Possessive pronoun

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Possessive pronoun

by pbanavara » Tue Jan 20, 2009 10:03 am
Despite Beethoven's traditional status as the first great Romantic composer, he is considered by some musicologists to be the last great composer of the Classical era.

A. Despite Beethoven's traditional status as the first great Romantic composer, he is considered by some musicologists to be the last great composer of the Classical era.
B. Despite Beethoven's traditional status as the first great Romantic composer, he is considered the last great composer of the Classical era by some musicologists.
C. Although his status is traditionally as the first great Romantic composer, Beethoven is considered as being the last great composer of the Classical era by some musicologists.
D. Despite his traditional status as the first great Romantic composer, Beethoven is considered the last great composer of the Classical era by some musicologists.
E. Although he is traditionally considered to be the first great Romantic composer, some musicologists consider Beethoven as the last great composer of the Classical era.

This is a 600-700 level question from MGMAT. Shouldn't possessive pronouns such as 'his' be preceded by the noun ? Just needed that clarification.

I'll post the OA by COB today.

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by James_83 » Tue Jan 20, 2009 10:20 am
IMO E.

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by pbanavara » Tue Jan 20, 2009 10:25 am
James_83 wrote:IMO E.
No sir, the usage of Although in this context is not correct.

Despite his traditional status .. he is still considered the .....
This conveys the right meaning.
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by amitabhprasad » Tue Jan 20, 2009 10:27 am
I think answer should be "D".
Regarding your question of preceding "his" by a noun, I am not sure if it is must that pronoun be preceded by a referent. I think referent may come before or after pronoun only requirement is, the referent should be clearly stated.

A) no referent for "he" and use of considered ... to be is in correct.
B) same as "A"
C) use of being is not correct in this sentence
D) correct IMO
E) Modifier subject problem
Last edited by amitabhprasad on Tue Jan 20, 2009 1:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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by James_83 » Tue Jan 20, 2009 10:32 am
Firstly,i choose D..But got confused in possessive pronoun 'his'. Since, possessive nouns can be replaced by possessive pronouns or vice-versa, so i eliminated D. And on the same basis, i choose E.

I am not sure whether i am correct.

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by amitabhprasad » Tue Jan 20, 2009 10:35 am
James_83 wrote:Firstly,i choose D..But got confused in possessive pronoun 'his'. Since, possessive nouns can be replaced by possessive pronouns or vice-versa, so i eliminated D. And on the same basis, i choose E.

I am not sure whether i am correct.
James,
I believe possessive pronoun can refer back to the noun.
So the usage of his... with the subject should be fine.
Lets see what others have to say

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by Vitalina » Tue Jan 20, 2009 12:37 pm
I would choose D.
The main clause opens with B being the main subject, and the grammar in the phrase consider someone (to be) something is also correct

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by Bidisha800 » Tue Jan 20, 2009 5:12 pm
(D) is correct
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by pbanavara » Tue Jan 20, 2009 5:28 pm
Yep the OA is indeed D. Thanks for the clarifications about possessive pronouns.
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by crazy4gmat » Wed Jan 21, 2009 6:45 am
D for me

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