While depressed property values ca

[vishalsahdev03]

While depressed property values can hurt some large investors, they are potentially devastating for homeowners, whose equity - in many cases representing a life's savings - can plunge or even disappear.

A. they are potentially devastating for homeowners, whose
B. they can potentially devastate homeowners in that their
C. for homeowners they are potentially devastating, because their
D. for homeowners, it is potentially devastating in that their
E. it can potentially devastate homeowners, whose


Please explain the problem with B?

[vishalsahdev03]

"Can" is parallel as well as "hurt" is parallel to "devastate" !!

[agha79]

is "E" the OA?

[NIKESH_PAHUJA]

While depressed property values can hurt some large investors, they are potentially devastating for homeowners, whose equity - in many cases representing a life's savings - can plunge or even disappear.

A. they are potentially devastating for homeowners, whose
B. they can potentially devastate homeowners in that their ( whose wealth ? - large investors or homeowners )
C. for homeowners they are potentially devastating, because their
D. for homeowners, it is potentially devastating in that their
E. it can potentially devastate homeowners, whose


whose in a , unambiguously tells that the equity of homeowners can plunge.

[vimalshahmph]

While depressed property values can hurt some large investors, they are potentially devastating for homeowners, whose equity - in many cases representing a life's savings - can plunge or even disappear.

A. they are potentially devastating for homeowners, whose ( they,investors or depressed values)

B. they can potentially devastate homeowners in that their
C. for homeowners they are potentially devastating, because their
D. for homeowners, it is potentially devastating in that their
E. it can potentially devastate homeowners, whose

how can you say in choice A they refers to prop values and not large investors.

[devneeetbajaj]

Whats the OA?

[RonPurewal]

While depressed property values can hurt some large investors, they are potentially devastating for homeowners, whose equity - in many cases representing a life's savings - can plunge or even disappear.

A. they are potentially devastating for homeowners, whose
B. they can potentially devastate homeowners in that their
C. for homeowners they are potentially devastating, because their
D. for homeowners, it is potentially devastating in that their
E. it can potentially devastate homeowners, whose


Please explain the problem with B?

you've got "they" and "their" in the same clause. if you have two or more instances of "they"/"their" in the SAME CLAUSE, then they must stand for the same thing.

this is the problem with (b): the first "they" is trying to stand for "depressed property values", but the second is trying to stand for "homeowners". not ok.

[RonPurewal]

While depressed property values can hurt some large investors, they are potentially devastating for homeowners, whose equity - in many cases representing a life's savings - can plunge or even disappear.

A. they are potentially devastating for homeowners, whose ( they,investors or depressed values)

B. they can potentially devastate homeowners in that their
C. for homeowners they are potentially devastating, because their
D. for homeowners, it is potentially devastating in that their
E. it can potentially devastate homeowners, whose

how can you say in choice A they refers to prop values and not large investors.

remember that PRONOUN AMBIGUITY IS NOT AN ABSOLUTE RULE.

see here:
post30983.html#p30983

in this case, you are right that "they" is technically ambiguous. however, it's ok in this case, because:
(1) the context is obvious (it's clear that "they" = depressed property values)
(2) "they" is grammatically parallel to the correct noun ("they" is a SUBJECT; "depressed property values" is a SUBJECT)
(3) "they" is NOT grammatically parallel to the wrong noun ("they" is a SUBJECT; "large investors" is the object of a verb)
(editor: fixed. thanks.)

[pidaloa]

How is 'large investors' object of the preposition here?

[RonPurewal]

How is 'large investors' object of the preposition here?

heh, it's not. i fixed that.
thanks for pointing that out.

[ya1ya2]

So please tell me what is the OA? A?

[mschwrtz]

OA is A.

I haven't looked it up, but I'm sure.

Please be sure to include OA in OP.

[contactshobhit]

What is wrong with E other than it. If we assume pronoun ambiguity should be considered later, is there any other clue to say E is wrong

[RonPurewal]

What is wrong with E other than it. If we assume pronoun ambiguity should be considered later, is there any other clue to say E is wrong

(e) does not have a pronoun ambiguity issue -- the pronoun "it" is WRONG.

in context it is clearly intended to refer to "(depressed) property values" -- but "property values" is a plural noun, so "it" is stranded.

[debarya]

Hi Ron,

I agree with all your explanations, and during my analysis, I could narrow down the options to A and C (D and E wrong for the usage of it, B wrong for the usage of in that).
I am also clear with the explanation that all pronoun should refer to the same noun.

My questions -
1) For some reason, I felt that equity should refer to property values (like shares and debts), and hence went for option C, where they and their both refer to property values.

2) Also, is it that usage of pronoun does not necessarily refer back to immediate noun (like the case of which, who)...