2 grammar questions

Fat_Nerd
Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:51:22 +0000

1) What exactly is ‘which’ referring to? The untreated sewage can last for several days? Or is it the flowing into the ocean that lasts for several days? Then again, it can be the contamination that lasts for several days…see where I’m going with this here? Why the ambiguity? It needs to be clarified. Therefore, it is infact choice E that is more concise, and conveys the message appropriately.

2) The same analysts who once favored public-opinion polls now see them -
How will analysts see themselves? “them” clearly referred to the only other logical object in the sentence, which is polls. It is not ambiguous whatsoever. However, if the sentence were structured as following “The same analysts who participated in debates and favored public opinion polls now seem them-”. See here, “them” can now refer to debates, or public-opinion polls. This is ambiguous. Our original sentence is concise as can be.

Overall, I have one word of advice for you. Don’t over complicate sentences. I used to suffer from this insecurity whilst solving questions, and it was affecting my score majorly. They say that your first notion towards a question, is almost always delivers the right answer. Scrutinizing your answer is a recipe for failure. You know that you’re going to answer a question wrong once you start doubting yourself. Don’t over-analyze the questions on the SAT.