Pronouns

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Pronouns

by gmattesttaker2 » Mon Jul 30, 2012 9:41 pm
Hello,

I was wondering if can you please assist here:

Question 1:
A careful analysis of the students' test scores reveals that some of them must have cheated.

Correct Answer: [spoiler]A careful analysis of the students' test scores reveals that some students must have cheated.[/spoiler]

I was not clear why the original sentence is not correct since pronoun "them" seems to be referring to "students" only.


Question 2
Our cat is cuter than those in the shelter

My answer:
Our cat is cuter than the ones in the shelter

However, the answer given is:
Our cat is cuter than the cats in the shelter

I was wondering if my answer is also correct? Thanks for your help.


Best Regards,
Sri
Source: — Sentence Correction |

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by Kasia@EconomistGMAT » Tue Jul 31, 2012 12:46 am
The sentence "A careful analysis of the students' test scores reveals that some of them must have cheated." is ambiguous.
"Them" can refer either to students or to their scores.

Your second sentence is incorrect because a plural pronoun needs a PLURAL antecedent and the initial part of the sentence speaks about ONE CAT.
Kasia
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