What does this question test?
This question tests your understanding of the pronoun reference and number errors. It also tests your skills in selecting the answer choice that communicates the intended meaning of the sentence.
What does the sentence mean?
This sentence talks about schistomiasis. This disease is caused by a parasitic worm. It is prevalent in hot and humid climates. This disease has become more widespread. This is has happened as the irrigation projects have enlarged the habitat of the freshwater snails. These freshwater snails are the hosts of the parasite for a part of the life cycle of the parasite.
Note carefully how the article “the” is used before “freshwater snails”. Thus there are multiple types of freshwater snails, but the author is explicitly talking about the freshwater snails that act as the hosts for the parasite in question.
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What are the errors in the original sentence?
Here is the sentence structure of this sentence:
- Clause 1: Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in hot, humid climates,
- Clause 2: and it has become more widespread
- Clause 3: as irrigation projects have enlarged the habitat of the freshwater snails
- Clause 4: that are the parasite’s hosts for part of its life cycle.
This sentence does not have any errors.
Answer Choice Analysis
Choice B – Pronoun-Antecedent Number Error – The pronoun “their” refers to singular “parasite” and hence is incorrect. It should be singular “its”.
Choice C – This choice has two errors as explained below:
Meaning Error: Note that in this choice “the” has been removed and “are” has been changed to “become”. All these changes have resulted in change of meaning.
The original sentence clearly stated that the habitat of specific freshwater snails has enlarged. These snails are the parasite’s hosts.
On the contrary, this choice implies that the habitat of freshwater snails (not any specific freshwater snails) has enlarged and by the way these snails become the parasite’s hosts. Thus, this choice no longer communicates the specificity of the freshwater snails as intended by the original sentence.
Number Error: The pronoun “its” refers to parasite. One parasite will have only one life cycle. Thus, its life cycles is incorrect. It should be its life cycle.
Choice D: This choice has similar error as choice C does. In addition, this choice is more wordy since it does not use pronoun “its”. It repeats the noun – parasite’s.
Choice E: This choice has similar meaning error as in choice C. It also has pronoun number error as in Choice B.
What are the key take-away messages?
- The correct choice communicates the intended meaning of the sentence.
- The pronoun should agree in number with its antecedent.
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