SC Misconception #1 – A regular pronoun cannot refer to a noun in possessive form

This article is the first in a series of articles on SC Misconceptions. In this series, I’m going to address many misconceptions prevalent among GMAT aspirants.

The misconception addressed in this post is:

A regular pronoun cannot refer to a noun in the possessive form. 

For example, according to this rule, the following sentence is incorrect since ‘he’ cannot refer to ‘Raj’ since Raj is in a possessive form Raj’s.

Although Raj’s parents are wealthy, he has financial struggles.

However, this rule was violated in an SC question that appeared in an official guide that was released not 1 or 2 but 5 years back. Even five years after this rule was violated in an official SC question, many people continue to believe in it. 

Here’s the official question I’m referring to:

Although she was considered among her contemporaries to be the better poet than her husband, later Elizabeth Barrett Browning was overshadowed by his success.

(A) Although she was considered among her contemporaries to be the better poet than her husband, later Elizabeth Barrett Browning was overshadowed by his success.

(B) Although Elizabeth Barrett Browning was considered among her contemporaries as a better poet than her husband, she was later overshadowed by his success.

(C) Later overshadowed by the success of her husband, Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poetry had been considered among her contemporaries to be better than that of her husband.

(D) Although Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s success was later overshadowed by that of her husband, among her contemporaries she was considered the better poet.

(E) Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poetry was considered among her contemporaries as better than her husband, but her success was later overshadowed by his.

The correct option is D. (Select the region before the full stop to see the answer. To look at the detailed solution to this question, please click here.)

As you can notice that in the correct option, the pronoun ‘she’ is referring to the noun Elizabeth Barrett Browning, even though the noun appears in the possessive form.

One of the foremost GMAT experts, Ron Purewal, asked people to stay away from this rule in this post dated 2010 i.e. 10 years back.

Thus, don’t mind if a pronoun refers to a noun in possessive form. This usage is acceptable in English and has appeared in an official SC question that has continued to be a part of all official guides since OG 2016.