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Difficulty: EasyPronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Which of the following pronouns correctly completes the sentence below?

'The board of directors was unanimous in _____ decision to approve the new community budget.'

  1. itsAnswer
  2. B
    their
  3. C
    there
  4. D
    his

Answer

The possessive pronoun 'its' correctly completes the sentence because the collective noun antecedent 'board of directors' functions as a single unified body.
The correct response is 'its' because the antecedent 'board of directors' is a collective noun acting in complete agreement as a single entity (indicated by 'unanimous'). Therefore, it requires a singular, non-human possessive pronoun.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the antecedent of the missing pronoun.
The antecedent is the collective noun phrase 'The board of directors'.
Determining the antecedent is necessary to decide the number, gender, and person of the required pronoun.
2
Determine whether the collective noun operates as a singular unit or as separate individuals.
The adjective 'unanimous' indicates that the board members acted together as a single body.
When members of a collective noun act in unison, the noun takes a singular verb and a singular pronoun.
3
Select the possessive pronoun that agrees in number and gender with the singular, inanimate antecedent.
The singular neuter possessive pronoun is 'its'.
Using 'its' maintains proper pronoun-antecedent agreement in formal standard English.

Key Concept

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement with Collective Nouns
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Topics

Pronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

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