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Difficulty: EasyPronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Which pronoun correctly completes the sentence below to maintain proper pronoun-antecedent agreement?

'The chief librarian, along with her assistant curators, submitted _____ annual budget request before the finance deadline.'

  1. herAnswer
  2. B
    their
  3. C
    its
  4. D
    our

Answer

The possessive pronoun 'her' is correct because the singular head noun 'chief librarian' is the true antecedent of the sentence.
The correct response is 'her' because the true antecedent is the singular noun phrase 'The chief librarian'. Intervening phrases introduced by 'along with' do not change the grammatical number of the subject.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the primary subject antecedent of the sentence.
The main antecedent is 'The chief librarian', which is singular.
Phrases introduced by 'along with', 'as well as', or 'together with' are prepositional modifiers and do not make a singular subject plural.
2
Determine the required grammatical number and person for the pronoun.
A third-person singular possessive pronoun is required.
Pronouns must agree in number and gender with their true antecedent.
3
Select the option that provides the singular female possessive pronoun.
The word 'her' correctly matches 'chief librarian'.
It maintains proper pronoun-antecedent agreement in formal written English.

Key Concept

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement with Intervening Prepositional Phrases
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Topics

Pronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

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