Is it even possible to use Possessive Antecedent on the GMAT?
This is an interesting topic that recently came up on Reddit.
So… can you use a possessive antecedent on GMAT?
Short answer: YES, but try doing it sparingly. It’s not good writing or good practice.
By the way, if you don’t know what a possessive antecedent, it’s the situation here:
Although she was considered among her contemporaries to be the better poet than her husband, later Elizabeth Barrett Browning was overshadowed by his success.
A) Although she was considered among her contemporaries to be the better poet than her husband, later Elizabeth Barrett Browning was overshadowed by his success.
B) Although Elizabeth Barrett Browning was considered among her contemporaries as a better poet than her husband, she was later overshadowed by his success.
C) Later overshadowed by the success of her husband, Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poetry had been considered among her contemporaries to be better than that of her husband.
D) Although Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s success was later overshadowed by that of her husband, among her contemporaries she was considered the better poet.
E) Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poetry was considered among her contemporaries as better than her husband, but her success was later overshadowed by his husband.
So you’ll notice that in the correct answer, D), the “she” refers back to a possessive (“EBB’s”). This is a possessive antecedent. If that’s still not clear, just watch the video already.
This is an advanced technique and I wouldn’t recommend it unless you know you’re flying 680+ with your Verbal questions.
It’s what I like to call a 98% Rule: 98% of the time, throw out an answer like this, but when push comes to shove–that is, all the other answers are shit–you can choose it.
Remember, only when the other answers are clearly, demonstrably incorrect.
If you’re interested in even more Sentence Correction and GMAT Grammar tips, check out my book Last Minute GMAT Grammar, available on Podia (and even Amazon, if you must).
It’s full of quick, reliable methods to boost your sentence correction score in a minimum of time.
If you want more SC videos, check out my YouTube channel or this page here for the only preposition EVER to use with “different.”
