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Difficulty: MediumPronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Which pronoun best completes the sentence below in accordance with formal rules of pronoun-antecedent agreement?

"The editorial board unanimously agreed that _______ primary obligation was to safeguard the journal's academic standards."

  1. A
    their
  2. itsAnswer
  3. C
    it's
  4. D
    theirs

Answer

The correct pronoun is 'its' because the collective noun 'editorial board' acts as a single, unified entity.
The antecedent 'editorial board' is a collective noun acting as a single, unified body (as confirmed by the modifier 'unanimously'). Consequently, it requires the singular neuter possessive pronoun 'its' to modify 'primary obligation'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the antecedent in the sentence.
The antecedent is 'The editorial board', which is a collective noun.
Determining the antecedent is necessary to establish correct grammatical agreement in number, person, and gender.
2
Determine whether the collective noun acts as a single unit or as individual members.
The context word 'unanimously' shows that the board members acted together as a single body.
When a collective noun functions as a single entity, it takes a singular verb and a singular pronoun.
3
Select the appropriate singular possessive pronoun form.
The neuter singular possessive determiner 'its' correctly modifies 'primary obligation'.
'Its' indicates possession without an apostrophe and matches the singular neuter antecedent.

Key Concept

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement with Collective Nouns
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Pronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

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