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Difficulty: Very hardPronoun Clarity and Reference

The following passage contains an underlined portion.

During the mid-twentieth century, Tatiana Proskouriakoff revolutionized Maya epigraphy by analyzing the stone stelae at Piedras Negras. Scholars had long debated whether the glyphs depicted historical rulers or cosmological deities. By matching the dates on these monuments to human lifespan patterns, she determined that they recorded dynastic histories rather than mythological narratives.

Which choice best resolves the pronoun ambiguity and ensures the sentence is grammatically correct?

  1. A
    she determined that they
  2. she determined that the glyphsAnswer
  3. C
    it was determined by her that the glyphs
  4. D
    determining that it

Answer

The correct answer is the option that replaces the ambiguous pronoun with the specific noun 'the glyphs' and maintains active voice with 'she' as the subject of the main clause.
The correct answer replaces the ambiguous pronoun 'they' with the specific noun 'the glyphs,' clarifying the subject of the clause. It also maintains active voice with 'she' as the subject, which correctly matches the introductory modifier 'By matching the dates...'

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the pronoun and check for clarity and reference issues.
In the original sentence, the pronoun 'they' has multiple potential plural antecedents ('stelae', 'glyphs', 'monuments', 'dates'), which makes the reference ambiguous.
ACT conventions of usage require pronouns to have a single, clear, and unambiguous antecedent.
2
Evaluate the choices to find one that resolves the ambiguity by using a specific noun.
Replacing 'they' with 'the glyphs' clearly specifies what recorded the histories.
Using a specific noun is the standard way to resolve pronoun ambiguity when multiple antecedents exist.
3
Ensure the selected option does not introduce other grammatical errors, such as dangling modifiers or sentence fragments.
The option using active voice with 'she' as the main subject correctly aligns with the introductory modifier 'By matching...', whereas the passive construction with 'it' creates a dangling modifier, and the participle 'determining' creates a fragment.
An introductory participial/prepositional phrase must logically modify the subject of the independent clause that follows it, and the independent clause must have a conjugated main verb.

Key Concept

Pronoun clarity requires that every pronoun refers clearly to a single, specific antecedent. If multiple possible antecedents exist, the pronoun must be replaced with a specific noun to avoid ambiguity.
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Topics

Pronoun Clarity and Reference

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