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Question

Difficulty: HardPronoun-Antecedent Agreement

The following sentence is missing a pronoun. To ensure grammatically correct pronoun-antecedent agreement, what word should be placed in the blank?

Answer:Although the research team expected the cluster of stars to drift together, each of the stellar bodies in the outer ring has maintained 【its】 independent trajectory.

Answer

its
The correct answer is the singular possessive pronoun 'its.' In the sentence, the pronoun must refer back to its antecedent. The subject of the clause is the singular indefinite pronoun 'each.' Although the intervening prepositional phrase 'of the stellar bodies in the outer ring' contains the plural noun 'bodies,' the pronoun must agree in number with the actual subject 'each.' Since 'each' is singular and refers to an inanimate object, the singular neuter possessive pronoun 'its' is grammatically correct.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the antecedent of the missing pronoun.
The subject and antecedent of the clause containing the blank is the singular indefinite pronoun 'each.'
The prepositional phrase 'of the stellar bodies in the outer ring' contains plural nouns but functions only as a modifier, not as the grammatical subject of the clause.
2
Determine the grammatical number of the antecedent.
The pronoun 'each' is singular, which is also confirmed by the singular verb 'has maintained.'
Indefinite pronouns such as 'each' are always singular in standard formal English.
3
Select the correct pronoun that matches the antecedent in number and gender.
The singular possessive pronoun 'its' is selected.
Because 'each' is singular and refers to inanimate stellar bodies, the singular neuter possessive pronoun 'its' must be used to agree with it.

Key Concept

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement with Indefinite Pronouns
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

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