TTP Pronouns and Antecedents

demonstrative pronoun (This, That, These, Those)

- This, That, These, Those - is used to point out a specific person, place, thing or idea and often used in some kind of comparison -Always stands on its own and relates to a noun that appears earlier -That/those often don't refer 1:1 back to the original noun (ex: The speed of today's cars well exceeds THAT of cars of the 50's) (This example is comparing todays speed to the speed of the 50's) -In general, if that or those is used as a pronoun then the "that/those" new copy must be modified in some way to contrast against the original antecedent. Example: Correct: The money spent by her parents is less than THAT spent by her children. (The that is acting as a "new copy" of it's antecedent, "the money". The new copy is modified by "spent by her children". Notice how the money is the pronoun, and the initial noun "the money" is not the same thing, both are modified to be different.) - This or these should not be used in place of nouns, instead you should use they or them. (Note: That or those can take the place of a noun IF it is modified as mentioned above.) Examples: Incorrect: Her products are unusual; many consider THESE unique. (This or these cannot be used in place of a noun) Corrected: Her products are unusual; many consider THEM unique.

Expletive "It"

-May appear to be incorrect, but it is correct. -The subject and verb come after the "it" -Often used in place of the noun clause, and the noun clause it presented after -For this usage to be correct their MUST be a delayed subject (i.e. subject that appears after the "it") within a dependent clause. -To verify it's helpful to repeat the sentence in your head without the it by starting with the subject and the verb, as shown in an example below. Ex: Although the project was challenging, it was clear that the team was making progress. Revised without it: Although the project was challenging, that the team was making progress was clear.

Replacing a pronoun with its antecedent to check for meaning/logic

A quick way to validate if a pronoun is logically used in a sentence and conveys the correct meaning is to replace the pronoun with its antecedent. Note: You should ALWAYS be performing the above described procedure every time you see a pronoun. Example: Incorrect: Although the term "supercomputer" may sound fanciful or exaggerated, it is simply an extremely fast mainframe that can execute trillions of calculations every second. (If you replace "it" with the subject of the sentence, which is "the term", then it's clear that "the term" is not an extremely fast mainframe.) Correct: Although the term "supercomputer" may sound fanciful or exaggerated, it simply refers to an extremely fast mainframe that can execute trillions of calculations every second. (In adding "refers to", now the pronoun "it" logically makes sense with the context of the rest of the sentence.)

Illogical anticedents

Antecedents which may be correct from a singular/plural perspective, but that don't make grammatical sense. Ex: The term "social media" is often used to describe platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, but it is actually any form of internet communication, including blogs, wikis, and more. The "is" in the example illogically conveys that the term is a form of internet communcation. To fix this you could rewrite IT actually REFERS TO

Unneeded pronouns

Common error where a pronoun is added where it is not needed. Ex: Dylan, an excellent GMAT test taker, he is great. The "he" here is not needed.

Three types of pronouns

Do the action = subject (i.e. use these when the subject of the sentence is the pronoun) (I will run far) Receive the action = object (I.e. use these when the pronoun recieves an action within the sentence) (He hit HIM hard) express ownership = possessive (I.e. use these in the possessive form) (The members of the team will pick their own members)

Strategy for determining appropriate type of pronoun in a compound subject or object

Drop the other subject in the compound subject/object, and determine what it should be if dropped. Ex: May and I/me went to the beach (I WENT TO THE BEACH, NOT ME WENT TO THE BEACH) Ex: Sarah gave the gift to Bita and I/me (Sarah gave the gift to ME)

Pronouns shouldn't have an antecedent that is acting as a pronoun

Example: I wish the bread section were at the front of the store, so that I could purchase it more conveniently. In the example above, the "it" is trying to refer to bread, but "the bread section" is a modifier acting as an adjective and can't be an antecedent to a pronoun, as it must be a noun. To correct you could say "so that I could purchase BREAD more conveniently" Note: Just because something is a modifier, or a part of a prepositional phrase doesn't mean that a pronoun can't refer to it. A pronoun simply can not refer to an adjective, or a noun acting as an adjective. Ex: "Coal" is a noun, but could be used as an adjective, for example "Coal powered train" -- here the noun is the train, and is modified with the adjective 'coal powered'"

How to identify pronoun multiple or inconclusive antecedent errors

For each pronoun in a sentence, try to evaluate the associated noun. If it is unclear then you likely have some form of a pronoun error. For example: Recently, anthropologists found people of a nomadic tribe living in an area that had been considered uninhabitable by many of them. In the example above, you would ask yourself "what does THEM refer to", and the answer could be either anthropologists OR people since both are plural nouns. The idea is that the placement of this pronoun is not an appropriate way to structure a sentence.

This referring to a whole clause

Generally NOT preferable on the GMAT, in general it's preferable that pronouns do not refer to a whole clause. Ex: Because swordfish do not breed until the age of five, this means that current fishing practices will dwindle populations. In the example above THIS is referring to the whole clause preceding it, which is not preferable.

Subject pronouns (common list)

I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they, who

What is ITS?

ITS is the possessive form of IT. Not (It is)

Pronouns without an antecedent

If given two choices, one where the antecedent is directly provided, and one where it is not, then the one where IT IS provided is preferable. Ex: The number of grams of Colombian gold sold annually in the world gold markets has increased each year since 2005, illustrating the market's conviction in the high-quality gold that is mined there. The example above does not clearly convey what "there" is. You might think Colombian, but in fact Colombian is a modifier of grams and not explicitly a noun to the pronoun. To fix this you might say "The number of grams of gold that is mined in/from Colombia." The pronoun "They" is commonly used on the GMAT to have situations of pronouns without verifiable antecedents.

Pronouns and their antcedent

It must be clear what noun a pronoun refers to. For example: In a fit of anger, Jane poured the water from the vase and threw it. In the example above it's not clear which noun "it" refers to. The "it" could refer to the vase, or it could also refer to the water.

Five most common pronouns to keep an eye out for errors on the GMAT

It, Its, They, Them, Their Whenever you see one of these pronouns, should one: (1) Confirm their is antecedent that matches in number (i.e. plural vs. singular) (2) Confirm that the pronoun logically works with the sentence. Be especially careful with their, example: Wrong: Whenever a student calls, take down THEIR information. (The word student is singular and should not be have the plural "their" as its pronoun.) Right: Whenever a student calls, take down HIS or HER information. (Corrected by changing their to be his or her.) Right: Whenever students call, take down THEIR information. (Corrected by changing to a plural noun so that their can now work.)

Subject verb agreement and pronouns

Just as a subject must agree to its verb, so must a pronoun agreement with its antecedent. Ex: They could not refer to THE DOG (plural != singular) Every time you see a pronoun on the GMAT, confirm the antecedent agrees with plural vs. singular.

Each/Every with pronouns

Keep an eye out for usage of each/every with pronouns. Pronouns of course CAN refer to each/every, which both are singular. Remember that for each/every you ignore the associated prepositional phrase, and need a singular verb. Ex: Each of the theories was examined, and then it was categorized according to degree of plausibility. (Each = singular, theories is irrelevant to the pronoun because it is part of the prepositional phrase) Ex: Every one of the chemicals discussed in the report is widely used even though it is highly toxic.

Pronouns for objects of prepositions

MUST BE pronouns IN OBJECT FORM (i.e. For HIM, For HER, With THEM, On IT) Ex: Everyone in our group of friends from college, except for Peter and HER (We use HER because Peter and Her are not the main subject, and they are OBJECTS OF THE PREPOSITION FOR)

Pronouns generally should not refer to a whole clause

More specifically, a pronoun should ideally refer to a more clearly identifiable noun. Ex: My dog remained lost for days, which caused me to lose sleep until it was found. In the example above, which is trying to modify the whole clause "My dog remained lost for days". However, more ideally it the which if used should modify "dog" directly. Ex: I lost sleep until my dog, which remained lost for days, was found. Ex: : The job was less difficult than Shane had expected it to be, but THAT didn't make up for the lack of play In the example above, THAT is appearing to modify the whole clause above, which is not preferred on the GMAT. (But the lack of difficult in place of the THAT would be preferable) Note: In general these aren't explicitly wrong, and if given no other alternative better answer choice it could be a correct answer.

What must you know regarding pronouns, and nouns that are being used as adjectives?

Must know that a noun that is being used as an adjective, CAN NOT be the antecedent of a pronoun. Example: Incorrect: The park rangers discussed measures to prevent severe wildfires, which would be devastating to it. (What "it" refers to in this sentence is unclear. You also must realize that the "park" in-front of rangers can not serve as the antecedent of "it" because the word "park" is being used as an adjective modifier of "rangers".)

Noun clauses

Noun clauses begin with words such as how, that, what, whatever, when, where, whether, which, whichever, who, whoever, whom, whomever, and why -Must contain a subject and a verb -Dependent clause -Functions as a noun can act as subjects, direct objects, indirect objects, predicate nominatives, or objects of a preposition. Ex: What Alicia said made her friends cry. (subject) Ex: She didn't realize that the directions were wrong. (object of a verb) Ex: Carlie's problem was that she didn't practice enough. (subject complement) Ex: Josephine is not responsible for what Alex decided to do. (Object of a preposition) Ex: Jerry knows why Elaine went to the store. (Adjective complement)

Whom/Whoever

OBJECT pronouns -Receiver of the action

Strategy for who/whoever vs. whom/whomever

Replace with he (subject) and him (object), and determine which is more appropriate. If he, then who/whoever If him, then whom/whomever Note: If in a situation where a pronoun could act as both a subject and a object, then the rule is to default to subject (Ex: No body saw WHO had pulled the alarm)

Who/whoever

SUBJECT pronouns -Doer of the action

Singular indefinite pronouns and pronoun subject verb agreement

Singular indefinite pronouns require SINGULAR pronoun referents. Common singular indefinite pronouns: Everyone, anyone, someone, no one, nobody Ex: Everyone has his or her own problems (NOT THEIR own)

Using meaning/logic to confirm a pronouns antecedent

Sometimes a sentence can have multiple nouns and only one pronoun but still clearly convey the antecedent of that pronoun through meaning. For example: 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. In the example above it MUST refer to the clock because a shelf or dust can not tell time or chime.

Possessive pronouns with gerunds

These may sound "funny" but are often entirely correct. Ex: The mayor was at a hearing with citizens, and was surprised by their questioning of his new law. Correct because it is the CITIZENS questioning.

Demonstrative adjective (This, That, These, Those)

This, That, These, Those - Always followed by a noun Example: New "nano-papers" incorporate fibers that give THESE MATERIALS strength. ("These" acts as a Modifies of materials to be "These" i.e. the new nano-paper materials.)

object pronouns ( common list)

me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them, whom

Possessive pronouns (common list)

mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs, whose