GMAT Verbal Question

Question

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone could tell me why the GMAT would consider it correct for pronouns to have possessive nouns as antecedents? Does this mean I can completely forget about that rule and just count possessive nouns (which are also adjectives) as nouns that could refer to pronouns?

Thanks!

bb · Answer

Hi. Wow. I’m not sure that my mind can process this question without an example. Perhaps someone smarter can answer it better, but if you have an example, I am happy to weigh in.

Posted from my mobile device

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

mooz23

https://gmatclub.com/forum/although-she ... 08881.html

Perhaps you are referring to a question such as this? If you came across this while going through the Official Guides, it may be worth checking out some of the replies in the thread.

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi mooz23.

The GMAT is not alone in considering nouns in the possessive form acceptable referents for personal pronouns. For instance, some style guide writers agree that nouns in the possessive form are acceptable referents for personal pronouns.

The many who consider such a reference acceptable reject the idea that a noun in the possessive form is merely an adjective and say that it's clear what a pronoun that has such an antecedent refers to.

Meanwhile, the use of such a reference has long been a common convention in English.

Now, in some older official SC questions from a question provider that no longer makes questions for the GMAT, the presence of such references was considered a reason to consider a choice incorrect. However, more recently, in at least one released official question, such a reference appears in a credited choice. So, currently, it's generally believed that such references should not be considered errors in SC.

At the same time, I personally don't 100 percent trust the GMAT to be consistent in SC. So, my approach is to refrain from eliminating a choice just because it produces a sentence with such a reference. However, I'm also open to the possibility that there will be a case in which the only possible way to choose between choices will be to use the presence of such a reference to eliminate a choice. I doubt I'll ever see such a case, but that's the strategy I'd use if I ever were to.

EducationAisle · Answer

This question shows that you have an advance level of understanding of SC.

Following is an official sentence, which shows that the possibility of a pronoun ( she ) to refer to a possessive noun ( Elizabeth Barrett Browning's ) cannot be entirely ruled out.

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

However, I would still look at such constructs with a bit of suspicion.

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