Pronouns

Lesson 2

1
 Pronoun Agreement
Every pronoun must:

✓Replace a noun

✓Agree in number

✓Agree logically

✓Be unambiguous

www.gmatdudes.com 2
Common Pronouns

✓Singular: It, Its

✓Plural: They, Their, Them

www.gmatdudes.com 3
 The Noun must Exist

✓A PRONOUN must replace a NOUN.

✓Be extremely careful with NON-

UNDERLINED pronouns.

www.gmatdudes.com 4
Question 1

Found throughout Central and South America, sloths hang

from trees by long rubbery limbs and sleep fifteen hours a day,
moving infrequently enough that two species of algae grow on
its coat and between its toes.
A. sloths hang from trees by long rubbery limbs and sleep
fifteen hours a day, moving infrequently enough
B. sloths hang from trees by long rubbery limbs, they sleep
fifteen hours a day, and with such infrequent movements
C. sloths use their long rubbery limbs to hang from trees,
sleep fifteen hours a day, and move so infrequently
D. the sloth hangs from trees by its long rubbery limbs,
sleeping fifteen hours a day and moving so infrequently
E. the sloth hangs from trees by its long rubbery limbs, sleeps
fifteen hours a day, and it moves infrequently enough

www.gmatdudes.com 5
 The Pronoun Must Agree Logically with the
Noun

✓A PRONOUN must agree

LOGICALLY with the noun it
replaces.

✓The sentence MUST make sense

after replacing the pronoun with
the suspect noun.

www.gmatdudes.com 6
Question 2

Although the term "psychopath" is popularly applied

to an especially brutal criminal, in psychology it is
someone who is apparently incapable of feeling
compassion or the pangs of conscience.

A. it is someone who is
B. it is a person
C. they are people who are
D. it refers to someone who is
E. it is in reference to people

www.gmatdudes.com 7
 The Pronoun Must Agree in Number with
the Noun

✓Singular pronoun = Singular noun

✓Plural pronoun = Plural noun

www.gmatdudes.com 8
 5
Question 3

Although Napoleon's army entered Russia with far

more supplies than they had in their previous
campaigns, it had provisions for only twenty-four days.

A. they had in their previous campaigns

B. their previous campaigns had had
C. they had for any previous campaign
D. in their previous campaigns
E. for any previous campaign

www.gmatdudes.com 9
 A Pronoun Cannot be Ambiguous

✓A pronoun must clearly refer to only

one noun.

✓The replacement must be consistent

throughout the sentence.

www.gmatdudes.com 10
 7
Question 4

In a 5-to-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that two

upstate New York counties owed restitution to three tribes of
Oneida Indians for the unlawful seizure of their ancestral
lands in the eighteenth century.
A. that two upstate New York counties owed restitution to
three tribes of Oneida Indians for the unlawful seizure of
B. that two upstate New York counties owed restitution to
three tribes of Oneida Indians because of their unlawful
seizure of
C. two upstate New York counties to owe restitution to three
tribes of Oneida Indians for their unlawful seizure of
D. on two upstate New York counties that owed restitution to
three tribes of Oneida Indians because they unlawfully
seized
E. on the restitution that two upstate New York counties
owed to three tribes of Oneida Indians for the unlawful
seizure of

www.gmatdudes.com 11
 Demonstrative Pronouns
Singular: This, That - Plural: These, Those

✓This and These: They must modify the

NOUN in front of them.

➢ This exam is difficult.

➢ These students do their homework.

✓That and Those: They replace a COPY of a

NOUN mentioned in the sentence.

➢ My score is higher than that of my friend.

➢ My friends are smarter than those of my

sister.

www.gmatdudes.com 12
 8
Question 5

George Sand (Aurore Lucile Dupin) was one of the first

European writers to consider the rural poor to be
legitimate subjects for literature and portray these
with sympathy and respect in her novels.

A. to be legitimate subjects for literature and portray

these
B. should be legitimate subjects for literature:
portray these
C. as being legitimate subjects for literature and
portraying them
D. as if they were legitimate subjects for literature;
and portray them
E. legitimate subjects for literature and to portray
them

www.gmatdudes.com 13
 9
Question 6

Ms. Chambers is among the forecasters who predict

that the rate of addition to arable lands will drop while
those of loss rise.

A. those of loss rise

B. it rises for loss
C. those of losses rise
D. that of loss rises
E. there are rises for the rate of loss

www.gmatdudes.com 14
 To Do So vs. To Do It
✓To do so: so is an adverb (must
replace a verb).

➢We wanted to study, and we did

so.

✓To do it: it is a pronoun (must

replace a singular noun)

➢We wanted to do the homework,

so we did it.
www.gmatdudes.com 15
 10
Question 7

Parliament did not accord full refugee benefits to

twelve of the recent immigrants because it believed
that to do it rewards them for entering the country
illegally.

A. to do it rewards
B. doing it rewards
C. to do this would reward
D. doing so would reward
E. to do it would reward

www.gmatdudes.com 16
 Placeholder It
✓It + be + that-clause

➢ It is great that you achieved a

700+.

✓It + be + infinitive

➢It is great to achieve a 700+.

www.gmatdudes.com 17
 13
Question 8

That educators have not anticipated the impact of

microcomputer technology can hardly be said that it is their
fault: Alvin Toffler, one of the most prominent students of the
future, did not even mention microcomputers in Future
Shock, published in 1970.

o That educators have not anticipated the impact of

microcomputer technology can hardly be said that it is
their fault
o That educators have not anticipated the impact of
microcomputer technology can hardly be said to be at fault
o It can hardly be said that it is the fault of educators who
have not anticipated the impact of microcomputer
technology
o It can hardly be said that educators are at fault for not
anticipating the impact of microcomputer technology
o The fact that educators are at fault for not anticipating the
impact of microcomputer technology can hardly be said
www.gmatdudes.com 18
 It vs. One
✓It: replaces a singular noun.

➢ The exam was difficult, but I did well on it.

✓One: refers to an individual/unit of a

group.

➢I took three exams, but I achieved 700+ in

only one.

www.gmatdudes.com 19
 13
Question 9

Caribou are wary animals with excellent hearing, so

stalking them over the treeless landscape, getting close
enough to kill it with nothing but a handheld lance, as
Dorset people did, required exceptional hunting skill.
o so stalking them over the treeless landscape, getting
close enough to kill it
o so to stalk them over the treeless landscape and get
close enough to kill one
o so in order to stalk them over the treeless landscape
and get close enough to kill one
o and so in order to stalk it over the treeless landscape,
getting close enough to kill it
o and so stalking them over the treeless landscape and
getting close enough in order to kill it

www.gmatdudes.com 20
Answer Keys
1. D
2. D
3. E
4. A
5. E
6. D
7. D
8. D
9. B

www.gmatdudes.com 21