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Difficulty: MediumPronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Which pronoun correctly completes the sentence below to maintain proper pronoun-antecedent agreement in standard formal English?

Answer:Every environmental analyst attending the summit was instructed to submit 【his or her】 preliminary findings directly to the secretariat.

Answer

The singular possessive phrase 'his or her' (or singular possessive pronoun 'his' / 'her') correctly agrees in grammatical number with the singular antecedent 'Every environmental analyst'.
In standard formal English, the quantifier 'every' makes the noun phrase 'Every environmental analyst' grammatically singular. Therefore, the possessive pronoun referring back to this antecedent must also be singular ('his or her', 'his', or 'her').

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the antecedent of the missing pronoun in the sentence.
The antecedent is the noun phrase 'Every environmental analyst'.
The pronoun filling the blank must refer back to the analysts who are submitting their findings.
2
Determine the grammatical number of the antecedent.
The quantifier 'Every' restricts the noun phrase 'Every environmental analyst' to grammatically singular.
In formal English, words qualified by 'every' or 'each' take singular verb forms and require singular pronoun agreement.
3
Select a pronoun that maintains singular agreement and appropriate gender reference for human antecedents.
The singular possessive forms 'his or her', 'his', or 'her' properly complete the blank.
Using plural pronouns such as 'their' creates a number mismatch with the singular antecedent in formal examination standards.

Key Concept

Singular Indefinite Pronoun Concord
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Pronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

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