Pronouns & Antecedents Flashcards
(15 cards)
GMAT considers it acceptable for a noun in the possessive form to be the antecedent of a pronoun.
- The boss’s dog is running fast, and his cat is taking a nap.
- The fish’s eggs will hatch soon; it will then begin to swim upstream with its babies.
Meaning can indicate the referent of a pronoun, eliminating ambiguity
After the antique clock that had been sitting on the shelf collecting dust was cleaned and adjusted, it worked well, telling the time perfectly and chiming every half hour.
Pronoun issue: A pronoun has an adjective as its antecedent
Incorrect: The number of grams of Colombian gold sold annually has increased each year since 2005, a fact demonstrating buyer confidence in the quality of the gold produced there.
Pronoun Issue: A pronoun is referring to a clause
- Incorrect: My dog remained lost for days, which caused me to lose sleep until it was found.
- Correct: I lost sleep until my dog, which remained lost for days, was found.
Pronouns that correctly refer to “each” or “every” are always singular, regardless of whether “each” or “every” begins a phrase that contains a plural noun or that describes a group.
- Each of the theories was examined, and then it was categorized according to degree of plausibility.
- Every one of the chemicals discussed in the report is widely used even though it is highly toxic.
When the word “term” is used in reference to the name of something, make sure that any pronouns meant to refer to that thing refer to that thing itself and not the word “term.”
- Incorrect: The term “social media” is often used to describe platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, but it actually refers to any form of internet communication.
- Correct: The term “social media” is often used to describe platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, but social media is actually any form of internet communication.
Who/Whoever: subject pronoun
Whom/Whomever: object pronoun
Strategy: Replace the pronoun with “he” or “him.”
- If “he” is correct: who/whoever is correct
- If “him” is correct: whom/whomever is correct
Possessive Noun + Gerund
e.g., The head of research told the team members that he appreciated their being honest with him about the flaws in the model.
Possessive Pronoun: Rules
- A possessive pronoun such as “his” can refer to a noun in the possessive form such as “man’s.”
- A personal pronoun such as “he” that seems to refer to a noun in the possessive form, such as “man’s,” is ok.
Demonstrative Pronoun
- Takes the place of a noun and always stand alone
- Examples: this, that, those, these
- Examples: The tires on most sports cars are wider than those on most sedans.
Don’t use demonstrative pronouns in situations in which using personal pronouns would make more sense.
e.g., The complete wiping out of swordfish could occur even if not all of those are directly killed.
→ them
Sometimes demonstrative pronouns don’t refer directly to their antecedents
The speed of today’s cars well exceeds that of cars of the 1950s.
→ A comparison of two different speeds is being made.
Expletive “it”: A pronoun that has no logical referent is not correctly used unless that pronoun is used as an expletive.
- Incorrect: In the past, people commonly burned leaves, but it is rare now.
- Correct: The young violinist realized that it is fun to learn challenging new pieces. (“to learn challenging new pieces” = delayed subject”)
Expletive “it”: There are exceptions in which “it” is used as an expletive without a delayed subject.
- It is raining.
- It is two o’clock.
Expletive “it”: Master Strategy
To confirm that the pronoun “it” without a referent is not being used correctly, we can check for the presence of a delayed subject.
- If there’s a delayed subject that we can logically substitute for “it”, “it” is an expletive.
- If there’s no delayed subject that we can logically substitute for “it,” we can be confident that “it” is not correctly used.
