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Pronoun question

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Pronoun question

by viv09 » Mon Sep 26, 2011 2:43 pm
Hi all,

This may sound like a basic question, but I need to get some clarification for myself.

Sentence:
When the guests finished their carrots they were brought plates of onions.

Their and They both refer to the antecedent Guest,
Can 2 pronouns refer to the same antecedent.

Can I assume that for 1 antecedent there can be more than 1 pronoun, But there can't be 1 pronoun which refers to more than 1 antecedent.

Thanks!
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by e-GMAT » Mon Sep 26, 2011 3:59 pm
Hi viv09,

Sure enough you have a very fundamental doubt about usage of pronouns.
Yes one antecedent can be referred to by more than 1 pronouns.

And yes 1 antecedent can be referred to by more than 1 pronouns. But 1 pronoun can only refer to 1 antecedent. This is because if 1 pronoun refers to more than 1 antecedent, then the sentence will be ambiguous and we would not know what the sentence intends to state. For example:

Samuel and Joe went to London, where he got lost.
Now we do not know who got lost - Sam or Joe. This is because, "he" could refer to both Sam and Joe.

Mary and Joe went to London, where he got lost.
Now we know who got lost - Joe. This is because, "he" can only refer to Joe.

Your questions indicate that you need some refresher for pronouns. You may access e-GMAT FREE trial and refer to the concept titled "Pronouns". All you need to do is create an account at e-GMAT and you will get immediate access to this concept along with other concepts :)

Hope this helps.

Payal
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