French and the Poles

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iikarthik: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 57; Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 10:52 am; Thanked: 1 times; GMAT Score:640

by iikarthik » Sat Sep 25, 2010 6:56 am

Hi,

Pls help me understand the usage of pronouns in this sentence

"The French handed the informaion to the poles because they believed it is of no use."

I believe that this sentence is incorrect as they can refer wither to the french or the poles.

Pls advise .

Thanks
karthik

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Sat Sep 25, 2010 6:56 am

gmat_perfect: Legendary Member; Posts: 1083; Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:38 pmFollowed by: 14 members; Thanked: 127 times

by gmat_perfect » Sat Sep 25, 2010 7:14 am

iikarthik wrote:Hi,

Pls help me understand the usage of pronouns in this sentence

"The French handed the information to the poles because they believed it is of no use."

I believe that this sentence is incorrect as they can refer wither to the french or the poles.

Pls advise .

Thanks
karthik

Nope,

The sentence is correct as it is.

There are two clauses. These two clauses have two subjects. Mind the following two things:

1. The pronoun will refer to the NOUN in the previous clause that is grammatically parallel to that pronoun.
2. The intended reference makes the sentence more logical.

Now, come to your sentence.

In the first clause French is the subject, and in the second clause they is the subject. They are parallel.
If they refers to the French, it makes more logical because "they think that it is of no use; therefore, they handed the information". If they refers to the poles, why do they think that it is of no use?

HTH.

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iikarthik: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 57; Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 10:52 am; Thanked: 1 times; GMAT Score:640

by iikarthik » Sat Sep 25, 2010 7:26 am

Thanks a lot GMAT _Perfect.
I understand that the sentence is correct.

1. The pronoun will refer to the NOUN in the previous clause that is grammatically parallel to that pronoun.

Can u pls explain this with an example?

Regards,
karthik

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