(GRE Success! ) Fwd: GMAT Gurus Speak Out: Relative Pronouns

Some basics for everyone.

Sincerely,

Srihari

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Veritas Prep Blog <[email protected]>
Date: Tue, Jan 8, 2013 at 7:34 PM
Subject: GMAT Gurus Speak Out: Relative Pronouns
To: [email protected]


**
   GMAT Gurus Speak Out: Relative Pronouns <http://www.veritasprep.com/blog>
 <http://fusion.google.com/add?source=atgs&feedurl=http://feeds.feedburner.com/VeritasPrepBlog>
------------------------------

GMAT Gurus Speak Out: Relative
Pronouns<http://www.veritasprep.com/blog/2013/01/gmat-gurus-speak-out-relative-pronouns/>

Posted: 08 Jan 2013 09:56 AM PST

*Vivian Kerr is a regular contributor to several GMAT and SAT websites,
allowing her to flex her intellectual muscle while she is in between film
and stage projects as an actress.*

Pronoun-agreement is a concept we see quite often on GMAT Sentence
Correction. Pronouns must have clear antecedents, meaning they can only
refer to one noun in the sentence, and they must agree with their
antecedents in number. Relative pronouns are special pronouns often used to
link a dependent clause back to the main independent clause in a sentence.
Relative pronouns include “that,” “who,” “whom,” “which,” “where,” “when,”
and “why.” Luckily, you won’t need to identify them by name, but there are
two rules that you should remember to help you use relative pronouns
correctly, and eliminate Sentence Correction options using them incorrectly.

*Rule #1: You can only use which and that to refer to inanimate objects,
never people!*

“*Which” *is set apart from the rest of a sentence with a comma when it is
used to introduce a dependent clause. “*That” *is used within the body of
the sentence, and does not require a comma. It would be incorrect to use
either word to refer to a person. For example, this sentence is
incorrect: *“Her
friend Elizabeth, which is very smart, studied hard.”*

Let’s look at how these words affect the meaning of a sentence. In general,
a restrictive clause (using *that*) is needed for information that is vital
to the meaning of the sentence. Let’s look at two examples: **

*I dislike tests that require lots of studying.*

*I dislike tests, which require lots of studying. *

The first sentence is restrictive. The meaning is that I don’t like a *specific
*kind of test, the kind that require lots of studying. The meaning of the
second sentence (non-restrictive) is that I dislike ALL tests.

*Rule #2:* *Only use who and whom to refer to people.* “Who” is a
subjective case pronoun and can only be utilized to replace people. “Whom”
is the objective case, and also refers to people. For example:

To* whom* did she speak?

The man *who *was giving the speech was President Lincoln. (In this
sentence, “who” is replacing the subject.).

*When to use “who” and “whom”?*

To figure out which pronoun is needed, rephrase the sentence as a question.

*Deepak, (who or whom?) loves Sentence Correction, scored near-perfect on
the GMAT Verbal section! *

Ask yourself:* Who or whom scored near-perfect? *The answer:
*Deepak.*Deepak is the
*subject* so we must use the pronoun “*who*.” If we’d answered the question
with an objective pronoun, then *whom *would have been correct replacement.

*With (who or whom?) do you like to study Geometry?*

Since this sentence is already phrased a question, all we have to do is
give a logical answer: “*With you.”*

Although *you *can be used as both a subject *and* an object pronoun, we
have to notice the preposition “with” that preceded it. That tells us the
objective case is needed, “whom.”

Remember to watch out for tricky relative pronouns on the GMAT, and as
discussed, pay attention to how the meaning of the entire sentence changes
when they are adjusted.

Plan on taking the GMAT soon? We have GMAT
prep<http://www.veritasprep.com/gmat/>courses starting all the time.
And, be sure to find
us on Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/veritasprep> and
Google+<https://plus.google.com/u/0/108898021854921253994/>,
and follow us on Twitter <http://www.twitter.com/veritasprep>!
   You are subscribed to email updates from Veritas Prep
Blog<http://www.veritasprep.com/blog>
To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe
now<http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailunsubscribe?k=u-x8iW55Q4do5hErRk2OliaqG2w>
. Email delivery powered by Google  Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL
USA 60610



-- 
Home: http://www.yamanoor.com/

Photography: http://www.yamanoor.net/

Laughs: http://ysrihari.blogspot.com/

Medical Devices: http://chaaraka.blogspot.com/

Earth: http://itshothere.org/