Pronouns-Possessive Poison

[eng_moatazyousif]

In Manhattan GMAT (SC), Chapter 4, page 55

- "Jose's room is so messy that HIS mother calls HIM a pig" is incorrect
- "Jose's room is so messy that his mother calls Jose a pig" is correct

Because subject and object pronouns may NOT refer back to possessive nouns. Therefore the object pronoun "him" is used incorrectly because it may not refer back to Jose's.

In Problem Set, page 69, sentence number 15

- "Obstinate and surly, the manager's attitude prevented his staff from befriending him" is incorrect
- "The manager's obstinate and surly attitude prevented his staff from befriending him" is correct

why did we keep "him" in the first case, althought it had been replaced by the subject "Jose" in the second case?

[RonPurewal]

In Manhattan GMAT (SC), Chapter 4, page 55

- "Jose's room is so messy that HIS mother calls HIM a pig" is incorrect
- "Jose's room is so messy that his mother calls Jose a pig" is correct

Because subject and object pronouns may NOT refer back to possessive nouns. Therefore the object pronoun "him" is used incorrectly because it may not refer back to Jose's.

In Problem Set, page 69, sentence number 15

- "Obstinate and surly, the manager's attitude prevented his staff from befriending him" is incorrect
- "The manager's obstinate and surly attitude prevented his staff from befriending him" is correct

why did we keep "him" in the first case, althought it had been replaced by the subject "Jose" in the second case?

good call, actually.

i'm pleased to announce that we are strongly considering eliminating altogether the coverage of "possessive poison" in the next forthcoming edition of our strategy guide.
while this rule has been mentioned in the answer keys to one or two official problems, it has never been dispositive in even a single problem, and it has caused confusion vastly outdoing its usefulness for a great number of students.

[eng_moatazyousif]

Thnaks for your reply.
but the 2 correct answers in the 2 examples are contradicting.
kindly let me know which one is correct:

- "Jose's room is so messy that his mother calls Jose a pig" is correct.

OR

- "The manager's obstinate and surly attitude prevented his staff from befriending him" is correct.

Thanks in advance

[ankish]

In Manhattan GMAT (SC), Chapter 4, page 55

- "Jose's room is so messy that HIS mother calls HIM a pig" is incorrect
- "Jose's room is so messy that his mother calls Jose a pig" is correct

Because subject and object pronouns may NOT refer back to possessive nouns. Therefore the object pronoun "him" is used incorrectly because it may not refer back to Jose's.

In Problem Set, page 69, sentence number 15

- "Obstinate and surly, the manager's attitude prevented his staff from befriending him" is incorrect
- "The manager's obstinate and surly attitude prevented his staff from befriending him" is correct

why did we keep "him" in the first case, althought it had been replaced by the subject "Jose" in the second case?

good call, actually.

i'm pleased to announce that we are strongly considering eliminating altogether the coverage of "possessive poison" in the next forthcoming edition of our strategy guide.
while this rule has been mentioned in the answer keys to one or two official problems, it has never been dispositive in even a single problem, and it has caused confusion vastly outdoing its usefulness for a great number of students.

I have MGMAT Edition 5, I cant locate it there?

[arpanchandra]

In Manhattan GMAT (SC), Chapter 4, page 55

- "Jose's room is so messy that HIS mother calls HIM a pig" is incorrect
- "Jose's room is so messy that his mother calls Jose a pig" is correct

Because subject and object pronouns may NOT refer back to possessive nouns. Therefore the object pronoun "him" is used incorrectly because it may not refer back to Jose's.

In Problem Set, page 69, sentence number 15

- "Obstinate and surly, the manager's attitude prevented his staff from befriending him" is incorrect
- "The manager's obstinate and surly attitude prevented his staff from befriending him" is correct

why did we keep "him" in the first case, althought it had been replaced by the subject "Jose" in the second case?

good call, actually.

i'm pleased to announce that we are strongly considering eliminating altogether the coverage of "possessive poison" in the next forthcoming edition of our strategy guide.
while this rule has been mentioned in the answer keys to one or two official problems, it has never been dispositive in even a single problem, and it has caused confusion vastly outdoing its usefulness for a great number of students.

Sweet Lord!!

One chapter less to study

[RonPurewal]

I have MGMAT Edition 5, I cant locate it there?

that's because we realized that discussing it was doing more harm than good, so we removed it.