Last visit was: 19 Nov 2025, 13:17 It is currently 19 Nov 2025, 13:17
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   3 
User avatar
egmat
User avatar
e-GMAT Representative
Joined: 02 Nov 2011
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,108
Own Kudos:
32,887
Given Kudos: 700
GMAT Date: 08-19-2020
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 5,108
Kudos: 32,887
Elk now live almost solely in the Rocky Mountains, which would make it 27 Oct 2022, 06:26
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
jim441
I chose B because it was the best choice among all, although use of "they" seems ambiguous as "they" can refer to "Elk" or mountains.
Show more


Hello jim441,

Great job in solving this official question correctly. :thumbs-up:

I just want to add here that the use of the pronoun "they" is not at all ambiguous. The context of the sentence makes it super clear that "they" can only refer to "Elk" because an animal can be found all over the continent. However, it is a little unlikely for a mountain range to extend through the entire continent.

The point to note here is that just the presence of multiple nouns that agree in number with the pronoun in the sentence does not make the pronoun ambiguous. A pronoun is called ambiguous only when more than one noun stands as the logical antecedent of the pronoun.


Hope this helps. :)
Thanks.
avatar
jim441
avatar
Joined: 29 Apr 2022
Last visit: 14 Dec 2023
Posts: 193
Own Kudos:
51
Given Kudos: 276
Location: India
Concentration: Finance, Marketing
GMAT 1: 690 Q48 V35 (Online)
WE:Engineering (Manufacturing)
GMAT 1: 690 Q48 V35 (Online)
Posts: 193
Kudos: 51
Elk now live almost solely in the Rocky Mountains, which would make it 27 Oct 2022, 07:00
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
egmat
jim441
I chose B because it was the best choice among all, although use of "they" seems ambiguous as "they" can refer to "Elk" or mountains.


Hello jim441,

Great job in solving this official question correctly. :thumbs-up:

I just want to add here that the use of the pronoun "they" is not at all ambiguous. The context of the sentence makes it super clear that "they" can only refer to "Elk" because an animal can be found all over the continent. However, it is a little unlikely for a mountain range to extend through the entire continent.

The point to note here is that just the presence of multiple nouns that agree in number with the pronoun in the sentence does not make the pronoun ambiguous. A pronoun is called ambiguous only when more than one noun stands as the logical antecedent of the pronoun.


Hope this helps. :)
Thanks.
Show more

Thanks alot. It all makes sense now.

Posted from my mobile device
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]
Elk now live almost solely in the Rocky Mountains, which would make it 29 Oct 2022, 20:35
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
himanshu0123
in B] how do I identify that 'it' is a placeholder and not a pronoun error
Show more

First, you do need to have memorized the basic form of this type of sentence in which "it" is a placeholder:
It is [ADJ] that [COMPLETE SENTENCE].

I think it's probably safe to assume that you know at least this basic formulation (since otherwise you probably wouldn't be asking about this type of construction), but, if not, please say so.

From there, you just need a familiar transformation.

In the same way you could take the sentence
It is easy to learn these words
and transform it (in an appropriate context) into
...make(s) it easy to learn these words,

you can do the same thing with
It is [ADJ] that [COMPLETE SENTENCE]
—>
[i]...make(s) it [ADJ] that [COMPLETE SENTENCE].
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
Elk now live almost solely in the Rocky Mountains, which would make it 01 Nov 2022, 05:57
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi,
Is the usage of 'it' as a placeholder correct in the sentence below.

''Negotiating carefully every bend on the long curving road, the truck drivers who were accustomed to driving heavy vehicles found it difficult to control the recently launched light weight trucks''

ExpertsGlobal5
himanshu0123
in B] how do I identify that 'it' is a placeholder and not a pronoun error


Hello himanshu0123,

We hope this finds you well.

"it" can be identified as a placeholder pronoun, and thus not subject to the pronoun error of lacking a referent, if there is a suitable "that"/"who"/"whether" clause that "it" can refer to.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
Show more
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
Elk now live almost solely in the Rocky Mountains, which would make it 01 Nov 2022, 06:16
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
RonTargetTestPrep

I did not understand it fully. Could you please share some examples?

Is the usage of 'IT' correct below?

''The truck drivers who were accustomed to driving heavy vehicles found it difficult to control the recently launched light weight trucks''


RonTargetTestPrep
himanshu0123
in B] how do I identify that 'it' is a placeholder and not a pronoun error

First, you do need to have memorized the basic form of this type of sentence in which "it" is a placeholder:
It is [ADJ] that [COMPLETE SENTENCE].

I think it's probably safe to assume that you know at least this basic formulation (since otherwise you probably wouldn't be asking about this type of construction), but, if not, please say so.

From there, you just need a familiar transformation.

In the same way you could take the sentence
It is easy to learn these words
and transform it (in an appropriate context) into
...make(s) it easy to learn these words,

you can do the same thing with
It is [ADJ] that [COMPLETE SENTENCE]
—>
[i]...make(s) it [ADJ] that [COMPLETE SENTENCE].
Show more
User avatar
egmat
User avatar
e-GMAT Representative
Joined: 02 Nov 2011
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,108
Own Kudos:
32,887
Given Kudos: 700
GMAT Date: 08-19-2020
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 5,108
Kudos: 32,887
Elk now live almost solely in the Rocky Mountains, which would make it 01 Nov 2022, 06:31
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hey himanshu0123,

Happy to help.

Your sentence: Negotiating carefully every bend on the long curving road, the truck drivers who were accustomed to driving heavy vehicles found it difficult to control the recently launched light weight trucks.

Yes, the use of the placeholder 'it' in this sentence is correct.


Happy Learning!


Abhishek
User avatar
M838TE
User avatar
Joined: 25 Jul 2020
Last visit: 30 Jul 2023
Posts: 46
Own Kudos:
6
Given Kudos: 15
Posts: 46
Kudos: 6
Elk now live almost solely in the Rocky Mountains, which would make it 04 Feb 2023, 22:29
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
GMATNinja @everyone else
No concrete explanation I could find for C.
the only thing I could think of is the logical intention of using "but still" to modify a previous. I would think but still will signal a concession from a contrast to the current situation (elk's current habitat). there was nothing in the main clause that would be contrast to the elk's ability to once range all over the place.
(E) use of since in E seems to be have the same flaw.

Thanks!
User avatar
GMATNinja
User avatar
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 7,443
Own Kudos:
69,787
Given Kudos: 2,060
Status: GMAT/GRE/LSAT tutors
Location: United States (CO)
GMAT 1: 780 Q51 V46
GMAT 2: 800 Q51 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V170
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Products:
GMAT Club Tests Forum Quiz
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 2: 800 Q51 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V170
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Posts: 7,443
Kudos: 69,787
Elk now live almost solely in the Rocky Mountains, which would make it 24 Feb 2023, 11:48
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
M838TE
GMATNinja else

No concrete explanation I could find for C.

the only thing I could think of is the logical intention of using "but still" to modify a previous. I would think but still will signal a concession from a contrast to the current situation (elk's current habitat). there was nothing in the main clause that would be contrast to the elk's ability to once range all over the place.

(E) use of since in E seems to be have the same flaw.

Thanks!
Show more

(C) doesn't have any clear and obvious grammar mistakes, but it does have several little meaning issues.

Quote:
"...living now solely almost in the Rocky Mountains..."
Show more
The elk are now only living almost in the Rocky Mountains? The "almost" should come before "solely" (as in choice B) to make it clear that "almost" modifies "solely" and not the prepositional phrase ("in the Rocky Mountains").

As written, (C) seems to suggest that the elk are living near the Rocky Mountains (not quite IN the Rocky Mountains -- ALMOST in the Rocky Mountains). Does that mean that I'll have elk in my tiny little backyard near downtown Denver? Sounds great! ;)

Quote:
"It would seem that elk would be mountain dwellers because of their living now solely almost in the Rocky Mountains"
Show more
The meaning of the "because of" part is unclear. Does this mean that elk dwell in the mountains BECAUSE they live now solely almost in the Rocky Mountains? That doesn't make any sense.

Yes, the reader can eventually figure out the logical meaning. But the cause-and-effect relationship (and the overall meaning) is much clearer in (B):

Quote:
"The fact that elk now live almost solely in the Rocky Mountains would make it seem that they are mountain dwellers."
Show more
What makes it seem that the elk are mountain dwellers? The fact that elk now live almost solely in the Rocky Mountains. And that meaning is perfectly clear and logical.

Quote:
"but still"
Show more
We could drive ourselves nuts trying to analyze the word "still", but I would argue that it's unnecessary at best, and potentially a little bit confusing.

The word "still" is often used to convey the idea that something happens DESPITE something else. For example:

    "Tim's car has faulty brakes, but still, it drives like a dream."

In this example, "still" is basically a synonym for "nevertheless" or "in spite of". Basically because the brakes are faulty, we would NOT expect the car to drive like a dream; nevertheless, it does in fact drive like a dream.

So I guess we could argue that the timing of the "but still" logic seems off: in spite of something that's happening now ("it would seem..."), the elk did something in the past ("they once ranged..."). It would make sense for something to be happening now IN SPITE OF something that happened in the past, but in (C) the "cause" seems to come after the "effect".

Sure, we could probably come up with an example where that sort of timing makes sense, but in this case it just adds to the confusion.

Is the use of "still" absolutely WRONG? Maybe not. But the meaning is a little bit easier to follow without it.

Again: I wouldn't overthink the use of "still" in this case, mostly because we have plenty of other reasons to pick (B) over (C). So don't lose too much sleep over it.

One last thing:

Quote:
"It would seem..."
Show more
Even though there's nothing inherently wrong with using "it" as a non-referential pronoun in a situation like this one, why use one if you don't have to? That's another vote in favor of (B) over (C).

Again, (C) doesn't violate any straightforward rules, but when we compare it to (B), we see that (B) is a much better, clearer option.

I hope that helps!
avatar
AVARGUR
avatar
Joined: 16 Apr 2023
Last visit: 20 Jun 2024
Posts: 15
Own Kudos:
3
Given Kudos: 53
Location: India
Posts: 15
Kudos: 3
Elk now live almost solely in the Rocky Mountains, which would make it 01 Oct 2023, 08:44
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
singh_amit19
Elk now live almost solely in the Rocky Mountains, which would make it seem that elk are mountain dwellers, while they once ranged over virtually all of the continental United States except for a small strip in the extreme Southwest.


A. Elk now live almost solely in the Rocky Mountains, which would make it seem that elk are mountain dwellers, while

B. The fact that elk now live almost solely in the Rocky Mountains would make it seem that they are mountain dwellers, but

C. It would seem that elk would be mountain dwellers because of their living now solely almost in the Rocky Mountains, but still

D. Now living almost solely in the Rocky Mountains, it would seem that elk were mountain dwellers, although

E. It seems that elk would be mountain dwellers from the fact that they now live solely almost in the Rocky Mountains, since
Show more

My approach to the question:

A. 'which' Modifier issue (the Rocky Mountains) therefore incorrect

B. I was skeptical about the use of 'it' and 'they' as both of them didn't have an apparent reference, but as other options suggest 'Elk" here is referred to as plural so 'they' definitely refers back to elk and 'it' could probably refer to 'The fact'. correct

C. no clear referent for 'It'. incorrect

D. Modifier issue. incorrect

E. same as C. incorrect
   1   2   3 
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7443 posts
GMATNinjaTwo
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
231 posts
miag
189 posts