+HOT Competition 4 Sep/8AM: While sudden depreciations in the global

While sudden depreciations in the global value of certain goods can hurt developed nations, they are potentially devastating for less prosperous nations, whose economies are often heavily dependent on a small number of resources.

(A) they are potentially devastating for less prosperous nations, whose

Correct choice: “they” correctly refers to “depreciatons”.

(B) they can potentially devastate less prosperous nations in that their

Incorrect because the first “they” refers to “depreciations” while “their” refers to “nations”

(C) for less prosperous nations they are potentially devastating, because their

Incorrect because the first “they” refers to “depreciations” while “their” refers to “nations”

(D) for less prosperous nations, it is potentially devastating in that their

“it” disagrees with “depreciations”

(E) it can potentially devastate less prosperous nations, whose

“it” disagrees with “depreciations”


Hence A

A verb must be followed by a direct referent that makes clear the relationship between the two elements. A modifier must directly modify an action.

(A) they are potentially devastating for less prosperous nations, whose

Correctly pairs the verb action (sudden depreciations) with a direct refernt (they) to make clear their relationship. The modifier (potentially) directly modifies the action (devastating).

(B) they can potentially devastate less prosperous nations in that their

The phrase "in that their" is grammatically incorrect and presents confusing wording.

(C) for less prosperous nations they are potentially devastating, because their

The verb action is separated from the referent.

(D) for less prosperous nations, it is potentially devastating in that their

The verb action is separated from the referent.

(E) it can potentially devastate less prosperous nations, whose

Incorrectly uses the singular form (it) to refer to a plural actions (depreciations)

Experts Global Explanation:

Pronoun + Meaning

A. This answer choice maintains proper pronoun use throughout the sentence and is free of awkwardness and redundancy. Thus, this answer choice is correct.

B. This answer choice suffers from a case of pronoun ambiguity; the pronoun “their” can refer to either the noun “less prosperous nations” or the noun “developed nations”.

C. This answer choice repeats the error seen in Option B, ambiguity on whether the pronoun “their” refers to the noun “less prosperous nations” or the noun “developed nations”. Further, Option C also suffers from pronoun ambiguity as to whether “their” refers to the noun “less developed nations” or the pronoun “they”.

D. This answer choice incorrectly uses the singular pronoun “it” to refer to the plural noun “depreciations”. Further, this answer choice suffers from a case of pronoun ambiguity; the pronoun “their” can refer to either the noun “less prosperous nations” or the noun “developed nations”.

E. This answer choice features a redundancy in its use of the adverb “potentially” alongside the word “can”. Additionally, Option E repeats the error seen in Option D, incorrectly using the singular pronoun “it” to refer to the plural noun “depreciations”.

A is the best answer choice.

Sorry this explanation of B can’t convince me as “they” is followed by “heavily dependent on a small number of resources“, so “they” should refer to “less prosperous nations”, cuz it doesn’t make sense if “they” refers to “developed nations”.
Besides, A uses PRESENT PROGRESSIVE, I think the tense is not appropriate. Mind to elaborate further? Thanks in advance.

Sorry this explanation of B can’t convince me as “they” is followed by “heavily dependent on a small number of resources“, so “they” should refer to “less prosperous nations”, cuz it doesn’t make sense if “they” refers to “developed nations”.
Besides, A uses PRESENT PROGRESSIVE, I think the tense is not appropriate. Mind to elaborate further? Thanks in advance.

Hello Mavisdu1017,

We hope this finds you well.

Having gone through your comment, we believe we can clear up your doubts.

You are correct that pronoun ambiguity does not apply if there is only one referent that makes logical sense, however, this exception only applies if the meaning produced through all other possible referents is entirely illogical; it is not impossible for a developed nation's economy to be heavily dependent on a small number of resources. By contrast, there is no ambiguity as to whether "their" can refer to "sudden depreciations", since it makes no sense at all for depreciations to have an economy.

For further clarity, please consider these examples:

"The husband and wife own two cars, and they are electric."

"John will not lend Harry money, because he is irresponsible."

In the first sentence, pronoun ambiguity does not apply because "The husband and wife" cannot possibly be described as "electric", meaning "cars" is the only possible referent for "they".

In the second sentence, pronoun ambiguity applies because although it makes more sense to say that Harry is irresponsible, it is not impossible that John is irresponsible.

Of course, Option B does have a more concrete pronoun error in that it uses "they" and "their" to refer to different nouns; remember, a pronoun and its derivatives can only have one referent in a sentence.

Furthermore, in the case of Option A "devastating" is not part of a present progressive verb phrase; rather, it is a present participle acting as an adjective; the intended meaning here is that the "sudden depreciations" have the quality of being devastating, not that they are taking the action of being devastating.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team

Hi,

I sense a problem with the option A as "they" in the underlined part seems to be referring to "developed nations" as well as "depreciations" and hence I think of this as a case of pronoun ambiguity. Kindly guide where am I going wrong.