Hi, I have a query on Pronouns.
"Researchers claim to have developed new "nano-papers" incorporating tiny cellulose fibers, which THEY allege give THEM the strength of cast iron". Source:Manhattan SC guide (latest edition, pg 62 of 302).
The guide says that Either pronoun could refer to researchers or to "nano-papers".
My take: There could be other grounds to reject the QUOTED sentence, but I disagree with what's said above on the ground that logic supersedes apparent pronoun ambiguity. Logically, to me, THEY can refer only to Researchers and certainly THEM can't refer to Researchers but only to "nano-papers".
Can you guys put your thoughts here? Tks
Also, I am illustrating some variants of the aforementioned sentence, could you guys evaluate if they are correct or not:
-Researchers claim to have developed new "nano-papers" incorporating tiny cellulose fibers, which the Researchers allege give THEM the strength of cast iron.
-Researchers claim to have developed new "nano-papers" incorporating tiny cellulose fibers, which THEY allege give the nano-papers the strength of cast iron.
-Researchers claim to have developed new "nano-papers" incorporating tiny cellulose fibers, which the Researchers allege give the nano-papers the strength of cast iron.
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Pronoun basics?
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rishijhawar
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rishijhawar
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Hi friends, can someone please take a stab here.
rishijhawar wrote:Hi, I have a query on Pronouns.
"Researchers claim to have developed new "nano-papers" incorporating tiny cellulose fibers, which THEY allege give THEM the strength of cast iron". Source:Manhattan SC guide (latest edition, pg 62 of 302).
The guide says that Either pronoun could refer to researchers or to "nano-papers".
My take: There could be other grounds to reject the QUOTED sentence, but I disagree with what's said above on the ground that logic supersedes apparent pronoun ambiguity. Logically, to me, THEY can refer only to Researchers and certainly THEM can't refer to Researchers but only to "nano-papers".
Can you guys put your thoughts here? Tks
Also, I am illustrating some variants of the aforementioned sentence, could you guys evaluate if they are correct or not:
-Researchers claim to have developed new "nano-papers" incorporating tiny cellulose fibers, which the Researchers allege give THEM the strength of cast iron.
-Researchers claim to have developed new "nano-papers" incorporating tiny cellulose fibers, which THEY allege give the nano-papers the strength of cast iron.
-Researchers claim to have developed new "nano-papers" incorporating tiny cellulose fibers, which the Researchers allege give the nano-papers the strength of cast iron.
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lunarpower
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i received a private message regarding this thread.
the real problem with that sentence isn't the two individual pronouns; it's the combined use of both "they" and "them".
normally, if you're going to have a "they" and a "them" in the same clause (or 2 "they"s, or 2 "them"s), then both of them should refer to the same entity. basically, when you encounter the first pronoun, your brain makes a decision about who "they" are, in this particular clause, so that's the interpretation that will come immediately to mind if you encounter another "they"/"them". it creates this weird cognitive dissonance if you suddenly hit another "them" that stands for something else, even if there's only one word in the sentence that could logically make sense.
correspondingly, i think that your 2 sentences in which you've removed one of the pronouns and kept the other (your second and third example sentences) are fine.
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the good news is that you won't have to make these kinds of decisions, individually, on the test.
remember that every issue you encounter is going to come in the context of a split -- i.e., it will be right up alongside other answer choices that do things differently. that will make these decisions a lot easier to make.
the real problem with that sentence isn't the two individual pronouns; it's the combined use of both "they" and "them".
normally, if you're going to have a "they" and a "them" in the same clause (or 2 "they"s, or 2 "them"s), then both of them should refer to the same entity. basically, when you encounter the first pronoun, your brain makes a decision about who "they" are, in this particular clause, so that's the interpretation that will come immediately to mind if you encounter another "they"/"them". it creates this weird cognitive dissonance if you suddenly hit another "them" that stands for something else, even if there's only one word in the sentence that could logically make sense.
correspondingly, i think that your 2 sentences in which you've removed one of the pronouns and kept the other (your second and third example sentences) are fine.
--
the good news is that you won't have to make these kinds of decisions, individually, on the test.
remember that every issue you encounter is going to come in the context of a split -- i.e., it will be right up alongside other answer choices that do things differently. that will make these decisions a lot easier to make.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.
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Pueden hacerle preguntas a Ron en castellano
Potete chiedere domande a Ron in italiano
On peut poser des questions à Ron en français
Voit esittää kysymyksiä Ron:lle myös suomeksi
--
Quand on se sent bien dans un vêtement, tout peut arriver. Un bon vêtement, c'est un passeport pour le bonheur.
Yves Saint-Laurent
--
Learn more about ron
