woohoo921 wrote:
In the correct answer choice, why isn't "them" considered ambiguous? I realize that logically "them" should refer to trees but there is another plural noun in the sentence "legs" that "them" can refer back to. How do we know technically know that "them" doesn't refer back to "legs"?
Hey
woohoo921Happy to help you with this.
You need to stop feeling so apprehensive about pronoun ambiguity on the GMAT. Yes, the GMAT is slightly more relaxed when it comes to pronoun ambiguity, but it isn't senseless. There's a very sound principle of pronoun reference adopted by the GMAT, and that is:
"The GMAT relies on LOGIC to resolve pronoun ambiguity. So long as a pronoun can refer back to only one, unique noun logically/meaningfully, the pronoun will not be considered ambiguous even if there are other possible antecedents in the sentence."
"It is only when there are multiple, equally logical/meaningful antecedents that a pronoun is considered ambiguous on the GMAT deterministically."
So, keeping the above in mind, let's look at choice E:
The North American moose has long
legs that enable it to move quickly through the
woods, stepping easily over downed
trees while
predators pursuing it must leap over or go around
them.
The plural nouns before "them" are:
legs, woods, trees, and
predators. So, which of these nouns can "them" refer to logically/meaningfully?
1. Is it "legs"?
Predators pursuing the North American moose must leap over or go around the moose's legs? Does that make any sense? Are the moose's "legs" are in the way of the predators? Or are the downed trees in the way of the predators? ILLOGICAL
2. Is it the "woods"?
Predators pursuing the North American moose must leap over or go around the woods? Can predators leap over the woods? No, right? ILLOGICAL
3. Is it 'trees'?
Predators pursuing the North American moose must leap over or go around the downed trees that the moose can easily step over owing to its long legs. Makes sense! LOGICAL
4. Is it 'predators'?
Predators pursuing the North American moose must leap over or go around the predators themselves? So, shouldn't the pronoun be 'themselves' and not 'them' in this case? And would that be logical? Or does the sentence talk about different categories of predators or some kind of competition between predators? No, right? ILLOGICAL
So, as you can see, there's only one possible LOGICAL ANTECEDENT.
This means you should NOT be worrying about this pronoun usage and should focus on identifying other worse errors to eliminate this choice. Apply the above to several medium and hard pronoun questions till you get the hang of it. Trust me, pronoun ambiguity will then be a strength and not a weakness.
I hope this improves your understanding.
Happy Learning!
Abhishek