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655-705 Level|   Meaning/Logical Predication|   Modifiers|   Pronouns|   Subject Verb Agreement|                              
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 29 Dec 2021, 09:41
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Shalini9241
it was mentioned that "that" can be used to refer only things. Is this an exception or am I missing something?
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Lot of great answers already Shalini.

Note that we are talking about the use of that as a "relative pronoun" here.

As a relative pronoun, that can generally refer to any non-person (both singular and plural).

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses the use of various "Relative Pronouns". Have attached the corresponding section of the book, for your reference.
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 11 Feb 2022, 03:22
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A. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle
I don’t have a whole lot to say about (A). The first thing I notice is the modifier “that are the parasite’s hosts” – and that seems like a reasonable way to modify “the freshwater snails.”

The pronoun “its” also jumps out at me, and that would have to refer to “the parasite’s”, since that’s our nearest (and most logical) singular. And that’s fine, too: “…the freshwater snails that are the parasite’s hosts for part of [the parasite’s] life cycle…” Reasonable enough.

So I guess we’ll keep (A).

Quote:
B. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts in part of their life cycle
The biggest difference between (B) and (A) is the plural pronoun “their” in (B). And that’s a problem: “their” is plural, so it has to refer to either “the freshwater snails” or “the parasite’s hosts” – and those are the same thing, anyway. So that gives us: “… the freshwater snails that are the parasite’s hosts in part of [the freshwater snails’] life cycle.”

That’s not WRONG, exactly, if you’re willing to assume that the sentence is trying to explain what happens during the snails’ life cycle. But I think that misses the point: schistosomiasis is the grammatical subject of the sentence, and the sentence is clearly trying to explain why the disease has become more common. So presumably, the sentence is interested in explaining that the snails are hosts during part of the parasite’s life cycle. The snail’s life cycle really isn’t of interest to us, and wouldn’t help explain why the parasite has become more common.

So that’s miserably subtle, but it’s basically all we’ve got, unless you want to make an unnecessarily big deal out of the prepositions. (A) is better than (B), so we can eliminate (B).

Quote:
C. freshwater snails which becomes the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycles
(C) is a little bit easier to eliminate than some of the other options. The phrase “its life cycles” really doesn’t make any sense at all: “its” presumably refers to “the parasite”, since that’s the closest (and most logical) singular noun. But then how is that “the parasite” has multiple “life cycles”? As far as I know, each parasite only has one life cycle. If not, that would be creepy AF.

There’s also a problem with the phrase “freshwater snails which becomes.” Snails are plural, so the verb would have to be “become”, not “becomes.” Plus, “which” is generally a non-restrictive modifier, so it usually follows a comma – though that’s not usually a deciding factor on GMAT questions.

So we have lots of reasons to ditch (C).

Quote:
D. freshwater snails which become the hosts of the parasite during the parasite's life cycles
(D) is a little bit better than (C)… but only a little bit.

I guess it’s nice that “its life cycles” has been changed to “the parasite’s life cycles”, but either way, it’s illogical: a singular parasite presumably has only one life cycle, not multiple “life cycles.”

It’s also nice that the subject-verb issue has been fixed (“snails… become”), but I still don’t think it’s ideal to use “which” in this type of scenario without a comma. But again: the GMAT doesn’t generally make a big deal out of comma placement, and it’s almost never a deciding factor.

And even if you ignore the comma thing, the phrase “parasite’s life cycles” is goofy enough to let us eliminate (D).

Quote:
E. parasite's hosts, freshwater snails which become their hosts during their life cycles
The plural pronoun “their” appears twice in (E), but “parasite’s” is actually singular, so “their” presumably refers to “snails.” And that’s garbage: “… freshwater snails which become [the snails’] hosts during [the snails’] life cycles…”

You could also argue that “which” needs to be preceded by a comma, as we mentioned in (C) and (D) – but again, that’s rarely a deciding factor on the GMAT.

The pronoun thing is a big deal, though. (E) is out, and we’re left with (A).
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Hello GMAT Ninja,

Would below sentence be correct in the context of this sentence:

''freshwater snails, which become the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle''

In above modified sentence, I have used ''which'' as a non-essential (nonrestrictive) modifier. However, I would like to know if I juxtapose this modified construction with the correct OA (Option A), then which option would be preferable?

My understanding is that ''that'' would be preferable as the phrase following it is essential to fulfill the meaning of the sentence, whereas the usage of ''which'' is making it appear as if non-essential to meaning.

Would like to know your thoughts on this? Would GMAT test on pure ''that'' vs ''which'' usage?

Regards
Vighnesh Kamath
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 11 Feb 2022, 05:24
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Quote:
A. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle
I don’t have a whole lot to say about (A). The first thing I notice is the modifier “that are the parasite’s hosts” – and that seems like a reasonable way to modify “the freshwater snails.”

The pronoun “its” also jumps out at me, and that would have to refer to “the parasite’s”, since that’s our nearest (and most logical) singular. And that’s fine, too: “…the freshwater snails that are the parasite’s hosts for part of [the parasite’s] life cycle…” Reasonable enough.

So I guess we’ll keep (A).

Quote:
B. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts in part of their life cycle
The biggest difference between (B) and (A) is the plural pronoun “their” in (B). And that’s a problem: “their” is plural, so it has to refer to either “the freshwater snails” or “the parasite’s hosts” – and those are the same thing, anyway. So that gives us: “… the freshwater snails that are the parasite’s hosts in part of [the freshwater snails’] life cycle.”

That’s not WRONG, exactly, if you’re willing to assume that the sentence is trying to explain what happens during the snails’ life cycle. But I think that misses the point: schistosomiasis is the grammatical subject of the sentence, and the sentence is clearly trying to explain why the disease has become more common. So presumably, the sentence is interested in explaining that the snails are hosts during part of the parasite’s life cycle. The snail’s life cycle really isn’t of interest to us, and wouldn’t help explain why the parasite has become more common.

So that’s miserably subtle, but it’s basically all we’ve got, unless you want to make an unnecessarily big deal out of the prepositions. (A) is better than (B), so we can eliminate (B).

Quote:
C. freshwater snails which becomes the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycles
(C) is a little bit easier to eliminate than some of the other options. The phrase “its life cycles” really doesn’t make any sense at all: “its” presumably refers to “the parasite”, since that’s the closest (and most logical) singular noun. But then how is that “the parasite” has multiple “life cycles”? As far as I know, each parasite only has one life cycle. If not, that would be creepy AF.

There’s also a problem with the phrase “freshwater snails which becomes.” Snails are plural, so the verb would have to be “become”, not “becomes.” Plus, “which” is generally a non-restrictive modifier, so it usually follows a comma – though that’s not usually a deciding factor on GMAT questions.

So we have lots of reasons to ditch (C).

Quote:
D. freshwater snails which become the hosts of the parasite during the parasite's life cycles
(D) is a little bit better than (C)… but only a little bit.

I guess it’s nice that “its life cycles” has been changed to “the parasite’s life cycles”, but either way, it’s illogical: a singular parasite presumably has only one life cycle, not multiple “life cycles.”

It’s also nice that the subject-verb issue has been fixed (“snails… become”), but I still don’t think it’s ideal to use “which” in this type of scenario without a comma. But again: the GMAT doesn’t generally make a big deal out of comma placement, and it’s almost never a deciding factor.

And even if you ignore the comma thing, the phrase “parasite’s life cycles” is goofy enough to let us eliminate (D).

Quote:
E. parasite's hosts, freshwater snails which become their hosts during their life cycles
The plural pronoun “their” appears twice in (E), but “parasite’s” is actually singular, so “their” presumably refers to “snails.” And that’s garbage: “… freshwater snails which become [the snails’] hosts during [the snails’] life cycles…”

You could also argue that “which” needs to be preceded by a comma, as we mentioned in (C) and (D) – but again, that’s rarely a deciding factor on the GMAT.

The pronoun thing is a big deal, though. (E) is out, and we’re left with (A).

Hello GMAT Ninja,

Would below sentence be correct in the context of this sentence:

''freshwater snails, which become the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle''

In above modified sentence, I have used ''which'' as a non-essential (nonrestrictive) modifier. However, I would like to know if I juxtapose this modified construction with the correct OA (Option A), then which option would be preferable?

My understanding is that ''that'' would be preferable as the phrase following it is essential to fulfill the meaning of the sentence, whereas the usage of ''which'' is making it appear as if non-essential to meaning.

Would like to know your thoughts on this? Would GMAT test on pure ''that'' vs ''which'' usage?

Regards
Vighnesh Kamath
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Hello VIGHNESHKAMATH,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, your understanding of "that" vs "which" is correct, and this difference can, indeed, be a split among answer choices on the GMAT.

To understand the concept of "Which" vs "That" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



We hope this helps.
All the best!
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The takeaway of possessive pronoun custom is;

1. A possessive pronoun can stand for a possessive noun
2. A possessive pronoun can stand for a non- possessive noun
3. A non-possessive pronoun can stand for a non- possessive noun.
4. The only case where it can‘t be accepted is when a non-possessive is used to stand for a possessive noun
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Hello Experts,
KarishmaB AjiteshArun EducationAisle

Can Someone explain the above with the help of examples ? ( I am really bad at grammatical jargons )

Thanks.
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 04 Nov 2022, 09:14
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PriyamRathor
Quote:
The takeaway of possessive pronoun custom is;

1. A possessive pronoun can stand for a possessive noun
2. A possessive pronoun can stand for a non- possessive noun
3. A non-possessive pronoun can stand for a non- possessive noun.
4. The only case where it can‘t be accepted is when a non-possessive is used to stand for a possessive noun

Can Someone explain the above with the help of examples ? ( I am really bad at grammatical jargons )
Show more
1. A possessive pronoun can stand for a possessive noun
Peter's car runs well, but his bike does not.

2. A possessive pronoun can stand for a non- possessive noun
Peter has an expensive car, but his driving skills aren't great.

3. A non-possessive pronoun can stand for a non- possessive noun.
Peter is rich, and he owns a BMW.

4. The only case where it can‘t be accepted is when a non-possessive is used to stand for a possessive noun.
Even this actually is "accepted", as in this official question. Here, she (non-possessive pronoun) is referring to possessive noun Elizabeth Barrett Browning's.

So, the bottom-line is: This entire possessive business, isn't really anything to fuss about :).

p.s. Some familiarity with "grammatical jargons" does help.
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 14 Nov 2022, 12:58
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The 'Schistosomiasis' is a name of disease. The 'freshwater snails' is something that has the general character that is 'parasite's hosts'. The 'parasite's hosts' did not come newly, it already has an existence. So, 'freshwater snails which BECOME the parasite's hosts' is just non-sense to me. Can we cross out choice C, D, and E for that reason?
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 16 Nov 2022, 10:45
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Quote:
A. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle
I don’t have a whole lot to say about (A). The first thing I notice is the modifier “that are the parasite’s hosts” – and that seems like a reasonable way to modify “the freshwater snails.”

The pronoun “its” also jumps out at me, and that would have to refer to “the parasite’s”, since that’s our nearest (and most logical) singular. And that’s fine, too: “…the freshwater snails that are the parasite’s hosts for part of [the parasite’s] life cycle…” Reasonable enough.

So I guess we’ll keep (A).

Quote:
B. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts in part of their life cycle
The biggest difference between (B) and (A) is the plural pronoun “their” in (B). And that’s a problem: “their” is plural, so it has to refer to either “the freshwater snails” or “the parasite’s hosts” – and those are the same thing, anyway. So that gives us: “… the freshwater snails that are the parasite’s hosts in part of [the freshwater snails’] life cycle.”

That’s not WRONG, exactly, if you’re willing to assume that the sentence is trying to explain what happens during the snails’ life cycle. But I think that misses the point: schistosomiasis is the grammatical subject of the sentence, and the sentence is clearly trying to explain why the disease has become more common. So presumably, the sentence is interested in explaining that the snails are hosts during part of the parasite’s life cycle. The snail’s life cycle really isn’t of interest to us, and wouldn’t help explain why the parasite has become more common.

So that’s miserably subtle, but it’s basically all we’ve got, unless you want to make an unnecessarily big deal out of the prepositions. (A) is better than (B), so we can eliminate (B).

Quote:
C. freshwater snails which becomes the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycles
(C) is a little bit easier to eliminate than some of the other options. The phrase “its life cycles” really doesn’t make any sense at all: “its” presumably refers to “the parasite”, since that’s the closest (and most logical) singular noun. But then how is that “the parasite” has multiple “life cycles”? As far as I know, each parasite only has one life cycle. If not, that would be creepy AF.

There’s also a problem with the phrase “freshwater snails which becomes.” Snails are plural, so the verb would have to be “become”, not “becomes.” Plus, “which” is generally a non-restrictive modifier, so it usually follows a comma – though that’s not usually a deciding factor on GMAT questions.

So we have lots of reasons to ditch (C).

Quote:
D. freshwater snails which become the hosts of the parasite during the parasite's life cycles
(D) is a little bit better than (C)… but only a little bit.

I guess it’s nice that “its life cycles” has been changed to “the parasite’s life cycles”, but either way, it’s illogical: a singular parasite presumably has only one life cycle, not multiple “life cycles.”

It’s also nice that the subject-verb issue has been fixed (“snails… become”), but I still don’t think it’s ideal to use “which” in this type of scenario without a comma. But again: the GMAT doesn’t generally make a big deal out of comma placement, and it’s almost never a deciding factor.

And even if you ignore the comma thing, the phrase “parasite’s life cycles” is goofy enough to let us eliminate (D).

Quote:
E. parasite's hosts, freshwater snails which become their hosts during their life cycles
The plural pronoun “their” appears twice in (E), but “parasite’s” is actually singular, so “their” presumably refers to “snails.” And that’s garbage: “… freshwater snails which become [the snails’] hosts during [the snails’] life cycles…”

You could also argue that “which” needs to be preceded by a comma, as we mentioned in (C) and (D) – but again, that’s rarely a deciding factor on the GMAT.

The pronoun thing is a big deal, though. (E) is out, and we’re left with (A).
Show more
GMATNinja
Thanks for the elaborate explanation. I've a little query on the basis of your explanation.
A) the freshwater snails THAT are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle
^^ As THAT is the essential modifier we know that there are so many ‘freshwater snails’ here, but we are talking about one specific category types ‘freshwater snails’.
F) the freshwater snails, WHICH are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle
^^ will this option be wrong if we use non-essential modifier WHICH? Actually, my question is how do a test taker knows that GMAT intend to mention one specific category types ‘freshwater snails’?
Thanks__
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Quote:
A. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle
I don’t have a whole lot to say about (A). The first thing I notice is the modifier “that are the parasite’s hosts” – and that seems like a reasonable way to modify “the freshwater snails.”

The pronoun “its” also jumps out at me, and that would have to refer to “the parasite’s”, since that’s our nearest (and most logical) singular. And that’s fine, too: “…the freshwater snails that are the parasite’s hosts for part of [the parasite’s] life cycle…” Reasonable enough.

So I guess we’ll keep (A).

Quote:
B. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts in part of their life cycle
The biggest difference between (B) and (A) is the plural pronoun “their” in (B). And that’s a problem: “their” is plural, so it has to refer to either “the freshwater snails” or “the parasite’s hosts” – and those are the same thing, anyway. So that gives us: “… the freshwater snails that are the parasite’s hosts in part of [the freshwater snails’] life cycle.”

That’s not WRONG, exactly, if you’re willing to assume that the sentence is trying to explain what happens during the snails’ life cycle. But I think that misses the point: schistosomiasis is the grammatical subject of the sentence, and the sentence is clearly trying to explain why the disease has become more common. So presumably, the sentence is interested in explaining that the snails are hosts during part of the parasite’s life cycle. The snail’s life cycle really isn’t of interest to us, and wouldn’t help explain why the parasite has become more common.

So that’s miserably subtle, but it’s basically all we’ve got, unless you want to make an unnecessarily big deal out of the prepositions. (A) is better than (B), so we can eliminate (B).

Quote:
C. freshwater snails which becomes the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycles
(C) is a little bit easier to eliminate than some of the other options. The phrase “its life cycles” really doesn’t make any sense at all: “its” presumably refers to “the parasite”, since that’s the closest (and most logical) singular noun. But then how is that “the parasite” has multiple “life cycles”? As far as I know, each parasite only has one life cycle. If not, that would be creepy AF.

There’s also a problem with the phrase “freshwater snails which becomes.” Snails are plural, so the verb would have to be “become”, not “becomes.” Plus, “which” is generally a non-restrictive modifier, so it usually follows a comma – though that’s not usually a deciding factor on GMAT questions.

So we have lots of reasons to ditch (C).

Quote:
D. freshwater snails which become the hosts of the parasite during the parasite's life cycles
(D) is a little bit better than (C)… but only a little bit.

I guess it’s nice that “its life cycles” has been changed to “the parasite’s life cycles”, but either way, it’s illogical: a singular parasite presumably has only one life cycle, not multiple “life cycles.”

It’s also nice that the subject-verb issue has been fixed (“snails… become”), but I still don’t think it’s ideal to use “which” in this type of scenario without a comma. But again: the GMAT doesn’t generally make a big deal out of comma placement, and it’s almost never a deciding factor.

And even if you ignore the comma thing, the phrase “parasite’s life cycles” is goofy enough to let us eliminate (D).

Quote:
E. parasite's hosts, freshwater snails which become their hosts during their life cycles
The plural pronoun “their” appears twice in (E), but “parasite’s” is actually singular, so “their” presumably refers to “snails.” And that’s garbage: “… freshwater snails which become [the snails’] hosts during [the snails’] life cycles…”

You could also argue that “which” needs to be preceded by a comma, as we mentioned in (C) and (D) – but again, that’s rarely a deciding factor on the GMAT.

The pronoun thing is a big deal, though. (E) is out, and we’re left with (A).
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Can you please tell me if below sentence sounds good, specially the underlined portion

“the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts in part of its life cycle”
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adarsh618

Can you please tell me if below sentence sounds good, specially the underlined portion

“the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts in part of its life cycle”
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Hello adarsh618,

Although your question is not for me, I would like to help. :)

The given structure is still incorrect. The use of the preposition "in" is neither correct here nor in Choice B. Why? The sentence intends to say that the freshwater snails are the host of the parasite FOR just a part of its life. It is like saying, I am here for you for the rest of my life. We cannot use the preposition "in" here.


Hope this helps. :)
Thanks.
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dear avigutman, AndrewN,MartyTargetTestPrep ,

I crossed off A because it is nonsense to say that many snails are the hosts of ITS cycle life, how can many snails ( or many hosts) share a single cycle life.
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Why dual reference of "It" is not an issue in the correct answer choice?
However, in the below question dual reference of "it" is considered ungrammatical.
https://gmatclub.com/forum/michelangelo ... 21751.html
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Why dual reference of "It" is not an issue in the correct answer choice?
However, in the below question dual reference of "it" is considered ungrammatical.
https://gmatclub.com/forum/michelangelo ... 21751.html
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Dual reference of 'it' is not a problem as long as the usage is clear.

Schistosomiasis is prevalent in hot, humid climates, and it has become more widespread as irrigation projects have enlarged the habitat of the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle

S is prevalent ... and it has becomes more widespread ...

Two clauses joined with 'and' referring to the same subject 'Schistosomiasis.' 'It' clearly refer to Schistosomiasis and hence no problem.

The other 'it' is used in possessive form inside the 'that clause' and the possessive it refers to (parasite's) is right before it.
"that are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle"

Was their any confusion in your mind when you read it? No. So all is fine.

As for the other question you mentioned, the issue with (D) is that it is missing a main verb.

It is believed that an eight-inch plaster model that Michelangelo used for his sculpture of David and has recently been discovered after it was lost for nearly 300 years.

that clause - an eight-inch plaster model (modifying that clause)... and has been recently discovered ...
What does 'and' join? A model and has been recently discovered ... This makes no sense.
It should be 'A model has been recently discovered ...'
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 03 May 2023, 09:41
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saketkandoi
[url=https://gmatclub.com:443/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&un=daagh%5D%5Bb%5Ddaagh%5B/b%5D%5B/url%5D
[url=https://gmatclub.com:443/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&un=GMATNinja%5D%5Bb%5DGMATNinja%5B/b%5D%5B/url%5D [url=https://gmatclub.com:443/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&un=KarishmaB%5D%5Bb%5DKarishmaB%5B/b%5D%5B/url%5D [url=https://gmatclub.com:443/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&un=egmat%5D%5Bb%5Degmat%5B/b%5D%5B/url%5D
Why dual reference of "It" is not an issue in the correct answer choice?
However, in the below question dual reference of "it" is considered ungrammatical.
https://gmatclub.com/forum/michelangelo ... 21751.html
Show more
Cardinal rule #1 of Sentence Correction: do not invent rules! There is no rule that you can't use "it" to refer to two different elements in a sentence. As Karishma wisely notes (hi, Karishma!), it's 100% clear what both pronouns refer to, so the usage is fine.

Better yet, every answer choice other than (D) contains a pronoun. (B) and (E) use "their," which is wrong, because we're referring to the singular "parasite."

And then we can eliminate (C) and (D) because they refer to a parasite's "life cycles." That's illogical. A parasite has one life cycle! (They also use "which" when they should use "that," but GMAC is on record saying that they no longer test this distinction, so I wouldn't worry about this.)

So we're left with (A), which is our answer.

I hope that clears things up!
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 20 May 2023, 01:04
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I have a query regarding the word 'which' in this question. I came across information stating that 'which' can only refer to things. However, in this particular question, 'which' is used to refer to freshwater snails, and no one has pointed out any errors. Could someone please help me understand why?
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 20 May 2023, 01:08
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gauravsirohi93

We don't use "which" to refer to people, but it is normal to use to refer to animals. We may also use "who" for animals that we see as individuals with personalities, but this issue is not likely to come up as a deciding factor on an SC question.
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 20 May 2023, 03:55
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gauravsirohi93
I have a query regarding the word 'which' in this question. I came across information stating that 'which' can only refer to things. However, in this particular question, 'which' is used to refer to freshwater snails, and no one has pointed out any errors. Could someone please help me understand why?
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Hi gauravsirohi93,

The relative which can be used for (a) animals, (b) plant life, and (c) inanimate objects. We may see it used to refer to groups of people as well ("the Indian diaspora, which").
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 15 Aug 2023, 04:26
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ExpertsGlobal5
Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
getzonator
Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in hot, humid climates, and it has become more widespread as irrigation projects have enlarged the habitat of the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle.


A. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle

B. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts in part of their life cycle

C. freshwater snails which become the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycles

D. freshwater snails which become the hosts of the parasite during the parasite's life cycles

E. parasite's hosts, freshwater snails which become their hosts during their life cycles

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Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of the crucial part of this sentence is that for part of the parasite's life cycle, the freshwater snails are its hosts.

Concepts tested here: Subject-Verb Agreement + Meaning + Pronouns

A: Correct. This answer choice correctly refers to the plural noun "freshwater snails" with the plural verb "are". Moreover, Option A correctly refers to the singular noun "parasite's" with the singular pronoun "it". Further, Option A uses the phrase "for part of its life cycle", conveying the intended meaning - that the freshwater snails are the parasite's hosts for a portion of its singular life cycle.

I have a doubt, "it" in this line "it has become more widespread as irrigation projects" refers to "Schistosomiasis", then how can "it" refer to "parasite" in the same sentence.
Please tell me what am I missing here?
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 18 Aug 2023, 09:29
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thevasumittal
{...} I have a doubt, "it" in this line "it has become more widespread as irrigation projects" refers to "Schistosomiasis", then how can "it" refer to "parasite" in the same sentence.

Please tell me what am I missing here?
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We attempted to address this point in a couple of posts earlier in the thread:


Check those out, and let us know if you still have questions!
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 27 Oct 2023, 12:44
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Quote:
A. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle
I don’t have a whole lot to say about (A). The first thing I notice is the modifier “that are the parasite’s hosts” – and that seems like a reasonable way to modify “the freshwater snails.”

The pronoun “its” also jumps out at me, and that would have to refer to “the parasite’s”, since that’s our nearest (and most logical) singular. And that’s fine, too: “…the freshwater snails that are the parasite’s hosts for part of [the parasite’s] life cycle…” Reasonable enough.

So I guess we’ll keep (A).

Quote:
B. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts in part of their life cycle
The biggest difference between (B) and (A) is the plural pronoun “their” in (B). And that’s a problem: “their” is plural, so it has to refer to either “the freshwater snails” or “the parasite’s hosts” – and those are the same thing, anyway. So that gives us: “… the freshwater snails that are the parasite’s hosts in part of [the freshwater snails’] life cycle.”

That’s not WRONG, exactly, if you’re willing to assume that the sentence is trying to explain what happens during the snails’ life cycle. But I think that misses the point: schistosomiasis is the grammatical subject of the sentence, and the sentence is clearly trying to explain why the disease has become more common. So presumably, the sentence is interested in explaining that the snails are hosts during part of the parasite’s life cycle. The snail’s life cycle really isn’t of interest to us, and wouldn’t help explain why the parasite has become more common.

So that’s miserably subtle, but it’s basically all we’ve got, unless you want to make an unnecessarily big deal out of the prepositions. (A) is better than (B), so we can eliminate (B).

Quote:
C. freshwater snails which becomes the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycles
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GMATNinja
Hello,
In choice A, its is singular types things. So, it could refer back to singular parasite as possessive. It makes sense. If this is the case how the plural their refers back to singular parasite’s as possessive. If parasite’s is plural things then the apostrophe 's' should be after ''s'' (i.e., parasites'), shouldn't it?
Thanks__
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 30 Oct 2023, 20:14
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TheUltimateWinner

"Their" can't refer back to "parasite's." That's the problem. Meaning-wise, we DO want to refer to the parasite, so that's why we need a choice with the singular "its."

"Their" would have to refer back to some plural noun, but as GMATNinja points out, the INTENT seems clearly for that pronoun to refer to parasite's. So we want our pronoun to refer back to that word, but we can't if our pronoun is "their." Does that clear it up?
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