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Difficulty: MediumPronoun-Antecedent Agreement

During the late Renaissance, a guild of master weavers in Florence guarded the secrets of silk production so fiercely that their monopoly on the trade remained unchallenged for over a century.

Which of the following choices best maintains pronoun-antecedent agreement in the sentence?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. itsAnswer
  3. C
    it's
  4. D
    its'

Answer

The correct answer is the singular possessive pronoun 'its', which agrees with the singular collective noun 'guild'.
The correct option is the singular possessive pronoun 'its' because it correctly agrees in number with the singular collective noun antecedent 'guild'. The plural noun 'weavers' is part of an intervening prepositional phrase and does not act as the antecedent.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the pronoun being tested and locate its antecedent in the sentence.
The pronoun is the possessive pronoun 'their', and its antecedent is the collective noun 'guild'.
To ensure proper pronoun-antecedent agreement, we must find the noun that the pronoun replaced.
2
Determine the grammatical number (singular or plural) of the antecedent.
The collective noun 'guild' is singular, even though it is followed by the intervening prepositional phrase 'of master weavers'.
Intervening prepositional phrases containing plural nouns do not change the singular nature of the collective noun antecedent.
3
Select the correct singular possessive pronoun that matches the antecedent and fits the context.
The singular possessive pronoun 'its' is the correct choice, whereas 'it's' is a contraction and 'its'' is incorrect punctuation.
The possessive pronoun 'its' correctly agrees with the singular noun 'guild' and shows possession of the monopoly.

Key Concept

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
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Topics

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

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