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07 Aug 2020, 13:35
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I came across the following rule on GMAT club:
If you use the general "it" ("it is hard to run while balancing a bucket of water on your head") you cannot use "it" again to refer to a different antecedent in the sentence.
1) it (general!) is possible to determine how much effort ought to be devoted to each of a company’s products in order to meet its (specific-- the company's) goals in both the short and long terms
2) it (general!) can be determined by company managers how much effort ought to be devoted to each of the company’s products in order to meet its (specific-- the company's) goals, both short and long term
Both 1 and 2 are incorrect sentences.
But then I came across another question:
It was only after Katharine Graham became publisher of The Washington Post in 1963 that it moved into the first rank of American newspapers, and it was under her command that the paper won high praises for its unrelenting reporting of the Watergate scandal.
^ Here, this happens to be a correct sentence. I'm unable to get why the second sentence is correct. Or is the rule wrong?
If you use the general "it" ("it is hard to run while balancing a bucket of water on your head") you cannot use "it" again to refer to a different antecedent in the sentence.
1) it (general!) is possible to determine how much effort ought to be devoted to each of a company’s products in order to meet its (specific-- the company's) goals in both the short and long terms
2) it (general!) can be determined by company managers how much effort ought to be devoted to each of the company’s products in order to meet its (specific-- the company's) goals, both short and long term
Both 1 and 2 are incorrect sentences.
But then I came across another question:
It was only after Katharine Graham became publisher of The Washington Post in 1963 that it moved into the first rank of American newspapers, and it was under her command that the paper won high praises for its unrelenting reporting of the Watergate scandal.
^ Here, this happens to be a correct sentence. I'm unable to get why the second sentence is correct. Or is the rule wrong?
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07 Aug 2020, 13:54
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Good question, hahahehe. You have to be careful when creating or applying rules, particularly absolute rules, which seldom operate the way you want them to. The reason multiple instances of it do not typically appear in a correct sentence is that there is often a more clear and concise way of expressing the vital meaning of that sentence. The placeholder (general) it and the pronoun it can coexist as long as it is clear what each it refers to. This is another reason, ambiguity of meaning, that multiple appearances of it often fail. Ultimately, you have to weigh the pros and cons of each answer choice to eliminate four options and arrive at one answer. I would call the it rule more of a convention, something that generally holds true but may, from time to time, appear otherwise.
I hope that helps. Good luck with your studies.
- Andrew
I hope that helps. Good luck with your studies.
- Andrew
