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SC - Pronoun Antecedent

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SC - Pronoun Antecedent

by karthikpandian19 » Sun Jun 17, 2012 11:52 pm
While crocuses, when ingested, are poisonous and induce severe vomiting in some people, they are often fatal to others, whose immune systems are weakened by liver complications.


(A) they are often fatal to others, whose

(B) they are often fatal to others in that their

(C) for others, they are often fatal because their

(D) for some, it is often fatal in that their

(E) it can often be fatal to others, whose
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by bubbliiiiiiii » Mon Jun 18, 2012 1:56 am
IMO A?
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by Ashujain » Mon Jun 18, 2012 4:36 am
karthikpandian19 wrote:While crocuses, when ingested, are poisonous and induce severe vomiting in some people, they are often fatal to others, whose immune systems are weakened by liver complications.


(A) they are often fatal to others, whose

(B) they are often fatal to others in that their

(C) for others, they are often fatal because their

(D) for some, it is often fatal in that their

(E) it can often be fatal to others, whose
D and E can be eliminated because of pronoun ambiguity - singular it refers to plural to crocuses.
C acn also be eliminated because pronoun their does not have a unique antecedent.
A is wrong because it changes the meaning of what authors wants to convey.
B is correct as it gives a reason as to why the crocuses are fatal to some people.
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by abcgmat » Mon Jun 18, 2012 6:27 am
While crocuses, when ingested, are poisonous and induce severe vomiting in some people, they are often fatal to others, whose immune systems are weakened by liver complications.


(A) they are often fatal to others, whose
(B) they are often fatal to others in that their - in that is not formal
(C) for others, they are often fatal because their - their could refers to people or crocuses
is less clear than A
(D) for some, it is often fatal in that their - In that is not formal
(E) it can often be fatal to others, whose- it refers to crocuses which is plural
A is fine
What is the OA
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by karthikpandian19 » Mon Jun 18, 2012 6:32 pm
@bubbliiiiii

Please make ur post useful by posting the reasoning.

bubbliiiiiiii wrote:IMO A?
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by karthikpandian19 » Mon Jun 18, 2012 6:42 pm
OA is A

Ashujain: in B, we have pronoun antecedent error of what "their" is referring to

A - is correct, "whose" - relative pronoun correctly modifies "people"
Ashujain wrote:
karthikpandian19 wrote:While crocuses, when ingested, are poisonous and induce severe vomiting in some people, they are often fatal to others, whose immune systems are weakened by liver complications.


(A) they are often fatal to others, whose

(B) they are often fatal to others in that their

(C) for others, they are often fatal because their

(D) for some, it is often fatal in that their

(E) it can often be fatal to others, whose
D and E can be eliminated because of pronoun ambiguity - singular it refers to plural to crocuses.
C acn also be eliminated because pronoun their does not have a unique antecedent.
A is wrong because it changes the meaning of what authors wants to convey.
B is correct as it gives a reason as to why the crocuses are fatal to some people.
Last edited by karthikpandian19 on Mon Jun 18, 2012 8:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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by jrakhe » Mon Jun 18, 2012 7:20 pm
My answer would be E.

As with answer A, it is not clear where "they" is pointing: people or crocuses?

But with E it seems that "it" is pointing to condition "Vomiting" which can be fatal for people with liver problem.

Please post the OA
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by karthikpandian19 » Mon Jun 18, 2012 8:49 pm
OA is already posted in previous threads as A


In the original sentence, it is clear (barely) that they refers to crocuses and whose refers to some people. However, in choice E (and D too), is incorrect because the singular pronoun it does not agree with the plural subject crocuses

jrakhe wrote:My answer would be E.

As with answer A, it is not clear where "they" is pointing: people or crocuses?

But with E it seems that "it" is pointing to condition "Vomiting" which can be fatal for people with liver problem.

Please post the OA
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by alex.gellatly » Mon Jun 18, 2012 9:17 pm
karthikpandian19 wrote:While crocuses, when ingested, are poisonous and induce severe vomiting in some people, they are often fatal to others, whose immune systems are weakened by liver complications.


(A) they are often fatal to others, whose

(B) they are often fatal to others in that their

(C) for others, they are often fatal because their

(D) for some, it is often fatal in that their

(E) it can often be fatal to others, whose
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by 1947 » Mon Jun 18, 2012 9:22 pm
karthikpandian19 wrote:OA is A

Ashujain: in B, we have pronoun antecedent error of what "their" is referring to

A - is correct, "whose" - relative pronoun correctly modifies "people"
Karthik, why is B wrong...you said 'their' is wrongly used bcos of pronoun antecedant error...
but why can't 'their' point to 'people'....is it because earlier in sentence 'they' has been used for caracus... ? Is there some rule that they and their should point to same noun ?? Thanks a lot in advance.
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by karthikpandian19 » Mon Jun 18, 2012 9:49 pm
While crocuses, when ingested, are poisonous and induce severe vomiting in some people, they are often fatal to others, whose immune systems are weakened by liver complications.

(A) they are often fatal to others, whose

(B) they are often fatal to others in that their

Now, first we can simplify the sentence:
While crocuses, ....., are poisonous and induce severe vomiting in some people, they are often fatal to others, whose[/u] immune systems are weakened by liver complications.

here the CONJUNCTION "while" is used like in the format ---- While this happens, that happen So THEY correctly refers the subject of the first sentence CROCUSES as in A

But in B,
1. The THEIR may refer to the PEOPLE or CROSUSES.

Karthik, why is B wrong...you said 'their' is wrongly used bcos of pronoun antecedant error...
but why can't 'their' point to 'people'....is it because earlier in sentence 'they' has been used for caracus... ? Is there some rule that they and their should point to same noun ?? Thanks a lot in advance.
for your question here, when a pronoun is not rightly placed it may refer a new antecedent or an antecedent which was already referred by some other pronoun. In this (B sentence) case THEY refers clearly to CROCUSES and THEIR may refer either crocuses or people, as it is not in the right location.

Try to replace the actual NOUN in the place of the PRONOUN and then read the meaning of the sentence, then you will clearly understand

2. IN THAT THEIR is wordy and awkward
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by bubbliiiiiiii » Mon Jun 18, 2012 10:05 pm
Karthik, this post is already well discussed before I post the explanation. Thus, I am not posting mine.

I have posted only answers I selected in several of your posts posted yesterday to avoid extra typing. I am glad to share my approach so that it can be reviewed if my answers are correct. I am posting explanation in other threads started by you. :)
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