esledge wrote:
jagveerbrar wrote:
Hi,
I am confused in the question "Jim may not be elected by the board because he does not meet their standards"
Here, of course, he appears to refer to Jim naturally. But in gmat, we cant really go with what sounds natural. So here, is there some specific explanation why "he" is actually referring to Jim and not the board?
TIA
A few reasons:
(1) Parallelism: "Jim and "he" are both subjects of their respective verbs ("may not be elected" and "does not meet"). This similarity implies that Jim = he, and may be what makes the pronoun seem to "refer to Jim naturally" according to your ear.
(2) The subject of the sentence, "Jim" is the strongest noun, and therefore the best antecedent candidate. In contrast, "board" is part of a modifier.
(3) "He" can only refer to a male person. The board is a singular entity, but is neither male nor human itself (although comprised of humans, I would assume).
I am confused how can "board" be an antecedent as it is part of the modifier "by the board", hence use of "its" in the sentence is unappropriate.
Please look at the below example from manhattan sc:
Supernovas destroy their immediate environments in vast explosions, BUT by synthesizing heavy chemical elements, THEY provide the universe with the possibility of biochemistry-based life as we know it.
In the explanation, it says that "THEY" clearly refers to supernovas. Why is there not an ambiguity of antecedent between - supernovas and explosions.
Is it just due to the modifier " by synthesizing heavy chemical elements"
Explanation by Manhattan fellow "An antecedent cannot be a noun in a preposition, and if you look "explosions" is part of the phrase "in vast explosions". Good question!"