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To Mitch Hunt: pronoun reference

by aflaam » Sat Mar 12, 2016 2:05 pm
In Creek theology the supreme being was Esaugetu Emissee (Master of Breath), who dwelt in an upper realm
in which the sky was the floor, and who had the power to give and to take away the breath of life.

A in which the sky was the floor, and who had the power to give and to take
B where the sky was the floor, having the power to give and to take
C whose floor was the sky, and who has the power of giving and of taking
D in which the sky was the floor, with the power of giving and taking
E whose floor was the sky, having the power to give and take
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OA A
in non-underline portion who refers to Esaugetu Emissee.
does that mean whose in CE also refers to Esaugetu Emissee, and thus constitute an error?
PS: rule i am alluding to is same pronoun(with all its form) refers to same antecedent.
Many Thanks.
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by GMATGuruNY » Fri Mar 18, 2016 5:58 am
aflaam wrote:In Creek theology the supreme being was Esaugetu Emissee (Master of Breath), who dwelt in an upper realm in which the sky was the floor, and who had the power to give and to take away the breath of life.

A in which the sky was the floor, and who had the power to give and to take
B where the sky was the floor, having the power to give and to take
C whose floor was the sky, and who has the power of giving and of taking
D in which the sky was the floor, with the power of giving and taking
E whose floor was the sky, having the power to give and take
Source GMAT prep

in non-underline portion who refers to Esaugetu Emissee.
does that mean whose in CE also refers to Esaugetu Emissee, and thus constitute an error?
PS: rule i am alluding to is same pronoun(with all its form) refers to same antecedent.
Many Thanks.
Generally, the agent of a COMMA + VERBing modifier must be the NEAREST PRECEDING SUJBECT.
B: the sky was the floor, having the power to give and to take away the breath of life
E: whose floor was the sky, having the power to give and take away the breath of life
In B, the portion in red seems to refer to the sky -- the nearest preceding subject -- incorrectly implying that THE SKY was HAVING THE POWER TO GIVE AND TO TAKE AWAY THE BREATH OF LIFE.
In E, the portion in red seems to refer to whose floor -- the nearest preceding subject -- incorrectly implying that THE FLOOR was HAVING THE POWER TO GIVE AND TAKE AWAY THE BREATH OF LIFE.
The intended meaning is that ESAUGETU EMISSEE had this power.
Eliminate B and E.

C: who dwelt in an upper realm whose sky was the floor, and who had the power of giving and taking away the breath of life
Here, both the first and the second who are intended to refer to Esauget Emissee, while whose is intended to refer to an upper realm.
Generally, successive forms of the same pronoun should have the SAME ANTECEDENT.
Eliminate C.

Generally, a COMMA + with modifier at the end of a sentence serves to refer to the nearest preceding subject and verb, expressing HOW the preceding subject performs the action of the preceding verb.
D: the sky was the floor, with the power of giving and taking away the breath of life
Here, the portion in red seems to refer to the sky was -- the nearest preceding subject and verb -- incorrectly implying that THE SKY had the POWER OF GIVING AND TAKING AWAY THE BREATH OF LIFE.
The intended meaning is that ESAUGETU EMISSEE had this power.
Eliminate D.

The correct answer is A.
Last edited by GMATGuruNY on Sat Mar 19, 2016 8:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by bonetlobo » Fri Mar 18, 2016 6:17 am
Also, it looks like option C has a tense issue since it says "who has the power of giving and of taking".

So, "has" seems to be incorrect, since it is present tense.
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