Advanced II Flashcards

1
Q

What is wrong?

At current prices, Antarctic oil may be worth drilling for, if wells can be dug there and environmental concerns addressed.

A

Other Pronouns

At current prices, oil in Antarctica may be worth drilling for, if wells can be dug THERE and environmental concerns addressed.

Technically an adverb, there means “in that place.” Thus, there acts a lot like a pronoun. The antecedent place is often referred to in a prepositional phrase and should be a noun, not an adjective.

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2
Q

What is the difference?

  • After the agreement surfaced, the commission dissolved it.*
  • After the agreement surfaced, the commission dissolved itself.*
  • The commission itself was wrong.*
A

Itself. Themselves. One Another. Each Other

  • After the agreement surfaced, the commission dissolved IT.*
  • After the agreement surfaced, the commission dissolved ITSELF*

It must refer to the agreement, because it cannot refer to the commission. If you wish to refer to the commission, you must use itself.

There is no ambiguity with the antecedent.

  • The commission ITSELF was wrong.*
  • Itself and themselves are also used to intensify a noun.*
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3
Q

What is wrong?

The guests at the party interacted with themselves.

A

Itself. Themselves. One Another. Each Other

The guests at the party interacted with ONE ANOTHER.

The Reciprocal Pronouns one another and each other are used to indicate interaction between parties. These pronouns are not interchangeable with Themselves

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4
Q

What is the difference in meaning of such and other/another?

  • After the land-use agreement surfaced, the commission decided to subject any SUCH contracts to debate in the future.*
  • After the land-use agreement surfaced, the commission decided to subject any OTHER contracts to debate in the future.*
A

Itself. Themselves. One Another. Each Other

  • *

The words such and other/another often combine with a general noun to indicate an antecedent.

After the land-use agreement surfaced, the commission decided to subject any SUCH contracts to debate in the future.

Such means “like the antecedent.”

In this example, the land-use agreement is a type of contract. * *

After the land-use agreement surfaced, the commission decided to subject any OTHER contracts to debate in the future.

Similarly, other and another mean “additional of the same type,” though not necessarily “exactly alike.”

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5
Q

What is the difference in meaning?

  • After walking by the chocolates so many times, Roger finally had to eat ONE.*
  • After walking by the chocolates so many times, Roger finally had to eat THEM.*
  • After walking by the chocolates so many times, Roger finally had to eat ONE. IT was delicious, but HE could eat only half of IT.*
A

One

One indicates an indefinite copy or a single, indefinite part of a collection.

After walking by the chocolates so many times, Roger finally had to eat ONE.

The particular chocolate was not delineated ahead oftime, In contrast, the personal pronouns it and they/them indicate definite selection of an entire object or collection.

After walking by the chocolates so many times, Roger finally had to eat THEM.

In this case, Roger ate all the chocolates!

Notice that after Roger has selected a chocolate, we now refer to that particular chocolate using the definite pronoun it.

After walking by the chocolates so many times, Roger finally had to eat ONE. IT was delicious, but HEcould eat only half of IT.

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6
Q

Do So versus Do It

A

Do So versus Do It

Do so can refer to an entire action, including a verb, its objects, and its modifiers.

Quinn did not eat dinner quickly, but her brother DID SO.

This sentence means that Quinn’s brother ate dinner quickly. In referring to an earlier part of the sentence, the expression do so functions like a pronoun.

(Technically, do so is called a “pro-verb,” since it stands for a verb or even an entire predicate.)

Alternatively, you can simply repeat the helping verb without so.

Quinn DID NOT eat dinner quickly, but her brother DID.

On the other hand, in the phrase do it, the pronoun it must refer to an actual noun antecedent.

Quinn failed to do the homework, but her brother did IT.

It refers specifically to the homework.

Of course, the verb does not have to be do:

Quinn did not eat the soup, but her brother ATE IT.

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7
Q

What is awkward?

  • To resist temptation is futile.*
  • That we scored at all gave us encouragement.**.*
A

Placeholder It

Sometimes we need to move an awkward subject or object to the back of the sentence. In these cases, we put an it in the sentence where the subject or object used to be. We call this use of it “Placeholder It.”

Do not look for a noun antecedent for a Placeholder It.

IT is futile TO RESIST temptation.

The subject of the sentence is the infinitive phrase to resist temptation. Although the original sentence is grammatically correct, the GMAT rejects similar sentences on stylistic grounds

IT gave us encouragement THAT we scored at all.

The subject of the sentence is a That-Clause, namely That we scored at all. Again, this sentence is grammatically correct, since some That-Clauses can function as nouns. However, the position is awkward. Postpone a That-Clause in subject position with an Placeholder It.

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8
Q

What is wrong?

After roasting the deer, the hunter extinguished the fire and then searched for a tree to hang it from.

A

Avoiding Pronouns Altogether

After roasting the deer, the hunter extinguished the fire and then searched for a tree to hang THE DEER from.

From the sense of the words, we know that the hunter intends to hang the deer, not the fire. But it could in theory refer to the fire, so we have a classic case of antecedent ambiguity that we must fix.

Repeating the antecedent noun is always an option, if not necessarily the most elegant.

Sometimes, the best way to deal with a pronoun problem is to eliminate pronouns, as we have seen. For instance, at the end of a long sentence, a pronoun such as it or them might inevitably have ambiguous antecedents, no matter how you try to recast the sentence.

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9
Q

What is wrong?

Although the company has had increasing revenues for years because of ITS well-designed products and ITS excellent management team, in the current economic climate IT may finally experience sales declines.

A

Nuances of Pronoun Reference

Nothing is wrong!

The upshot is that what might seem to be slight antecedent ambiguity may in fact be tolerated. If you eliminate every answer choice on the basis of antecedent ambiguity, go back and be less stringent on this issue. Truly wrong answers will have other problems as well.

1. Number The antecedent must agree in number (singular, plural) with the pronoun.

2. Gender The antecedent must agree in gender (masculine, feminine, neuter) with the pronoun. He and his are masculine; she, her, and hers are feminine. It and its are neutral. They, them, and their can be any gender.

The remaining three principles are not absolute.

3. Repeats Repeated pronouns are presumed to refer to the same antecedent. That is, every it and its in the sentence should generally mean the same thing.

4. Proximity The pronoun should normally refer to the closest eligible antecedent. Note
that there is such an idea as “too close.”

5. Case The pronoun and the antecedent should agree in case if they are in parallel structures.

In particular, a subject pronoun in one clause often refers to a noun in subject position in another parallel dause.

In general, subject nouns make strong antecedents, even for somewhat distant pronouns.

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10
Q

What is wrong?

The orca, a relative of the blue whale’s, is found throughout the globe

A

Possessive Nuances

The orca, a relative of the blue whale. is found throughout the globe.

You should not choose OF X’s on the GMAT. Choose either the form OF X or the form X’s.

Other grammar authorities allow OF X’s, but this construction is considered redundant by the GMAT.

Also, as a guessing rule of thumb, try to steer clear of the plural possessive form (-s’) in answer choices.

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11
Q

What is wrong?

Certain humans’ parasites have been shown to provide bacterial resistance and protection against auto-immune disorders.

A

Possessive Nuances

Certain parasites in humans have been shown to provide bacterial resistance and protection against auto-immune disorders.

The correct version clears up the ambiguity about what the adjective certain modifies (do we mean certain humans or certain parasites?).

The correct version also properly identifies the relationship between parasites and humans (it is more precise to say parasites IN humans than parasites OF humans).

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12
Q
A
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