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Difficulty: MediumPronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Consider the sentence below from a formal panel report:

'The panel of judges could not reach a consensus immediately because each member insisted on presenting _____ individual assessment of the performances.'

Which of the following pronouns correctly completes the sentence above in accordance with standard formal English rules?

  1. A
    their
  2. his or herAnswer
  3. C
    its
  4. D
    they're

Answer

The pronoun phrase 'his or her' correctly completes the sentence because the singular antecedent 'each member' requires a singular possessive pronoun in formal English.
The correct answer utilizes 'his or her' because the antecedent 'member' is quantified by 'each', making the noun phrase grammatically singular. Formal English requires singular antecedents to take singular possessive pronouns.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the antecedent in the sentence
The antecedent modified by the quantifier 'each' is 'member' (each member).
Determining the grammatical number (singular or plural) of the antecedent dictates the pronoun required.
2
Apply the rule of indefinite pronoun concord
The distributive quantifier 'each' renders the noun phrase singular.
In standard formal English, singular antecedents must be paired with singular pronouns.
3
Select the appropriate singular possessive pronoun
'his or her' is chosen.
'his or her' provides gender-inclusive singular possessive reference appropriate for a person.

Key Concept

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement with Distributive Modifiers
Estimated Time:50s
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Topics

Pronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

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