sentence correction

[NiannianX461]

A new phenomenon visible at Managua’s major intersections is waves of vendors and beggars, many of them children, who mob cars at the stoplights.

Can we write "many of them children"? Strange expression.

[MohitS94]

Nothing wrong with the phrase as such.

"The school has asked a group of children to prepare for the GMAT. But the burden of preparation has affected the lives of many of them children."

The above sounds wrong (like it's slang from Manchester in England).

"A dozen people, many of them children, are stranded on the island."

The above sounds correct (like a news reporter giving a report).

It would take an instructor to explain exactly why, but it has to do with what them refers to. We could use the or those in the first sentence instead of them.

[RonPurewal]

• per the forum rules, please cite the original source of this material.

• if this material is from a GMAT-related source, please post the item in its entirety, including all answer choices.

thanks.