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Question

Difficulty: EasyPronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Read the sentence below:

'Each researcher in the laboratory must document _____ observations in the daily logbook before leaving.'

Which of the following pronouns correctly completes the sentence to maintain proper pronoun-antecedent agreement?

  1. A
    their
  2. B
    them
  3. his or herAnswer
  4. D
    theirs

Answer

The pronoun phrase 'his or her' correctly completes the sentence because the subject noun 'researcher', modified by the singular distributive word 'Each', requires a singular possessive determiner.
The antecedent 'researcher' is modified by the singular distributive 'Each', making the entire subject phrase grammatically singular. Therefore, the singular possessive construction 'his or her' is required to achieve correct pronoun-antecedent agreement.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the antecedent and determine its grammatical number.
The antecedent is 'researcher', which is modified by 'Each'. Indefinite words such as 'each', 'every', and 'everyone' render the expression grammatically singular.
Pronouns must agree in number and gender with the antecedent to which they refer.
2
Determine the required grammatical case for the blank space.
The word preceding 'observations' must be a possessive determiner/adjective to modify the noun.
The blank modifies the head noun 'observations'.
3
Select the pronoun form that matches both singular number and possessive case.
The phrase 'his or her' is the correct singular possessive form.
It maintains formal singular pronoun-antecedent agreement.

Key Concept

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement with Singular Distributives
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Pronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

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