Manhattan GMAT verbal flash card - verb voice

[dxgamez]

Hi,

On page 50 of the Manhattan GMAT's flash cards, the question is:

Mr Vega's mother noticed that a button was falling off his coat, so the coat was fixed by her.

Can the pronoun his refer to Mr Vega in this case? understand that this problem is about verb voice.

Can we use always use so (as in this case) to combine the two clauses?

Thanks.

[jnelson0612]

Hi,

On page 50 of the Manhattan GMAT's flash cards, the question is:

Mr Vega's mother noticed that a button was falling off his coat, so the coat was fixed by her.

Can the pronoun his refer to Mr Vega in this case? understand that this problem is about verb voice.

Can we use always use so (as in this case) to combine the two clauses?

Thanks.

Hi!
The pronoun "his" is a possessive pronoun. Thus, "his" is referring to the possessive "Mr. Vega's" in this sentence, and this is okay. Here's another example:

"Mr. Vega's coat is black and his shoes are brown." In this sentence we can see that "his" clearly refers to "Mr. Vega's".

Now, "his" could not refer to the noun "Mr. Vega". We would need "he" or "him" for that purpose.

"so" can certainly be used to combine clauses. "so" is a nice connector because "so" provides the reason for why some action occurs. Consider these sentences:

I flunked the course so I took it again.

He fell in the mud so he took a shower.

Please let us know if we can provide further help. :-)

[dxgamez]

Thanks Jamie.

I'm a little confused. When can we use the possessive pronoun correctly?

Mr Vega's mother --> can use his to refer to Mr Vega
vs
Mr Vega's coat --> cannot use his to refer to Mr Vega

[jnelson0612]

Thanks Jamie.

I'm a little confused. When can we use the possessive pronoun correctly?

Mr Vega's mother --> can use his to refer to Mr Vega
vs
Mr Vega's coat --> cannot use his to refer to Mr Vega

In both of these, the possessive "his" could refer to the possessive "Mr. Vega's". There is a difference between "his" and "he and him". Let give you some examples.

Mr. Vega is a hard worker and HE will be promoted soon.
(correct--"he" is a subject pronoun referring to the noun "Mr. Vega")

I like to visit Mr. Vega and see HIM often.
(correct--"him" is an object pronoun referring to the noun "Mr. Vega")

Mr. Vega's car is red and HIS house is blue.
(correct--"his" is a possessive pronoun referring to the possessive "Mr. Vega's)

Mr. Vega is a hard worker and HIS will be promoted soon.
(wrong--"his" can only refer to a possessive, "Mr. Vega's", not the noun "Mr. Vega")

Please let us know if you need more clarification.