Fossils of the arm of a sloth found in Puerto Rico in 1991, and dated at 34 million years old, made it the earliest known mammal of the Greater Antilles Islands.
In this sentence, it does not make sense for 'it' to refer to 'arm'. So does this sentence have pronoun reference problem. The meaning of the sentence is very clear
My question really is, if a sentence has 2 structurally possible referents of a pronoun but one of the referent does not make sense, then does the sentence has a pronoun reference problem
Regards,
Vishal
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Pronoun reference problem .. please help .. really confused
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vishal.pathak
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shekhar.kataria
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I think Answer to your Question is YES. The rule says the pronoun should refer only to a noun umambigiously.vishal.pathak wrote:Fossils of the arm of a sloth found in Puerto Rico in 1991, and dated at 34 million years old, made it the earliest known mammal of the Greater Antilles Islands.
In this sentence, it does not make sense for 'it' to refer to 'arm'. So does this sentence have pronoun reference problem. The meaning of the sentence is very clear
My question really is, if a sentence has 2 structurally possible referents of a pronoun but one of the referent does not make sense, then does the sentence has a pronoun reference problem
Regards,
Vishal
Now if a sentence has 2 possible nouns for a pronoun and with the sentence meaning u understood that one noun does not make sense in place of the pronoun while other does clearly.
Here you need to look for alternate arrangement of the sentence which unambiguously refers to a single pronoun.
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Jim@Grockit
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This is an interesting question. In real, everyday English, the answer is usually NO (it doesn't have a problem). The GMAT is a special world, however, and given the option to clarify the pronoun's referent without introducing new errors, you should take it.vishal.pathak wrote:Fossils of the arm of a sloth found in Puerto Rico in 1991, and dated at 34 million years old, made it the earliest known mammal of the Greater Antilles Islands.
In this sentence, it does not make sense for 'it' to refer to 'arm'. So does this sentence have pronoun reference problem. The meaning of the sentence is very clear
My question really is, if a sentence has 2 structurally possible referents of a pronoun but one of the referent does not make sense, then does the sentence has a pronoun reference problem
Regards,
Vishal
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vishal.pathak
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Hi Jim,Jim@Grockit wrote:This is an interesting question. In real, everyday English, the answer is usually NO (it doesn't have a problem). The GMAT is a special world, however, and given the option to clarify the pronoun's referent without introducing new errors, you should take it.vishal.pathak wrote:Fossils of the arm of a sloth found in Puerto Rico in 1991, and dated at 34 million years old, made it the earliest known mammal of the Greater Antilles Islands.
In this sentence, it does not make sense for 'it' to refer to 'arm'. So does this sentence have pronoun reference problem. The meaning of the sentence is very clear
My question really is, if a sentence has 2 structurally possible referents of a pronoun but one of the referent does not make sense, then does the sentence has a pronoun reference problem
Regards,
Vishal
Thanks for the reply. Please share your thoughts on the following sentence
The teacher included pronoun handout in the grammar folder so that the students can refer to it later
In the above sentence 'it' can refer to either 'handout' or 'folder'. I read in one of the forums that this sentence is correct and the explanation given was
"If it referred to grammar folder then there was no use of having pronoun handout in the sentence"
Please also help in the following sentence
The doctors have managed to significantly reduce the mortality rate and the public is very pleased with them for doing it
In the above sentence, i believe, 'it' refers to the 'significantly reduce the mortality rate'. I have read that pronouns can refer to phrases. If so, what is the problem with this sentence
Thanks in advance
Regards,
Vishal
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Jim@Grockit
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I think my thought is the same as before -- in real English, it is correct for exactly the reasons that you specify. If I had the misfortune of getting that sentence on the GMAT as choice A, and a Choice B that resolved the ambiguity of the pronoun with no new errors, I'd choose B and be frustrated. I'd like to think they'd never reduce it to a subjective debate between a grammatically-correct answer that is 10% clearer over a grammatically correct one that is 10% more concise.
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e-GMAT
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Hi,
Pronoun ambiguity in GMAT is not as objective as other error types such as SV number agreement errors, modifier errors, verb tense errors, parallelism errors, idiom errors are. We must not eliminate answer choices solely based on pronoun error right in the beginning of the process of elimination. Our approach should be:
a. Understand the meaning of the sentence and determine the logical antecedent. Ensure that the pronoun-antecedent pair agrees in number.
b. Determine if there is ambiguity in pronoun reference: Find if the pronoun can refer to any other noun.
Is there another noun (in same number) that plays similar role as the logical antecedent does? Yes -> ambiguity.
Is there another noun (in same number) that is closer to the pronoun than the logical antecedent? Yes -> ambiguity
c. If there is pronoun ambiguity, then first eliminate answer choices with known objective errors - SV, verb, parallelism, modifiers, idioms. Use this ambiguous pronoun error as the last basis for elimination.
Fossils of the arm of a sloth found in Puerto Rico in 1991, and dated at 34 million years old, made it the earliest known mammal of the Greater Antilles Islands.
Since pronoun "it" is singular, here are the possible antecedents - the singular nouns
"¢ Arm
"¢ Sloth
Notice here that both nouns play similar roles in the sentence - they describe the fossils. Thus, structurally they are at the same level in the sentence. Thus, even though it does not make logical sense for "it" to refer to "arm" since arm cannot be the mammal, structurally it still creates an ambiguity.
Since the pronoun analysis shows an apparent pronoun ambiguity, let us first eliminate the answer choices based on other more objective errors:
Choice A - Incorrect - comma + and used to combine two verb-ed modifiers - found... & dated.
Choice B - Incorrect - SV-Number Error - Plural noun fossils: Singular verb has been dated.
Choice C - Incorrect - SV-Number Error - Plural noun fossils: Singular verb was found.
Choice D - Correct - The pronoun ambiguity error has been corrected by replacing the pronoun with the antecedent to eliminate the pronoun usage altogether.
Choice E - Incorrect - SV-Number Error - Plural noun fossils: Singular verb was dated.
So in this sentence, we went purely by the meaning and determined the correct choice by using other errors - SV number error in this case. All choices except Choice D are eliminated. Choice D is the correct answer. It no longer has pronoun ambiguity error because the pronoun has been replaced with the noun/antecedent - sloth. More importantly, it does not make sense to say that "Fossils made the sloth the earliest known mammal". In fact it is the fact that these discovered fossils are so old that has made the sloth the earliest known mammal. This relationship has been clarified in choice D.
Now coming to the second sentence: The teacher included pronoun handout in the grammar folder so that the students can refer to it later.
This sentence is correct because "it" has only one logical noun antecedent "pronoun handout" here. Pronoun handout is the main point of focus here. Even if we delete "in the grammar folder", the sentence will still convey the same meaning. Per the meaning, the teacher wants the students to look at the pronoun handout. That is the reason why she included it in the grammar folder. If the teacher wanted to refer to the grammar folder later, then there would have been no need to mention the inclusion of the pronoun handout. Hence, it is very important to understand the logical meaning of the sentence to determine the logical antecedent of the sentence.
The doctors have managed to significantly reduce the mortality rate and the public is very pleased with them for doing it.
Pronouns can only refer to nouns and other pronouns. You are correct in saying that "it" here refers to "significantly reduce the mortality rate". Thus means that "it" is referring to the action of reducing the mortality rate, i. e. the verb. Since pronouns can only refer to nouns and other pronouns, reference of "it" is incorrect here.
Pronoun ambiguity in GMAT is not as objective as other error types such as SV number agreement errors, modifier errors, verb tense errors, parallelism errors, idiom errors are. We must not eliminate answer choices solely based on pronoun error right in the beginning of the process of elimination. Our approach should be:
a. Understand the meaning of the sentence and determine the logical antecedent. Ensure that the pronoun-antecedent pair agrees in number.
b. Determine if there is ambiguity in pronoun reference: Find if the pronoun can refer to any other noun.
Is there another noun (in same number) that plays similar role as the logical antecedent does? Yes -> ambiguity.
Is there another noun (in same number) that is closer to the pronoun than the logical antecedent? Yes -> ambiguity
c. If there is pronoun ambiguity, then first eliminate answer choices with known objective errors - SV, verb, parallelism, modifiers, idioms. Use this ambiguous pronoun error as the last basis for elimination.
Fossils of the arm of a sloth found in Puerto Rico in 1991, and dated at 34 million years old, made it the earliest known mammal of the Greater Antilles Islands.
Since pronoun "it" is singular, here are the possible antecedents - the singular nouns
"¢ Arm
"¢ Sloth
Notice here that both nouns play similar roles in the sentence - they describe the fossils. Thus, structurally they are at the same level in the sentence. Thus, even though it does not make logical sense for "it" to refer to "arm" since arm cannot be the mammal, structurally it still creates an ambiguity.
Since the pronoun analysis shows an apparent pronoun ambiguity, let us first eliminate the answer choices based on other more objective errors:
Choice A - Incorrect - comma + and used to combine two verb-ed modifiers - found... & dated.
Choice B - Incorrect - SV-Number Error - Plural noun fossils: Singular verb has been dated.
Choice C - Incorrect - SV-Number Error - Plural noun fossils: Singular verb was found.
Choice D - Correct - The pronoun ambiguity error has been corrected by replacing the pronoun with the antecedent to eliminate the pronoun usage altogether.
Choice E - Incorrect - SV-Number Error - Plural noun fossils: Singular verb was dated.
So in this sentence, we went purely by the meaning and determined the correct choice by using other errors - SV number error in this case. All choices except Choice D are eliminated. Choice D is the correct answer. It no longer has pronoun ambiguity error because the pronoun has been replaced with the noun/antecedent - sloth. More importantly, it does not make sense to say that "Fossils made the sloth the earliest known mammal". In fact it is the fact that these discovered fossils are so old that has made the sloth the earliest known mammal. This relationship has been clarified in choice D.
Now coming to the second sentence: The teacher included pronoun handout in the grammar folder so that the students can refer to it later.
This sentence is correct because "it" has only one logical noun antecedent "pronoun handout" here. Pronoun handout is the main point of focus here. Even if we delete "in the grammar folder", the sentence will still convey the same meaning. Per the meaning, the teacher wants the students to look at the pronoun handout. That is the reason why she included it in the grammar folder. If the teacher wanted to refer to the grammar folder later, then there would have been no need to mention the inclusion of the pronoun handout. Hence, it is very important to understand the logical meaning of the sentence to determine the logical antecedent of the sentence.
The doctors have managed to significantly reduce the mortality rate and the public is very pleased with them for doing it.
Pronouns can only refer to nouns and other pronouns. You are correct in saying that "it" here refers to "significantly reduce the mortality rate". Thus means that "it" is referring to the action of reducing the mortality rate, i. e. the verb. Since pronouns can only refer to nouns and other pronouns, reference of "it" is incorrect here.
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vishal.pathak
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Hi Payal,e-GMAT wrote:Hi,
Pronoun ambiguity in GMAT is not as objective as other error types such as SV number agreement errors, modifier errors, verb tense errors, parallelism errors, idiom errors are. We must not eliminate answer choices solely based on pronoun error right in the beginning of the process of elimination. Our approach should be:
a. Understand the meaning of the sentence and determine the logical antecedent. Ensure that the pronoun-antecedent pair agrees in number.
b. Determine if there is ambiguity in pronoun reference: Find if the pronoun can refer to any other noun.
Is there another noun (in same number) that plays similar role as the logical antecedent does? Yes -> ambiguity.
Is there another noun (in same number) that is closer to the pronoun than the logical antecedent? Yes -> ambiguity
c. If there is pronoun ambiguity, then first eliminate answer choices with known objective errors - SV, verb, parallelism, modifiers, idioms. Use this ambiguous pronoun error as the last basis for elimination.
Fossils of the arm of a sloth found in Puerto Rico in 1991, and dated at 34 million years old, made it the earliest known mammal of the Greater Antilles Islands.
Since pronoun "it" is singular, here are the possible antecedents - the singular nouns
"¢ Arm
"¢ Sloth
Notice here that both nouns play similar roles in the sentence - they describe the fossils. Thus, structurally they are at the same level in the sentence. Thus, even though it does not make logical sense for "it" to refer to "arm" since arm cannot be the mammal, structurally it still creates an ambiguity.
Since the pronoun analysis shows an apparent pronoun ambiguity, let us first eliminate the answer choices based on other more objective errors:
Choice A - Incorrect - comma + and used to combine two verb-ed modifiers - found... & dated.
Choice B - Incorrect - SV-Number Error - Plural noun fossils: Singular verb has been dated.
Choice C - Incorrect - SV-Number Error - Plural noun fossils: Singular verb was found.
Choice D - Correct - The pronoun ambiguity error has been corrected by replacing the pronoun with the antecedent to eliminate the pronoun usage altogether.
Choice E - Incorrect - SV-Number Error - Plural noun fossils: Singular verb was dated.
So in this sentence, we went purely by the meaning and determined the correct choice by using other errors - SV number error in this case. All choices except Choice D are eliminated. Choice D is the correct answer. It no longer has pronoun ambiguity error because the pronoun has been replaced with the noun/antecedent - sloth. More importantly, it does not make sense to say that "Fossils made the sloth the earliest known mammal". In fact it is the fact that these discovered fossils are so old that has made the sloth the earliest known mammal. This relationship has been clarified in choice D.
Now coming to the second sentence: The teacher included pronoun handout in the grammar folder so that the students can refer to it later.
This sentence is correct because "it" has only one logical noun antecedent "pronoun handout" here. Pronoun handout is the main point of focus here. Even if we delete "in the grammar folder", the sentence will still convey the same meaning. Per the meaning, the teacher wants the students to look at the pronoun handout. That is the reason why she included it in the grammar folder. If the teacher wanted to refer to the grammar folder later, then there would have been no need to mention the inclusion of the pronoun handout. Hence, it is very important to understand the logical meaning of the sentence to determine the logical antecedent of the sentence.
The doctors have managed to significantly reduce the mortality rate and the public is very pleased with them for doing it.
Pronouns can only refer to nouns and other pronouns. You are correct in saying that "it" here refers to "significantly reduce the mortality rate". Thus means that "it" is referring to the action of reducing the mortality rate, i. e. the verb. Since pronouns can only refer to nouns and other pronouns, reference of "it" is incorrect here.
Thanks for a really detail reply. However, I tried applying the process you described to the following sentence
Fossils of the arm of a sloth found in Puerto Rico in 1991, and dated at 34 million years old, made it the earliest known mammal of the Greater Antilles Islands.
This sentence certainly means that the finding made sloth, the earliest known mammal. So I feel the meaning is clear and in that case the pronoun ambiguity should not be there.
Please help again
Regards,
Vishal
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Hi,
I would like you to pay heed to the structure of this sentence.
Fossils of the arm of a sloth found in Puerto Rico in 1991, and dated at 34 million years old, made it the earliest known mammal of the Greater Antilles Islands.
Fossils is the subject in the clause here because "the arm" and "a sloth" lie in the prepositional phrases that modify "Fossils" and "made" is the verb.
Going by the grammatical structure, the sentence conveys that "fossils" made "it" "the earliest known mammal of the Greater Antilles Islands". This is certainly not the intended meaning of the sentence. As already discussed in my previous post, it is the discovery that the fossils are 34 millions year old makes the sloth the earliest known mammals in the GA Islands. So we do have meaning error in choice A. That's the first error.
The second error is, as already cited, "comma + and" has been used to combine two verb-ed modifiers - found... & dated.
So apart from the pronoun ambiguity, there are these two objective errors in the sentence that makes choice A wrong. Hence, apart from looking for clarity of pronoun, we must look for an answer choice that fixes the above two errors. Choice D certainly does that. And the other choices have the SV Number Agreement error.
1. Do not eliminate an answer choice right away on the basis of pronoun ambiguity. Look for other objective errors first and then select an answer choice that does not repeat any of these objective errors.
Hope this helps.
Shraddha
I would like you to pay heed to the structure of this sentence.
Fossils of the arm of a sloth found in Puerto Rico in 1991, and dated at 34 million years old, made it the earliest known mammal of the Greater Antilles Islands.
Fossils is the subject in the clause here because "the arm" and "a sloth" lie in the prepositional phrases that modify "Fossils" and "made" is the verb.
Going by the grammatical structure, the sentence conveys that "fossils" made "it" "the earliest known mammal of the Greater Antilles Islands". This is certainly not the intended meaning of the sentence. As already discussed in my previous post, it is the discovery that the fossils are 34 millions year old makes the sloth the earliest known mammals in the GA Islands. So we do have meaning error in choice A. That's the first error.
The second error is, as already cited, "comma + and" has been used to combine two verb-ed modifiers - found... & dated.
So apart from the pronoun ambiguity, there are these two objective errors in the sentence that makes choice A wrong. Hence, apart from looking for clarity of pronoun, we must look for an answer choice that fixes the above two errors. Choice D certainly does that. And the other choices have the SV Number Agreement error.
1. Do not eliminate an answer choice right away on the basis of pronoun ambiguity. Look for other objective errors first and then select an answer choice that does not repeat any of these objective errors.
Hope this helps.
Shraddha
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happymanocha
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Vishal,
Noun in the preposition phrase can not be the subject. Subject of the first clause is Fossils only where as it should be referring to sloth. Therfore this sentence requires correction so that it can refer to sloth.
hope this helps.
Noun in the preposition phrase can not be the subject. Subject of the first clause is Fossils only where as it should be referring to sloth. Therfore this sentence requires correction so that it can refer to sloth.
hope this helps.
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GmatVerbal
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Happymanocha,
OG has given similar explanation. But the question is does 'it' has to refer to subject of the sentence? I have seen some OG questions where pronoun refer to object of preposition.
Thanks.
OG has given similar explanation. But the question is does 'it' has to refer to subject of the sentence? I have seen some OG questions where pronoun refer to object of preposition.
Thanks.
happymanocha wrote:Vishal,
Noun in the preposition phrase can not be the subject. Subject of the first clause is Fossils only where as it should be referring to sloth. Therfore this sentence requires correction so that it can refer to sloth.
hope this helps.
