Pronoun Ambiguity in this example

Question

Hi folks,

Please consider the sentence,

"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."

Can or can- not 'they' point towards 'heavy chemical elements' as the atecedent since it's just after the comma and is touching it.

If not, why not ? Please help me build a thought process for similar questions.

Thanks.

Posted from my mobile device

Bunuel · Answer

Check here: https://gmatclub.com/forum/pronoun-ambi ... 34852.html

altairahmad · Answer

Thanks  Bunuel  . I went through the referenced post before posting this question. It didn't clear my confusion regarding the 'heavy chemical elements' antecedent.

I would love to hear an expert's opinion on this.

Thanks.

divyaatleap · Answer

Hey,

First off, let me just past the entire sentence here for reference - "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."

"THEY" as highlighted in your post cannot be an antecedent to "heavy chemical elements" simply because "heavy chemical elements" is not the subject of the sentence. All along, we're only talking about what the Supernovas do.

Even after the comma, we're still talking about what the Supernovas accomplish as a by-product of synthesizing heavy chemical elements. So yes, THEY still refers to the Supernovas here.

Hope that makes sense!
Cheers!

EducationAisle · Answer

Hi  altairahmad , in case of pronouns, it's not the  touch  rule (the noun  touching  the pronoun) that matters.

In case of pronoun ambiguity, application of following rule often comes in handy:

Pronoun-subject in one clause can be presumed to refer to noun-subject of another clause.

The two clauses here are:
i) Supernovas destroy their immediate environments in vast explosions -  Supernovas  is the  noun-subject 
ii) by synthesizing heavy chemical elements, they provide the universe with the possibility of biochemistry-based life as we know it -  they  is the  pronoun-subject

So,  they  refers to  Supernovas .

Having said that, it's worth noting that pronoun ambiguity should  not  be the  only  reason to eliminate an answer choice.

p.s. Our book    EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana    discusses  Pronoun ambiguity , its application and examples in significant detail. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.

Pronoun Ambiguity in this example

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