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Difficulty: MediumPronoun Clarity and Reference

In 1911, the pioneering aviator Harriet Quimby met with the journalist Elizabeth Bisland to discuss a series of articles about the future of aviation. Bisland, who had recently completed a highly publicized journey around the world, shared several of her personal travel diaries. She had always been fascinated by the mechanics of flight, which made their subsequent collaboration exceptionally productive.

Which choice most clearly identifies who had been fascinated by the mechanics of flight?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. QuimbyAnswer
  3. C
    Being that she was someone who
  4. D
    Because Quimby

Answer

Replacing the ambiguous pronoun with the specific proper noun 'Quimby' resolves the pronoun clarity issue while maintaining correct sentence structure.
Replacing the pronoun with the specific noun 'Quimby' resolves the ambiguity of who was fascinated by the mechanics of flight, since the preceding sentences refer to both Harriet Quimby and Elizabeth Bisland.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the underlined pronoun in the passage.
The underlined pronoun is 'She' at the beginning of the third sentence.
This establishes which word needs to be evaluated for clarity and grammatical correctness.
2
Check for pronoun clarity by finding the antecedent of the pronoun in the context.
The preceding sentences introduce two singular female subjects: Harriet Quimby and Elizabeth Bisland. The pronoun 'She' could logically refer to either of them.
An ambiguous pronoun reference occurs when a pronoun can refer to more than one noun, causing confusion.
3
Evaluate the choices to find the one that clarifies the subject while maintaining proper sentence structure.
Replacing 'She' with 'Quimby' directly names the person who was fascinated by flight, resolving the ambiguity without creating a fragment or introducing unnecessary wordiness.
The correct choice must be grammatically correct and resolve any ambiguity.

Key Concept

Pronoun Clarity and Reference
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Topics

Pronoun Clarity and Reference

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