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Difficulty: EasyPronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

In formal English, pronoun-antecedent agreement requires matching in number. Consider the sentence: 'Each of the delegates at the international summit was required to display _____ identification badge at all times.' Which pronoun correctly completes this sentence?

  1. his or herAnswer
  2. B
    their
  3. C
    its
  4. D
    theirs

Answer

The phrase 'his or her' is the grammatically correct choice to complete the sentence.
The indefinite pronoun 'Each' is singular and serves as the antecedent for the missing pronoun. In formal written English, singular indefinite pronouns require singular possessive modifiers. Therefore, 'his or her' correctly matches 'Each' in number and gender neutrality.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the antecedent of the missing pronoun in the sentence.
The head antecedent is the indefinite pronoun 'Each' (modified by the prepositional phrase 'of the delegates').
In subject/antecedent structure, prepositions do not alter the grammatical number of the indefinite pronoun head.
2
Determine the grammatical number of the indefinite pronoun 'Each'.
'Each' is strictly singular.
Standard English rules dictate that distributive indefinite pronouns (each, every, either, neither) are singular.
3
Select a possessive pronoun that matches the singular human antecedent.
'his or her' correctly provides gender-inclusive singular possessive agreement.
Singular antecedents referring to people require singular personal possessive forms.

Key Concept

Indefinite Pronoun-Antecedent Concord
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Pronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

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