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Question

Difficulty: MediumPronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Complete the sentence below by filling in the blank with the grammatically appropriate pronoun that maintains correct pronoun-antecedent agreement in standard English.

Answer:Neither of the two newly enacted statutes has lost 【its】 legal force despite the recent constitutional amendments.

Answer

its
The sentence requires the singular possessive pronoun 'its' to agree with the singular antecedent 'Neither'. Although the prepositional phrase contains the plural noun 'statutes', the head of the noun phrase remains the singular indefinite pronoun 'Neither'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the true grammatical antecedent of the missing pronoun.
The antecedent is the singular indefinite pronoun 'Neither', not the plural noun 'statutes'.
The phrase 'of the two newly enacted statutes' is a prepositional modifier, and its object cannot serve as the subject or head antecedent of the sentence.
2
Determine the number, person, and gender required for the pronoun.
The pronoun must be third-person singular and neuter because 'Neither' refers here to inanimate entities (statutes).
Indefinite pronouns like 'neither', 'either', and 'each' take singular agreement in formal English.
3
Select the correct possessive form.
The correct possessive form is 'its'.
'its' indicates singular possession without an apostrophe, whereas 'their' is plural and 'it's' is a contraction.

Key Concept

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement with Singular Indefinite Pronouns
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Topics

Pronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

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