Many writers of modern English have acquired careless habits that damage the clarity of their prose, <but these habits can be broken >if they are willing to take the necessary trouble.
(A) but these habits can be broken
(B) but these habits are breakable
(C) but they can break these habits
(D) which can be broken
(E) except that can be broken
What shd be the answer to this? Please explain. i got it wrong
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k_pankaj_r
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k_pankaj_r
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I think C is correct. It clarifies the ambiguous prounouns "they". In A,B for example, "they" is ambiguous, because it may refer to writers or habits...So I'd go for C.
Many writers of modern English have acquired careless habits that damage the clarity of their prose, <but these habits can be broken >if they are willing to take the necessary trouble.
Many writers of modern English have acquired careless habits that damage the clarity of their prose, <but these habits can be broken >if they are willing to take the necessary trouble.
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I think it should be C here but is used as a conjunction and hence both parts should be parallel
so the first part says Writers have habits so the second part should say they can break these habbits
sumit please post the ans
so the first part says Writers have habits so the second part should say they can break these habbits
sumit please post the ans
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Hi,
Many writers of modern English have acquired careless habits that damage the clarity of their prose, but these habits can be broken if they are willing to take the necessary trouble.
Notice that the second half of the sentence starting with "but" follows the if-then construction. The underlined portion of the sentence is in passive voice that makes "these habits" the subject of the 'then' clause. In the 'if' clause, the subject is "they" that logically refers to "Many writers", the subject of the opening independent clause of the sentence.
Since pronoun "they" is at the subject position of the 'if' the clause, and "these habits" is at the subject position of the 'then' clause, structurally "they" seems to refer to "these habits". This is not correct. So we have pronoun reference error here.
ii. Use of "except" is incorrect here.
1. Pronouns must have a clear antecedent.
2. Relative pronouns must be places as close to the modifiers they refer to as possible.
These concepts have been covered in e-gmat concepts:
1. Level 1 - Pronouns (This concept features in Preview Level 1 Concepts available in Free Trial. Just register and learn the concept.)
2. Level 2 - Modifiers - Relative Pronouns
Thanks.
Shraddha
Many writers of modern English have acquired careless habits that damage the clarity of their prose, but these habits can be broken if they are willing to take the necessary trouble.
Notice that the second half of the sentence starting with "but" follows the if-then construction. The underlined portion of the sentence is in passive voice that makes "these habits" the subject of the 'then' clause. In the 'if' clause, the subject is "they" that logically refers to "Many writers", the subject of the opening independent clause of the sentence.
Since pronoun "they" is at the subject position of the 'if' the clause, and "these habits" is at the subject position of the 'then' clause, structurally "they" seems to refer to "these habits". This is not correct. So we have pronoun reference error here.
Wrong as discussed.Sumit69 wrote:(A) but these habits can be broken
Same error as in A.Sumit69 wrote:(B) but these habits are breakable
Correct answer. Now, "Many writers", "they" and "they" all three are at the subject position of their respective clauses. Both the pronoun s "they" in the 'if' and the 'then' clause logically as well as grammatically refer to the subject of the opening clause "Many writers".Sumit69 wrote:(C) but they can break these habits
Wrong. Relative pronoun "which" illogically refers to "prose".Sumit69 wrote:(D) which can be broken
i. "that" does not have a clear referent.Sumit69 wrote:(E) except that can be broken
ii. Use of "except" is incorrect here.
1. Pronouns must have a clear antecedent.
2. Relative pronouns must be places as close to the modifiers they refer to as possible.
These concepts have been covered in e-gmat concepts:
1. Level 1 - Pronouns (This concept features in Preview Level 1 Concepts available in Free Trial. Just register and learn the concept.)
2. Level 2 - Modifiers - Relative Pronouns
Thanks.
Shraddha
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