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GMAT Tuesdays: SC – Antecedents, Possessives, and Pronouns

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KevinRocci
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GMAT Tuesdays: SC – Antecedents, Possessives, and Pronouns [#permalink] New post   25 Feb 2014, 11:24
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Howdy!

In this weeks video, I cover an important concept tested in Sentence Correction on the GMAT. I enlist Tolstoy to help illustrate what you need to know about antecedents and possessive pronouns. This is subtle trap that pops up on a lot of questions. But what's nice is that once you know what to look for, it is easy to identify and avoid these problematic constructions. :)

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BymG7UyR7aQ[/youtube]

I hope that you find the tips useful. If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to reach out.
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Re: GMAT Tuesdays: SC – Antecedents, Possessives, and Pronouns [#permalink] New post   25 Feb 2014, 12:37
KevinRocci wrote:
Howdy!

In this weeks video, I cover an important concept tested in Sentence Correction on the GMAT. I enlist Tolstoy to help illustrate what you need to know about antecedents and possessive pronouns. This is subtle trap that pops up on a lot of questions. But what's nice is that once you know what to look for, it is easy to identify and avoid these problematic constructions. :)

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BymG7UyR7aQ[/youtube]

I hope that you find the tips useful. If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to reach out.

Thanks for the video. In light of this, I am having trouble understanding how the following is correct:

Among the objects found in the excavated temple were small terra-cotta effigies left by supplicants who were either asking the goddess Bona Dea's aid in healing physical and mental ills or thanking her for such help.

There is no "Bona Dea" mentioned in the sentence, so, "her" (object pronoun) should have been incorrect here.

Can you please explain.
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Re: GMAT Tuesdays: SC – Antecedents, Possessives, and Pronouns [#permalink] New post   25 Feb 2014, 13:21
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saumya12 wrote:
Thanks for the video. In light of this, I am having trouble understanding how the following is correct:

Among the objects found in the excavated temple were small terra-cotta effigies left by supplicants who were either asking the goddess Bona Dea's aid in healing physical and mental ills or thanking her for such help.

There is no "Bona Dea" mentioned in the sentence, so, "her" (object pronoun) should have been incorrect here.

Can you please explain.


As far as I can tell this sentence is not correct and does not follow the rules that I pointed out in the video. Where did this sentence come from? If this is not from a reputable source, like GMAT Prep or the Official Guide to the GMAT, then this might be a flawed question. This mistake would not occur on the GMAT. If this did in fact come from the materials published by the GMAC, then I would check the wording of the sentence or check the answer to make sure this is actually the correct answer.

I would write the sentence as follows to correct the error:

"Among the objects found in the excavated temple were small terra-cotta effigies left by supplicants who were either asking the goddess Bona Dea to aid in healing physical and mental ills or thanking her for such help."

Let me know where the question came from and I'll be able to be more helpful! :)
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Re: GMAT Tuesdays: SC – Antecedents, Possessives, and Pronouns [#permalink] New post   25 Feb 2014, 19:42
KevinRocci wrote:
As far as I can tell this sentence is not correct and does not follow the rules that I pointed out in the video. Where did this sentence come from? If this is not from a reputable source, like GMAT Prep or the Official Guide to the GMAT, then this might be a flawed question. This mistake would not occur on the GMAT.

Hi Kevin, this is from OG13. However, can you please also check it at your end. Perhaps I am missing something.
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Re: GMAT Tuesdays: SC – Antecedents, Possessives, and Pronouns [#permalink] New post   26 Feb 2014, 11:08
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saumya12 wrote:
Hi Kevin, this is from OG13. However, can you please also check it at your end. Perhaps I am missing something.


Hi Saumya,

So I was able to locate this sentence in OG13 question 109. The OG does confirm that answer choice A is correct, which I found perplexing at first, but after speaking with my colleague, I can see why it is actually and acceptable answer.

The only time that you can have a possessive noun as an antecedent is when the pronoun is possessive. In this sentence, it is acceptable to use "her" but would be unacceptable to use "she."

This is something I did not mention in the video and I am glad that you asked this question so that it is clear. :)

Happy Studying!
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Re: GMAT Tuesdays: SC – Antecedents, Possessives, and Pronouns [#permalink] New post   26 Feb 2014, 13:33
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Thanks for clarifying this Kevin. I always find your posts and videos to be very helpful.
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Re: GMAT Tuesdays: SC – Antecedents, Possessives, and Pronouns [#permalink] New post   26 Feb 2014, 17:01
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Happy to help! Let me know if you want me to cover a specific topic in an upcoming video. :)
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Re: GMAT Tuesdays: SC – Antecedents, Possessives, and Pronouns [#permalink] New post   26 Feb 2014, 22:33
Hello Kevin, I always have problems in comparison (especially those involving ellipsis). It would be excellent if you could cover that in one of your videos.

If you already have a video on that, please point me to that. Really appreciate.
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Re: GMAT Tuesdays: SC – Antecedents, Possessives, and Pronouns [#permalink] New post   27 Feb 2014, 10:37
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saumya12 wrote:
Hello Kevin, I always have problems in comparison (especially those involving ellipsis). It would be excellent if you could cover that in one of your videos.

If you already have a video on that, please point me to that. Really appreciate.


I have not recorded a video on this topic. I won't be filming new videos for a little while, but when I do, I will definitely do one on comparisons involving ellipsis. :)
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Re: GMAT Tuesdays: SC – Antecedents, Possessives, and Pronouns [#permalink] New post   03 Oct 2014, 14:45
KevinRocci wrote:
saumya12 wrote:
Hi Kevin, this is from OG13. However, can you please also check it at your end. Perhaps I am missing something.


Hi Saumya,

So I was able to locate this sentence in OG13 question 109. The OG does confirm that answer choice A is correct, which I found perplexing at first, but after speaking with my colleague, I can see why it is actually and acceptable answer.

The only time that you can have a possessive noun as an antecedent is when the pronoun is possessive. In this sentence, it is acceptable to use "her" but would be unacceptable to use "she."

This is something I did not mention in the video and I am glad that you asked this question so that it is clear. :)

Happy Studying!


Hi Kevin, I am bit confused here. Considering that "her" would be acceptable at question 109 aforementioned, why "his" is not acceptable in the first question used in the video?

Tks

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Re: GMAT Tuesdays: SC – Antecedents, Possessives, and Pronouns [#permalink] New post   25 Mar 2017, 19:54
KevinRocci wrote:
saumya12 wrote:
Hi Kevin, this is from OG13. However, can you please also check it at your end. Perhaps I am missing something.


Hi Saumya,

So I was able to locate this sentence in OG13 question 109. The OG does confirm that answer choice A is correct, which I found perplexing at first, but after speaking with my colleague, I can see why it is actually and acceptable answer.

The only time that you can have a possessive noun as an antecedent is when the pronoun is possessive. In this sentence, it is acceptable to use "her" but would be unacceptable to use "she."

This is something I did not mention in the video and I am glad that you asked this question so that it is clear. :)

Happy Studying!


Hi Kevin - a question for you on this topic! When using her, "her" can be both a regular and possessive pronoun, correct? This is different to him/his, where the difference in more obvious. In cases with her, we just need to be clear on whether "her" is functioning as a regular or possessive pronoun, correct?

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Re: GMAT Tuesdays: SC – Antecedents, Possessives, and Pronouns [#permalink] New post   22 Jun 2019, 07:14
KevinRocci wrote:
saumya12 wrote:
Hi Kevin, this is from OG13. However, can you please also check it at your end. Perhaps I am missing something.


Hi Saumya,

So I was able to locate this sentence in OG13 question 109. The OG does confirm that answer choice A is correct, which I found perplexing at first, but after speaking with my colleague, I can see why it is actually and acceptable answer.

The only time that you can have a possessive noun as an antecedent is when the pronoun is possessive. In this sentence, it is acceptable to use "her" but would be unacceptable to use "she."

This is something I did not mention in the video and I am glad that you asked this question so that it is clear. :)

Happy Studying!


The coloured statement contradicts with what is explained in the video. If 'her' is acceptable then I am finding it difficult to understand why 'his' and 'him' in the example given in video are not acceptable.

However, it seems that GMAT has relaxed the rules where possessive antecedents are concerned. I found below example in OG 17-805 https://gmatclub.com/forum/although-she-was-considered-among-her-contemporaries-to-be-the-better-208881.html

The correct answer is - Although Elizabeth Barrett Browning's success was later overshadowed by that of her husband, among her contemporaries she was considered the better poet.

It can be noted that 'she' is referring back to Elizabeth Barret Browning, which is not present in the sentence. Only possessive antecedent is present. But the usage is acceptable.
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Re: GMAT Tuesdays: SC – Antecedents, Possessives, and Pronouns [#permalink] New post   10 Sep 2020, 13:23
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