very last tools that you use to eliminate an option.
Seriously. Among the last.

COMMENTS

I am glad to see everyone.

I was going to be strict but I changed my mind.
Kudos to all.
Stay safe!