Test: Pronouns- 1 - GMAT MCQ

In World War I, the West Asia Bureau of the UK’s Foreign Office had felt that an operation initiated and funded by external powers supporting the insurgent tribes would be beneficial to the British Empire.

Meaning Analysis  

• In World War I, the West Asia Bureau of the UK’s Foreign Office had felt
  • that an operation
    • • initiated and funded by external powers
        • supporting the insurgent tribes
    • would be beneficial to the British Empire.                                 

This sentence tells us that the West Asia Bureau of the UK’s Foreign Office felt that a certain operation would benefit the British Empire. This operation would be initiated and funded by external powers that supported the insurgent tribes. 

Error Analysis

The use of the past perfect tense verb “had felt” is incorrect. We don’t need the verb sequencing here since there is no related event from the past mentioned in the sentence.

Answer Choices

A

In World War I, the West Asia Bureau of the UK’s Foreign Office had felt that an operation initiated and funded by external powers supporting the insurgent tribes would be beneficial to the British Empire. 

Incorrect:          

This choice has the error pointed out in the error analysis. 

B

During World War I, the UK Foreign Office’s West Asia Bureau felt that an operation initiated and funded by external powers in support of the insurgent tribes will be beneficial to the British Empire. 

Incorrect:          

The future tense verb “will” is incorrect in this context since it refers to actions that took place in the past.

C

The West Asia Bureau of the UK’s Foreign Office felt during World War I that an operation initiated and funded by external powers in support of their insurgent tribes would be beneficial to the British Empire. 

Incorrect:          

There is no antecedent in the sentence for the plural pronoun “their”.

D

An operation initiated and funded by external powers in support of their insurgent tribes was felt by the West Asia Bureau of the UK’s Foreign Office to be beneficial during World War I to the British Empire.    

Incorrect:    

1)     This choice has the same pronoun error as in choice C.   

2)     The modifier “during World War I” is misplaced. It should modify the action “felt” as intended in the original sentence.   

E

The West Asia Bureau of the UK’s Foreign Office felt during World War I that an operation initiated and funded by external powers supporting the insurgent tribes would be beneficial to the British Empire.    

Correct:       

This choice corrects the error in the original sentence. It changes the past perfect tense verb “had felt” into the simple past tense verb “felt”, which correctly represents an event from the past.      

Evidence about the activities of the Maya has been gathered through archeological excavations although they may never be completely authenticated because of difficulties in applying carbon dating tests to the fragile remains of the ancient civilization.

Answer Choices

c

The growing meteorite business, if they are supported by adequate government resources, can help meteoriticists find many scientifically valuable specimens in the arid mountains and deserts of northwest Africa.

Meaning Analysis

• The growing meteorite business,
  • if they are supported by adequate government resources,
• can help meteoriticists find many scientifically valuable specimens in the arid mountains and deserts of northwest Africa.                           

This sentence presents a condition about the growing meteorite business. It says that if this business is provided with sufficient government resources, it can help meteoriticists to find several scientifically valuable samples in certain mountains and deserts of northwest Africa.

Error Analysis

The plural pronoun “they” doesn’t agree in number with the singular noun “business”.  

Answer Choices

A

if they are supported by adequate government resources, can help

Incorrect:

This choice has the error pointed out in the error analysis.

B

when it is adequately supported by government resources, helps

Incorrect:   

1)     The modifier “when” fails to present the condition intended in the original sentence.  “If” is required to present the condition stated in the sentence.

2)     This choice changes the intended meaning of the sentence by replacing “adequate” with “adequately”. Now, the adverb “adequately” modifies the verb “supported” instead of the noun “resources”.  As per the original sentence, the resources should be adequate whereas as per this choice the support should be adequate.

3)     The verb “helps” changes the intended meaning. According to the original sentence, growing meteorite business can help meteoricists if the condition mentioned is fulfilled.  However, this choice states the outcome as a matter of fact - i.e. whenever certain thing happens, the meteoricists are helped.

B

if supported by adequate government resources, can help

Correct:        

This choice corrects the only error in the original sentence by removing the plural pronoun “they”.

D

adequately supported by government resources, helps

Incorrect:

1)     The use of the adverb “adequately” changes the intended meaning as explained in choice B.

2)     This choice has the same meaning change because of the use of the verb “helps” as in choice B.

3)     By removing the conditional key-word “if,” this choice fails to present the intended condition.

E

when they are supported by adequate government resources, help

Incorrect:     

1)     The modifier “when” is incorrectly used as explained in choice B.

2)     This choice has the same pronoun error as in choice A.

3)     It also has the same meaning change error pertaining to the use of the verb “help” as in choices B and D.

4)     The plural verb “help” does not agree in number with the singular subject “growing meteorite business”. 

It has, from time to time, been specified in treaties between countries that vessels of any country should first be given a respectful warning if they ignoring a blockade, and it would only be on a second attempt to enter port that it would be liable to be seized. 

Meaning Analysis  

• It has, from time to time, been specified in treaties between countries
  • that vessels of any country should first be given a respectful warning
    • if they ignoring a blockade,
    • and it would only be on a second attempt to enter port
      • that it would be liable to be seized.

This sentence talks about the treaties between countries. It says that it has been mentioned in these treaties that ships of any country should be respectfully warned for the first time when they ignore a blockade. Only if these ships make a second attempt to enter port can they be seized. 

Error Analysis

1)     The singular pronoun “it” does not agree with the plural noun “vessels” in number. 

2)     Subject “they” does not have a verb.  Note that “ignoring” is not a verb since it is not preceded by a helping verb.  This error can be rectified by changing it to “ignore”.

Answer Choices

A

in treaties between countries that vessels of any country should first be given a respectful warning if they ignoring a blockade, and it would only be on a second attempt to enter port that it

Incorrect:          

This choice has the error pointed out in the error analysis. 

B

in treaties between countries that vessels of any country should first be given a respectful warning if they ignore a blockade, and it would only be on a second attempt to enter port that they 

Correct:      

This choice corrects the only error of the original sentence by replacing the pronoun “it” with “they”.      

C

between countries that the vessels of any country in treaties should first be given a respectful warning if they ignore a blockade and only on a second attempt to enter port 

Incorrect: 

The modifier “in treaties” now refers to “any country,” distorting the intended meaning of the sentence.

D

between countries in treaties that if they ignore a blockade, vessels of any country should first be given a respectful warning, and it would only be on a second attempt to enter port that it    

Incorrect:       

1)     This choice has the same pronoun error as in choice A.   

2)     The pronoun “they” seems to refer to “countries”. This is incorrect since the countries don’t ignore the blockade; their vessels do so. 

E

between countries that vessels of any country should first be given a respectful warning, in treaties, if they ignore a blockade; and it would only be on a second attempt to enter port that they

Incorrect:          

1)     This choice incorrectly states that the first warning should be given in treaties. 

2)     It also uses a semicolon as well as the connector “and” to connect two clauses. Either can be used to join two ICs but not both.    

Answer

A

Paleontologists believe that the Clovis community used sophisticated tools to hunt such huge elephant-like animals as mammoths and gomphotheres in an era when doing that was almost impossible for lack of sharpening devices.  

Meaning Analysis

• Paleontologists believe
  • that the Clovis community used sophisticated tools to hunt such huge elephant-like animals as mammoths and gomphotheres in an era
    • when doing that was almost impossible for lack of sharpening devices.

The sentence talks about a belief that paleontologists have. According to them, the Clovis community used refined tools to hunt huge elephant-like animals at a time when such a feat was impossible because there were no sharpening devices to sharpen these tools.

Error Analysis

In the phrase “doing that”, “that” is a pronoun and hence must refer to a noun or a pronoun. Here, “that” refers to the phrase “to hunt,” which denotes an action. This reference leads to a pronoun error. 

Answer Choices

A

doing that was almost impossible 

Incorrect:

This choice has an error pointed out in the error analysis.

B

it was not possible to do 

Incorrect:   

1)     The reference of “it” pronoun may be interpreted in two ways, both of which lead to errors. 

1. “It” in this case is a placeholder pronoun and hence does not refer to any antecedent.  It is no longer clear as to what was not possible to do, so this choice does not communicate complete meaning.
2. “It” refers to “to hunt”, a reference that is not grammatically possible since a pronoun cannot refer to an action.

2)     The word “almost” is missing in this choice, leading to a meaning error. In this context, note that it is illogical to say that this feat was not possible at all: the sentence already confirms that the Clovis community achieved the feat of using sophisticated tools for hunting. So, we need the word “almost” to show that this feat was an exceptional case of someone using sophisticated tools in this era.

C

it was almost impossible to do so  

Correct: 

This choice corrects the only error in the original sentence by replacing “that” with “so.” The phrase “to do so” correctly refers to the action denoted by “to hunt”.   

D

it was almost impossible to do it  

Incorrect: 

The second “it” ungrammatically refers to the action denoted by “to hunt”. As in choice B, note that the first “it” in this choice is a placeholder and hence does not need an antecedent.  

E

that was almost impossible to be done  

Incorrect:  This choice has the same “that” pronoun reference error that we spotted in Choice A.  

The National Geographic Channel employs rigorous scrutiny procedures that may go on for weeks before airing any documentary since it believes that not doing it will expose them to the risk of accepting unreliable or factually incorrect programs. 

Meaning Analysis

• The National Geographic Channel employs rigorous scrutiny procedures
  • that may go on for weeks before airing any documentary
    • since it believes
      • that not doing it will expose them to the risk of accepting unreliable or factually incorrect programs.  

This sentence talks about the rigorous scrutiny procedures that are employed by the National Geographic Channel. It says that these procedures may take weeks before any documentary is shown on the channel. The reason is that the channel thinks that if it doesn’t implement these procedures, it will be exposed to the risk of accepting unreliable or factually incorrect programs.

Error Analysis

1)     The expression “doing it” is unidiomatic. The correct usage is “doing so”.

2)     The plural pronoun “them” is incorrectly used to refer to the singular noun “the National Geographic Channel”.  

Answer Choices

A

it believes that not doing it will expose them

Incorrect:

This choice has the errors pointed out in the error analysis.

B

it believes that not doing so will expose it

Correct:

This choice rectifies both the errors of the original sentence.

C

they believe that to not do it may expose them

Incorrect:

1)     The plural pronouns “they” and “them” are incorrectly used to refer to the singular noun “the National Geographic Channel”.    

2)     This choice has the same idiom error as in choice A.

3)     Also, the use of “may” is incorrect here since it indicates the possibility that the channel may get exposed to something. However, as per the original sentence it’s not a possibility, but a surety.

D

the company believes that not doing it will expose it

Incorrect:

This choice has the same idiom error as in choice A.

E

the company believes that to not do so will expose them

Incorrect:

This choice has the same pronoun error as in choice A.

Answer : D

Correct answer is E.
Stonehenge, the most famous of the English megalithic monuments, has excited the attention of historians since early times, and according to some medieval historians, it was erected by Aurelius Ambrosius in memory of a number of the British chiefs whom Hengist and his Saxons treacherously murdered in A.D. 462; some believe that Ambrosius himself was buried there.

In the financial year 2010-11, the increase in demand due to the relatively stable economy after the recession increased India’s service exports to $133 billion, nearly 38 percent more than that of 2009-10.

Meaning Analysis

• In the financial year 2010-11, the increase in demand due to the relatively stable economy after the recession increased India’s service exports to $133 billion,
  • nearly 38 percent more than that of 2009-10.                         

This sentence tells us that in 2010-2011, India’s service exports rose to $133 billion. This increase was because of the relatively stable economy after the recession. These exports were nearly 38 percent more than the exports of 2009-2010. 

Error Analysis

Singular pronoun “that” refers to the plural noun “exports”, resulting in pronoun-antecedent number agreement error.

Answer Choices

A

that of 2009-10

Incorrect:

This choice has the error pointed out in the error analysis. 

B

those of 2009-10

Correct: 

This choice rectifies the only error of the original sentence by using the plural pronoun “those” to refer to the plural noun “exports”.

C

it did in its 2009-10 exports

Incorrect:      

The construction of this choice is such that it appears that the pronoun “it” refers to India and the pronoun “its” refers to India’s.  First of all “it” cannot grammatically refer to India since India does not exist in the sentence.  Note that the sentence has “India’s” and not “India”.

Secondly, this reference is absolutely illogical.  It appears to indicate that India did the increase in its exports.  This is not correct since the increase happened because of the factors stated.  It was not as if India as a country undertook some measures to make this increase happen.

D

those of its 2009-10 service exports

Incorrect:

Since this choice already uses the noun “service exports” the pronoun “those” becomes redundant.

E

it exported in 2009-10

Incorrect:

As in choice C, the pronoun “it” appears to refer to India, but this antecedent does not exist in the sentence.

Citing relevant evidence of fluctuating product demand and reduced bargaining strength of employees, the World Economic Forum putting employers in the fore for contributing to the rise in temporary employment. 

Meaning Analysis

• Citing relevant evidence of fluctuating product demand and reduced bargaining strength of employees,
• the World Economic Forum putting employers in the fore for contributing to the rise in temporary employment.

This sentence talks about the World Economic Forum (WEF). The WEF has cited relevant evidence of two things:

1. Fluctuating product demand
2. Employees’ reduced bargaining strength

The WEF puts employers in the front for contributing to the rise in temporary employment.

Error Analysis

There is no verb for the subject “the World Economic Forum”.   This is the only error in the sentence.

Answer Choices

A

the World Economic Forum putting employers in the fore for contributing

Incorrect:

This choice has the error pointed out in the error analysis. 

B

employers have been put in the fore by the World Economic Forum, contributing

Incorrect:

1. The opening verb-ing modifier “citing” incorrectly refers to “employers.” It should refer to “The World Economic Forum.”
2. The verb-ing modifier “contributing” incorrectly modifies the clause “employers have been put…” So, this choice incorrectly states that the fact that employers have been put at the fore has led to contributing something. This is not the intended meaning of the sentence.     

C

employers have been put in the fore by the World Economic Forum, which contributes

Incorrect:

1. This choice retains the opening modifier error of choice B.
2. The relative pronoun modifier “which” refers to the World Economic Forum, incorrectly indicating that the Forum contributes. This is not the intended meaning. 

D

the World Economic Forum has put employers in the fore, contributing 

Incorrect:

This choice distorts the intended meaning. The comma + verb-ing modifier “contributing” incorrectly modifies the clause “the World Economic Forum has put…”, suggesting that this action has led to contributing to the rise.

E

the World Economic Forum has put employers in the fore for contributing

Correct:

This choice corrects the error in the original sentence.

The specific classification and exact description of the term “Romantic” were the subject of dispute throughout the twentieth century, but it was someone who was part of the Counter-Enlightenment, a response against the Augustan or Neoclassical Age.  

Meaning Analysis

• The specific classification and exact description of the term “Romantic” were the subject of dispute throughout the twentieth century,
• but it was someone
  • who was part of the Counter-Enlightenment,
    • a response against the Augustan or Neoclassical Age.

The sentence says that the meaning of the term “Romanticism” was disputed throughout the 20^th century. But it referred to someone who was part of the Counter-Enlightenment. The Counter-Enlightenment was a response against the Augustan or Neoclassical Age.

Error Analysis

The pronoun “it” should logically refer to “term Romantic”.  Now, a “term” cannot be a human being. Hence, the use of “it was someone” is absolutely incorrect.  

Answer Choices

A

but it was someone who was

Incorrect: This choice has the error pointed out in the error analysis.  

B

and they were people who were

Incorrect:

1)    Use of “and” removes the intended contrast in the sentence. Although the description of the term was disputed, it referred to something. This contrast is not communicated by the use of “and”.

2)    Use of pronoun “they” leads to number agreement error with its singular antecedent “term”. This usage also leads to the same meaning error explained in Choice A.         

C

but it refers to someone who was

Correct:

This choice corrects the meaning error as it says that “it = the term” refers to someone.  

D

but they were those who were

Incorrect:

This choice repeats the same pronoun antecedent number agreement and the meaning errors discussed in choice B.       

E

and is the reference for those

Incorrect:

1)    This choice, like Choice B, takes away the intended contrast by using “and” instead of “but”.

2)    This choice incorrectly creates parallelism between the verbs “were” and “is”, indicating that the phrase “the specific classification and exact description” is the subject for both these words. This change leads to four issues.

1. The intended meaning is changed since ‘The specific classification and exact description” are not the term of reference: the term “Romantic” is.
2. There is a subject-verb number agreement error since “the specific classification and exact description” is a compound subject that needs a plural verb, but the verb “is” is singular.
3. There is no logical referent in the sentence for the pronoun “those”.
4. There is a sentence structure error since a comma cannot be used before “and” when it joins two verbs of the same subject.   

In the climax of the film Braveheart, Mel Gibson’s character William Wallace defiantly exclaims “Freedom!” as they sharpen the axe intended to be used to execute him.  

Meaning Analysis  

• In the climax of the film Braveheart, Mel Gibson’s character William Wallace defiantly exclaims, “Freedom!”
  • as they sharpen the axe intended to be used to execute him.              

This sentence talks about the climax of the film Braveheart. It says that in the scene William Wallace, the character played by Mel Gibson, rebelliously shouts “Freedom!”. This happens during the time when the axe that is intended to be used to execute him is being sharpened.

Error Analysis

There is no antecedent for the pronoun “they” in the sentence.     

Answer Choices

A

as they sharpen the axe intended to be used to execute him  

Incorrect:          

This choice has the error pointed out in the error analysis.  

B

as an axe, which is intended to be used to execute him, was being sharpened  

Incorrect:

Use of the simple past tense “was being sharpened” is incorrect.  Note that the sentence is set in the present tense – “exclaims”.  Thus, the other verbs that happen at the same time should also be in the present tense.

C

while the axe intended to be used to execute him is being sharpened

Correct: 

This choice corrects the pronoun reference error by removing the pronoun altogether.   

D

as an axe intended to be used to execute him was being sharpened    

Incorrect: 

The past tense “was being sharpened” is incorrect as explained in the analysis of Choice B.            

E

while they sharpened an axe that was intended to be used to execute him     

Incorrect:        

1. This choice retains the pronoun reference error of the original sentence. 
2. This choice retains the verb tense error of choice B.

A seasoned bookie betting heavily on a high percentage hitter, especially one who has a good average and has performed consistently in the past, makes it likely to miss the decline in his performance, especially if it is interspersed with brilliant innings.

Meaning Analysis

The sentence states facts about betting by a seasoned bookie. It states that a seasoned bookie typically bets on a high performance hitter who has a good performance record. It further states that this bookie is likely to miss the decline in the performance of the hitter, especially if the bad performance is mixed with good performance as well.

This question tests your expertise in ensuring that the meaning is conveyed appropriately. It also tests your ability to identify pronoun errors. 

Error Analysis

The original sentence has two errors:
1: Subject Verb do not make sense – The subject “bookie” and its verb “makes” do not make sense. This is because bookie does not make it likely to miss the decline in performance. The bookie in fact is likely to miss the decline in the performance.
2: Pronoun reference – The pronoun “his” has ambiguous reference since it can refer to both “bookie” and “hitter”. Also, there is no possible antecedent for the pronoun “it”.

Answer Choices

A

A seasoned bookie betting heavily on a high percentage hitter, especially one who has a good average and has performed consistently in the past, makes it likely to miss the decline in his performance, especially if it is interspersed with brilliant innings.

This choice has two errors as explained in the detailed sentence analysis.

B

A seasoned bookie who bets heavily on a high percentage hitter is likely to miss the decline in his performance, more so when it is interspersed with brilliant innings, especially one who has a good average and has performed consistently in the past.

This choice has modifier placement error because the modifier "especially one who has..." should modify "hitter" and hence must be placed close to it. But its current placement makes it incorrectly modify the noun innings.

C

Betting heavily on a high percentage hitter, especially one who has a good average and has performed consistently in the past, a seasoned bookie is likely to miss the decline in the hitter’s performance, especially if it is interspersed with brilliant innings.

Correct

D

A seasoned bookie who bets heavily on a high percentage hitter, especially one who has a good average and has performed consistently in the past, makes missing the decline in his performance likely more so when it is interspersed with brilliant innings.

In this choice the subject verb pair – bookie makes – does not make sense as explained in sentence analysis.

E

A seasoned bookie's heavy betting on a high percentage hitter, especially one who has a good average and previously performed consistently, makes it likely to miss the decline in his performance being interspersed with brilliant innings.

This choice has two errors.

1: Pronoun Reference error – The pronoun "it" has no possible antecedent.

2: Meaning – The original sentence lays significant emphasis on the scenario in which the poor performance is interspersed with brilliant innings. But the construction of this choice is such that this emphasis is lost, and the meaning is convoluted.

The recent rise of United States and the rise of United Kingdom in 1900s starkly resemble each other, not only because the latter was at the forefront of science and technology using its natural resources to shore up production and because it simultaneously used a high percentage of its GDP to shore up its defenses.

Meaning Analysis

The sentence states two reasons for similarity between the recent rise of US and rise of UK in 1900s.

This question tests your knowledge of the idioms “not only...but also…” & “both...and…”. It also tests your skills in spotting and correcting pronoun reference errors
 

Error Analysis

The original sentence has idiom error. The non-underlined portion of the sentence uses “and”. However the underlined portion uses “not only”. This is incorrect since “not only” should always be used with “but also”.

Answer Choices

A

The recent rise of United States and the rise of United Kingdom in 1900s starkly resemble each other, not only because the latter was

This choice has idiom error as explained in error analysis

B

The rise of United Kingdom in 1900s starkly resembles the recent rise of United States both because they were both

This choice has pronoun reference error since the pronouns "its" and "it" in non-underlined portion should be used for a singular noun, but the subject of the clause starting with "because they were both..." is plural and refers to both UK and US. In order for the sentence to be correct, the subject of this clause must be singular such that it can be referred to by the singular pronouns in the non-underlined portions of the sentence.

C

The recent rise of United States bears a stark resemblance to the rise of United Kingdom in 1900s, both because the latter was

Correct choice. Notice here that the subject of clause "because the latter was..." is now singular and hence the pronouns "its" and "it" correctly refer to this noun.

D

The recent rise of United States and the rise of United Kingdom in 1900s bear stark resemblance because they both were

This choice has pronoun error as explained in choice B.

E

There is a stark resemblance between the rise of United Kingdom in 1900s and the recent rise of United States, not only because they both were

This choice has two errors: Idiom error as explained in error analysis and pronoun error as explained in choice B.

The height of handle of the cricket bat is one-third the total length, creating a sweet spot at the lower end of the bat, but now per the new design it is constructed such that the sweet spot spans across its entire length.

Meaning Analysis

This sentence shows a contrast between the two constructions of cricket bat in terms of how the construction impacts the “sweet spot” on the bat.

The question tests your understanding of pronoun reference. It also tests your skill in identifying all subject-verb pairs in the sentence.

Error Analysis

This sentence has pronoun reference error. Note the following two clauses:

1: Height of handle is…

2: …it is constructed…

These two clauses are parallel and typically the subject ‘pronoun’ refers to the subject of the parallel clause. Thus, in this case “it” refers to “height of handle”. This is not correct reference, since the “height of handle” is not constructed. The intended reference should be “bat is constructed”. You may arrive at this conclusion by reviewing the reference made by the pronoun “its” in the non-underlined portion “across its entire length”. This “its” clearly refers to bat. Typically, repeated pronouns refer to same noun, thus the underlined occurrence of “it” should refer to “bat”.

Answer Choices

A

The height of handle of the cricket bat is one-third the total length, creating a sweet spot at the lower end of the bat, but now per the new design it is

This choice has pronoun reference error as explained in error analysis.

B

Per the current design, the height of handle of the cricket bat is one-third the total length and it creates a sweet spot at the lower end of the bat, but now per the new design it is

This choice has pronoun reference error as in choice A. It has the same error at one additional place – "and it creates a sweet spot". Per the intended meaning "it" tends to refer to the action of the height being one-third the total length. This is grammatically incorrect since pronouns cannot refer to clauses.

C

Previously designed such that the height of its handle was one-third its total length, was creating a sweet spot at its lower end, the cricket bat is now

This choice results in a fragment since the verb "was creating" has no subject.

D

Previously designed such that the height of its handle was one-third its total length, creating a sweet spot at its lower end, the cricket bat is now

Correct choice. Notice how the "it" has been replaced by the noun to clearly communicate the meaning.

E

Previously designed such that the height of its handle was one-third its total length, creating a sweet spot at its lower end, the cricket bat now

This choice results in a fragment since the subject "cricket bat" has no verb.

It consists of over ten thousand lines of blank verse and Milton’s Paradise Lost, an epic poem, was first published in 1667 in a volume of ten books and deals with the Biblical story of the ‘Fall of man’.

Meaning Analysis

• Itconsists of over ten thousand lines of blank verse,
• and Milton’s Paradise Lost, an epic poem,
  • was first published in 1667 in a volume of ten books and
  • deals with the Biblical story of the ‘Fall of man’.                     

This sentence starts by saying that something consists of over ten thousand lines of blank verse. Then it states that Milton’s Paradise Lost, which is an epic poem, was first published in 1667 in a volume of ten books, and it deals with the Biblical story of the ‘Fall of man’.

Logically from the context of the sentence it is clear that “something” in the first part of the sentence is ‘Paradise Lost’.

Error Analysis

In this sentence two independent clauses are connected using a comma.  This is an error since two independent clauses can be connected using a semicolon or comma + FANBOYS. 

There is yet another issue with the sentence construction.  Typically the order of placement of noun and pronoun is that noun is placed first and then the pronoun is placed.  This ensures continuity in the flow of reading.  Thus, a better sentence construction would have been the one in which “Paradise Lost” was placed prior to the pronoun “it” so that the pronoun reference was absolutely clear.

Answer Choices

A

It consists of over ten thousand lines of blank verse and Milton’s Paradise Lost, an epic poem, was first published in 1667 in a volume of ten books and deals

Incorrect:

This choice has the error pointed out in the error analysis.

B

Milton’s Paradise Lost was an epic poem that consists of over ten thousand lines of blank verse, was first published in 1667 in a volume of ten books that dealt

Incorrect:         

1)     Since the verbs “was” and “was first published” are both for the subject “Milton’s Paradise Lost, they should be connected with a parallelism marker.

2)     The simple past tense verbs “was” and “dealt” are incorrectly used to present facts about the contents of a book. Such information must be presented in the simple present tense.       

C

An epic poem consisting of over ten thousand lines of blank verse, Milton’s Paradise Lost was first published in 1667 in a volume of ten books and deals

Correct:    

1)     The modifier “an epic poem…” correctly modifies “Milton’s Paradise Lost”.   

2)     The simple present tense “deals” is correctly used to present a fact about the contents of a book.

3)     The two verbs “was published” and “deals” for the subject “Milton’s Paradise Lost” are properly connected using the connector “and” and are parallel to each other.

D

As an epic poem consists of over ten thousand lines of blank verse, Milton’s Paradise Lost was first published in 1667 in a volume of ten books and dealt

Incorrect:

1)     The use of “as” is incorrect here. It seems to indicate that the reason that Milton’s poem was published is that epic poem consists of certain lines of something, meaning that is absolutely illogical. 

2)     The simple past tense “dealt” is incorrect here as explained in the POE for choice B.

E

Consisting of over ten thousand lines of blank verse, Milton’s Paradise Lost was an epic poem that was first published in 1667 in a volume of ten books, dealing

Incorrect:       

1)     The simple past tense verb “was” is incorrectly used to refer to the contents of a book.

2)     The comma + verb-ing modifier “dealing” is incorrectly used here since the action of “dealing” does not logically describe when the book was published.

Answer : D

Just before its return to Earth from Mars, the “sick” robotic rover missed revealing the existence of significant organic compounds when it was present and indicated that they existed when they were actually absent. 

Meaning Analysis  

• Just before its return to Earth from Mars,
• the “sick” robotic rover
  • missed revealing the existence of significant organic compounds
    • when it was present
  • and indicated
    • that they existed
      • when they were actually absent.

The sentence says that just before it returned from Mars to Earth, the robotic rover got ‘sick’: i.e., it did not function correctly. It did not reveal the existence of significant organic compounds.

The phrase “significant organic compounds” is followed by “when it was present”. Logically, the sentence should state that the rover missed revealing these compounds when they were present. So, we need to infer the correct meaning here because “it” is used incorrectly. So, the meaning of the sentence is that the rover missed showing these compounds when they were present and indicated that they were there when they were not present.

Error Analysis

As found in the meaning analysis, the singular pronoun “it” does not agree in number with the plural antecedent “compounds”. This error also leads to a subject-verb agreement error in the use of the singular verb “was”.

Answer Choices

A

when it was present and indicated

Incorrect: This choice has the error pointed out in error analysis. 

B

when it was present, indicating

Incorrect:

This choice also has the pronoun-antecedent number agreement error as in Choice A.  Furthermore, the comma + verb-ing modifier “indicating” incorrectly modifies the preceding clause. As per the original sentence, this action should be parallel to the verb “missed”. 

C

that was present and indicated

Incorrect:

The singular modifier “that was” incorrectly refers to the plural noun “compounds”.  

D

when present, which indicated    

Incorrect:

There is no preceding noun to which the relative pronoun modifier “which” can refer.   

E

when they were present and indicated     

Correct:

This is the correct answer choice. It clearly and precisely communicates the intended meaning of the sentence. 

Engadget just reported that Nokia has launched the Lumia 1020 with 41 megapixel camera, and that it has 20 million more pixels than any other smartphone with a camera launched this year.

Meaning Analysis

Engadget just reported

1. that Nokia has launched the Lumia 1020 with 41 megapixel camera, and
2. that it has 20 million more pixels than any other smartphone with a camera launched this year.

The question tests your knowledge of usage of pronouns correctly.

Error Analysis

1. Pronoun “it” must logically refer to “41 megapixel camera”. However, this pronoun seems to refer to “Nokia”. This is illogical reference.

2. With the correction of the pronoun reference, the present comparison has to be changed as well. The logical comparison should be between the camera of Nokia Lumia 1020 and that of other smartphones.

Answer Choices

A

and that it has 20 million more pixels than any other smartphone with a camera

Errors as identified in the error analysis.

B

and it has 20 million more pixels when compared to any other smartphone’s camera

i. Same pronoun reference error as in Choice A.

ii. Removal of “that” before “and” now makes the clause after “comma + and” an Independent Clause. Per this choice, it seems that Engadget just reported about the launch of Nokia Lumia 1020. The other piece of information appears to be independent, having no relation with Engadget. This is a deviation from the intended meaning.

C

having 20 million more pixels than any other camera in any other smartphone

There are two errors in this option:

i. Comma + verb-ing modifier illogically modifies the preceding clause.

ii. It seems that sentence presents illogical comparison between Nokia and any other camera.

D

a camera that has 20 million more pixels than a camera in any other smartphone

Correct: The noun + noun modifier construction correctly modifies the “camera” in the previous clause. This construction also presents correct comparison.

E

a camera with 20 million more pixels than any other smartphone with camera

“A camera” has been illogically compared to “any other smartphone”.