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General SC concept question

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General SC concept question

by Param800 » Tue Jan 15, 2013 8:35 pm
Can a pronoun be placed before the antecedent? For instance, which sentence should be correct from the following statements?

Beaten fairly by its arch rival, the city rugby team has promised that it will win back the title next year.

OR

The city rugby team, beaten fairly by its arch rival, promised that it will win back the title next year.

Thank You

OA : The former one is correct.
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by ceilidh.erickson » Wed Jan 16, 2013 7:13 am
Yes, a pronoun can certainly be placed before the antecedent. (although I guess it's not an "ante"cedent in this case. Should we call it a post-cedent? Kidding!)

If the pronoun is in a modifying phrase at the beginning of a sentence (such as beaten by its arch rival...), and the antecedent is the subject of the sentence that comes directly after (the city rugby team), that modifying phrase (and thus the pronoun) can come before or after the subject. In your two example sentences, either modifier placement would be correct. The only real difference is in verb tense: "promised" v. "has promised."

If the sentence is composed of a subordinate and an independent clause with the same subject, the pronoun and antecedent are interchangeable. Both of the following are correct:

Although it is difficult, the GMAT can be rewarding.

v.

Although the GMAT is difficult, it can be rewarding.
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
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by Param800 » Wed Jan 16, 2013 10:47 am
THANK YOU Ceilidh !!

Got it :)
ceilidh.erickson wrote:Yes, a pronoun can certainly be placed before the antecedent. (although I guess it's not an "ante"cedent in this case. Should we call it a post-cedent? Kidding!)

If the pronoun is in a modifying phrase at the beginning of a sentence (such as beaten by its arch rival...), and the antecedent is the subject of the sentence that comes directly after (the city rugby team), that modifying phrase (and thus the pronoun) can come before or after the subject. In your two example sentences, either modifier placement would be correct. The only real difference is in verb tense: "promised" v. "has promised."

If the sentence is composed of a subordinate and an independent clause with the same subject, the pronoun and antecedent are interchangeable. Both of the following are correct:

Although it is difficult, the GMAT can be rewarding.

v.

Although the GMAT is difficult, it can be rewarding.
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