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Difficulty: Very hardPronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Complete the sentence below by typing the possessive pronoun that correctly agrees with its antecedent under standard written English conventions.

Answer:Each of the international research organizations that monitored the retreat of the glaciers in the Patagonia region was eager to publish 【its】 independent findings in the annual climatology report.

Answer

its
The correct pronoun is the singular possessive 'its' because it agrees with the singular indefinite pronoun 'Each', which is the true antecedent of the sentence. The plural noun 'organizations' inside the modifying prepositional phrase does not affect the grammatical number of the subject.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the subject and antecedent of the pronoun in the sentence.
The subject and antecedent is the singular indefinite pronoun 'Each'.
The prepositional phrase 'of the international research organizations' modifies 'Each' but does not change its singular grammatical number.
2
Determine the correct grammatical number and person for the pronoun that must fill the blank.
The pronoun must be singular and third-person to agree with 'Each'.
A pronoun must agree in number (singular/plural) and person with its antecedent.
3
Select the correct possessive pronoun to complete the phrase 'independent findings'.
The singular possessive pronoun is 'its'.
Since the antecedent 'Each' is singular and refers to inanimate organizations, the singular third-person possessive pronoun 'its' is required.

Key Concept

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement with Indefinite Pronouns
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Topics

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

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