hitmewithgmat wrote:The pioneering research of Lewis Latimer and Thomas Edison, who became known for his invention of the light bulb, accelerated the development of the first power plant, which opened in New York City in 1882.
A. of Lewis Latimer and Thomas Edison, who became known for his invention of the light bulb, (pronoun error)
B. of Lewis Latimer and Thomas Edison, known for his invention of the light bulb, (pronoun error)
C. of Thomas Edison, known for his invention of the light bulb, and Lewis Latimer (Correct)
D. of Lewis Latimer and Thomas Edison became known for his invention of the light bulb and (pronoun error)
E. that was conducted by Thomas Edison, who became known for his invention of the light bulb, and Lewis Latimer(passive voice)
This question uses our knowledge of history against us; we all know TE invented the lightbulb, so we assume that "who" refers to Edison.
Similarly, if the sentence read "Starsky and Hutch, who rid the town of criminals, recorded an new album," we would assume that "who" refers to both Starsky and Hutch.
So, in the case of compound subjects, "who" can refer to the noun that directly precedes it, or "who" can refer to the compound noun that precedes it.
In the original sentence it is unclear to whom "who" refers (how's that for an awkward, albeit grammatically correct, sentence?
).
Answer choice C removes that ambiguity.
