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"Jose's room is so messy that HIS mother calls HIM a pig."

 

Per Manhattan SC, in the above sentence "HIM" is used incorrectly because it may not refer back to Jose.

 

What else could "HIM" refer to?

 

For the above sentence to be grammatically correct on GMAT the fix is -

 

"Jose's room is so messy that HIS mother calls JOSE a pig."

 

Why is the objective pronoun incorrect [per GMAT terms]?

 

doesnt HIM indicate Jose to be the object?

 

Thnx.

 

Oh well! Never mind.

 

The subject here is Jose's room and not Jose, so we need to replace Him with Jose.

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Some people believe it is inappropriate for a pronoun to refer to a noun in the possessive form (that is, with an apostrophe s). I am certain, however, that GMAT writers do not subscribe to this rule -- I clearly recall seeing a Sentence Correction item in GMATPrep in which the correct response has a pronoun that refers to a possessive noun.

 

Check out:

http://www.cjr.org/tools/lc/posnoun.asp

http://www.whiterose.org/dr.elmo/blog/archives/003548.html

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-- I clearly recall seeing a Sentence Correction item in GMATPrep in which the correct response has a pronoun that refers to a possessive noun.

 

800Bob, do you recall the other answer choices. Was there any option where the possessive noun was not referred by a pronoun?

 

Thnx.

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800Bob, do you recall the other answer choices. Was there any option where the possessive noun was not referred by a pronoun?

 

Thnx.

Yes. As I recall, the pronoun was in the non-underlined portion of the sentence and the antecedent was in the underlined portion. Two or three answer choices had the antecedent without apostrophe+s, and the other choices had the antecedent with apostrophe+s. The credited respose was one of the choices with the possessive form. I remember it well, because it was the only question I answered incorrectly. Blind allegiance to the "rule" that a pronoun may not refer to a possessive noun led me to choose an answer that I should have known was unidiomatic.

 

I wish I had written the question down. Next time I come across it I will do so.

 

Here are three correct answers from 1000SC that violate this "rule":

 

316. Frances Wright’s book on America contrasted the republicanism of the United States with what she saw as the aristocratic and corrupt institutions of England. [Pronoun "she" refers to "Frances Wright's"]

 

458. Joplin’s faith in his opera “Tremonisha” was unshakable; in 1911 he published the score at his own expense and decided to stage the work himself. [Pronoun "he" refers to "Joplin's"]

 

547. On stage, the force of Carrick’s personality and the vividness of his acting disguised the fact that he was, as his surviving velvet suit shows, a short man. [Pronoun "he" refers to "Carrick's"]

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  • 2 years later...
Yes. As I recall, the pronoun was in the non-underlined portion of the sentence and the antecedent was in the underlined portion. Two or three answer choices had the antecedent without apostrophe+s, and the other choices had the antecedent with apostrophe+s. The credited respose was one of the choices with the possessive form. I remember it well, because it was the only question I answered incorrectly. Blind allegiance to the "rule" that a pronoun may not refer to a possessive noun led me to choose an answer that I should have known was unidiomatic.

 

I wish I had written the question down. Next time I come across it I will do so.

 

Here are three correct answers from 1000SC that violate this "rule":

 

316. Frances Wright’s book on America contrasted the republicanism of the United States with what she saw as the aristocratic and corrupt institutions of England. [Pronoun "she" refers to "Frances Wright's"]

 

458. Joplin’s faith in his opera “Tremonisha” was unshakable; in 1911 he published the score at his own expense and decided to stage the work himself. [Pronoun "he" refers to "Joplin's"]

 

547. On stage, the force of Carrick’s personality and the vividness of his acting disguised the fact that he was, as his surviving velvet suit shows, a short man. [Pronoun "he" refers to "Carrick's"]

 

 

hi bob

what's ur final verdict o this rule ?

 

do u mean the rule mentioned in "Manhtten GMAT sentence correction"" wrong ?

 

what makes the sentences mentioned above correct ??? i am 100% confused.

:(:(:(:(

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