Pronoun Ambiguity : pronoun before noun

BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem

This topic has expert replies

Post new topic Locked

Previous Topic Next Topic

surekaharsh: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 4; Joined: Sun Mar 24, 2013 10:10 am

Pronoun Ambiguity : pronoun before noun

by surekaharsh » Tue Jul 23, 2013 9:30 am

I would like to know whether we can use a pronoun to refer to a noun which is mentioned after the pronoun in a sentence. For Example :

Following its hugely successful campaign, the Club bought a number of new players.

Over here, 'its' is referring to "the club". Is it correct ? Is such usage allowed on the GMAT ?

Quote

Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Tue Jul 23, 2013 9:30 am

GMATGuruNY: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15539; Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pm; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 13060 times; Followed by:1906 members; GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Tue Jul 23, 2013 10:27 am

I discussed this issue in my post here:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/although-he- ... 27625.html

Private tutor exclusively for the GMAT and GRE, with over 20 years of experience.
Followed here and elsewhere by over 1900 test-takers.
I have worked with students based in the US, Australia, Taiwan, China, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia -- a long list of countries.
My students have been admitted to HBS, CBS, Tuck, Yale, Stern, Fuqua -- a long list of top programs.

As a tutor, I don't simply teach you how I would approach problems.
I unlock the best way for YOU to solve problems.

For more information, please email me (Mitch Hunt) at [email protected].
Student Review #1
Student Review #2
Student Review #3

Quote

GMAT/MBA Expert

[email protected]: Elite Legendary Member; Posts: 10392; Joined: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:38 pm; Location: Palo Alto, CA; Thanked: 2867 times; Followed by:511 members; GMAT Score:800

by [email protected] » Tue Jul 23, 2013 1:20 pm

Hi surekaharsh,

Pronoun ambiguity is a subject that usually shows up once on the GMAT, so you do have to be clear on this issue if you want those points. Your example would be possible on Test Day because the word "its" is linked to "hugely successful campaign"; this can only refer to "the Club". Furthermore, the sentence uses proper modification style.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Contact Rich at [email protected]

Quote

Matt@VeritasPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2630; Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2012 3:32 pm; Location: East Bay all the way; Thanked: 625 times; Followed by:119 members; GMAT Score:780

by Matt@VeritasPrep » Tue Jul 23, 2013 5:13 pm

With very few exceptions, the GMAT considers a singular, nonhuman noun to be an "it". So "the club" is "it", "the audience" is "it", "the team" is "it", "New York" is "it", etc.

In spoken English, we usually treat collective nouns (singular nouns referring to groups that contain more than one person or thing, such as "the team" or "the club") as plural, but on the GMAT something is plural when it's plural and singular when it's singular. You only have one club, so the club is "it".

surekaharsh wrote:I would like to know whether we can use a pronoun to refer to a noun which is mentioned after the pronoun in a sentence. For Example :

Following its hugely successful campaign, the Club bought a number of new players.

Over here, 'its' is referring to "the club". Is it correct ? Is such usage allowed on the GMAT ?

Save $100 on any VP online course!