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Flashcards in Pronouns Deck (4)
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1
Q

Pronoun

A

referent to a person place or thing such as

his, her, they, it, them etc…

2
Q

GMAT Pronoun TRICK

GMAT likes to trick the reader by using 1 pronoun that possibly refers to multiple nouns.
Every pronoun should clearly (100%) be easily traceable to 1 noun.

Create an example

A

Ex. Lawyers for the patent holder pressed the federal judge to impose an injunction against the hardware manufacturer, arguing that they should take immediate…

They trick is “they”. Who does it refer to? The lawyers or the judge?

If it’s not 100% clear which noun it is referring to, that answer is wrong.

Here is the correct answer for this problem.

Lawyers for the patent holder pressed the federal judge to impose an injunction against the hardware manufacturer, arguing that immediate action should be taken to prevent their client from suffering further economic damages

3
Q

GMAT Pronoun Trick - Singular or Plural?

A

GMAT likes to make plurals sound like singular and visa versa.
Ex. The noun “incidence” sounds like a plural, but the word is actually singular.

4
Q

Pronoun tricks are used to distort the meaning of the sentence, therefore

A

make sure the sentence retains the intended meaning of the sentence.

EX. Original Sentence is: The bowerbirds of Australia derive their name from the fact that the males build elaborate bowers of sticks and twigs to attract females, decorating them with flowers and other vegetation in a display of courtship.

Explanation of why incorrect:
The original sentence contains the pronoun “them” but it is not grammatically clear whether the pronoun’s antecedent is “bowers of sticks and twigs” or “females.” Logically, we know that the antecedent is “bowers”, so we need to find a replacement that makes this clear. Moreover, the bowerbird does not derive its name from the fact that it builds bowers, but from the bowers themselves.