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To map Earth's interior, geologists use a network of seismometers to

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sumit99kr

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21 Nov 2022, 22:24

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Can anyone please explain what does it's refer to in the phrase "around its interior".

Thanks and Regards,
Sumit

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sumit99kr

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Updated on: 21 Nov 2022, 22:55

Originally posted by sumit99kr on 21 Nov 2022, 22:25.
Last edited by sumit99kr on 21 Nov 2022, 22:55, edited 1 time in total.

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Can anyone please explain what does its refer to in the phrase "around its interior".

Thanks and Regards,
Sumit

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KarishmaB

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21 Nov 2022, 22:39

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skum8820

Can anyone please explain what does it's refer to in the phrase "around its interior".

Thanks and Regards,
Sumit

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... seismic waves that originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around its interior, travelling ...

'its' refers to earth's

... seismic waves that originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around earth's interior, travelling ...

sumit99kr

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21 Nov 2022, 22:51

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Can a pronoun (its) refer to a possessive noun (earth's) ?

KarishmaB, please throw some light on this.

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sumit99kr

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21 Nov 2022, 23:07

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KarishmaB

skum8820

Can anyone please explain what does it's refer to in the phrase "around its interior".

Thanks and Regards,
Sumit

Posted from my mobile device

Can a pronoun (its) refer to a possessive noun (earth's)?

KarishmaB, please throw some light on this.

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skum8820

KarishmaB

skum8820

Can anyone please explain what does it's refer to in the phrase "around its interior".

Thanks and Regards,
Sumit

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Can a pronoun (its) refer to a possessive noun (earth's)?

KarishmaB, please throw some light on this.

Hello skum8820,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, "its" is itself a possessive pronoun, so it can absolutely refer to a possessive noun.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
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22 Nov 2022, 01:12

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skum8820

Can a pronoun (its) refer to a possessive noun (earth's)?

KarishmaB, please throw some light on this.

Hi skum8820,

As ExpertsGlobal5 mentioned, both its and earth's are possessives. In case you're thinking about the "a possessive noun can't be the antecedent for a subject or object pronoun" rule, that "rule" is a problematic one, at best, and we should try not to use it.

Quick recap:
1. Clinton's experience worked against her. ← Her is an object pronoun here.
is the same as
2. Clinton's experience worked against Clinton.

3. Clinton's experience ended up weakening her candidature. ← Her is a possessive pronoun here.
is the same as
4. Clinton's experience ended up weakening Clinton's candidature.

Some (very few!) people think that (1) is not possible, but even they wouldn't have a problem with (3).

KarishmaB

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22 Nov 2022, 05:21

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sumit99kr

KarishmaB

skum8820

Can anyone please explain what does it's refer to in the phrase "around its interior".

Thanks and Regards,
Sumit

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Can a pronoun (its) refer to a possessive noun (earth's)?

KarishmaB, please throw some light on this.

Yes, and for that matter, any pronoun can refer to a possessive as long as the meaning is clear and unambiguous.
Check out this official question: https://gmatclub.com/forum/among-the-ob ... 82658.html
'her' refers to Bona Dea.
In SC, there is less and less to learn and more and more to observe and understand.

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30 Mar 2023, 02:21

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souvik101990

To map Earth's interior, geologists use a network of seismometers to chart seismic waves that originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around its interior, most rapidly traveling through cold, dense regions and slower through hotter rocks.

(A) interior, most rapidly traveling through cold, dense regions and slower

(B) interior, which travel most rapidly through cold, dense regions, and more slowly

(C) interior, traveling most rapidly through cold, dense regions and more slowly

(D) interior and most rapidly travel through cold, dense regions, and slower

(E) interior and that travel most rapidly through cold, dense regions and slower

Show Spoiler

https://discovermagazine.com/1996/nov/hotandcoldspotsb935

To map Earth’s interior, geologists use a worldwide network of seismometers that chart the movement of seismic waves generated by earthquakes. These waves, originating in Earth’s crust or upper mantle, ricochet around the interior, traveling most rapidly through cold, dense regions, and more slowly through hotter rocks.

First glance

The first three choices place a comma after the word interior. The final two choices remove the comma and use the word and. These two clues together signal possible Modifier, Sentence Structure, or Parallelism issues.

Issues

(1) Parallelism: X and Y

Find the X and Y portions that map to the parallelism marker.

(A) most rapidly traveling … and slower

(B) travel most rapidly … and more slowly

(C) traveling most rapidly … and more slowly

(D) most rapidly travel … and slower

(E) travel most rapidly … and slower

Answers (B) and (C) are definitely parallel because both use the –ly versions of the relevant words (rapidly, slowly). Answers (A), (D), and (E) use slower instead of more slowly. Slower is primarily an adjective, not an adverb. While it can be possible in certain circumstances to use slower as an adverb, when parallelism is in play, it’s better to use the strict adverb form to signal clear parallelism: rapidly and slowly. Eliminate choices (A), (D), and (E).

(2) Modifier: which

Answer (B) employs a comma-which modifier. Check to make sure it’s used correctly.

A comma-which modifier should refer back to the closest main noun before the comma. In this case, that noun is interior, which does not make sense. The prior noun is earth’s crust, but this also does not make sense. The logical word is seismic waves but this is too far back to go with the comma-which modifier. Eliminate choice (B).

The Correct Answer

Correct answer (C) uses the parallel construction most rapidly and more slowly. It also properly uses a comma –ing modifier, which refers back to the prior action, not just the prior main noun. The prior action is the seismic waves ricochet(ing) around the interior of the earth’s crust.

@egmat- Wouldn't the 'modifiers can be placed away from the noun' condition apply here?
I though 'that originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around its [u]interior' cannot be placed anywhere else and thus in option B. 'which' will refer to the 'seismic waves'

Kindly let me know

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30 Mar 2023, 08:12

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Quite often seen the explanation that in comma + ing-modifier should make sense with the Subject of the main clause :

Here, the subject geologist doesn't make sense with the "traveling most rapidly ...."

Perhaps the clause "that originates" in the main sentence is the spoiler !

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abhishekmayank

There's no general rule that a comma + -ing modifier works with the subject of the main clause. These are generally adverbial modifiers, so they modify an action. If an adverbial precedes the main clause, it will usually apply there, and they should make sense to describe the subject doing the action. That's why I can't say "Playing a Bach sonata from memory while hanging from the ceiling, the audience was amazed at the performance of the violinist." However, if the adverbial follows an action that is not the main clause, it can certainly describe that action: "The audience was amazed to see the violinist perform a Bach Sonata, playing from memory while hanging from the ceiling."

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abhishekmayank

Quite often seen the explanation that in comma + ing-modifier should make sense with the Subject of the main clause :

Well, makes sense with the subject of the preceding clause is more appropriate than subject of the preceding main clause.

As you've rightly figured out, in this sentence, the participial phrase makes sense with seismic waves, the subject of the immediate preceding clause (not the main clause).

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