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Question

Difficulty: HardPronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

During the official administrative audit, each of the principal investigators supervising the multi-center medical research project submitted _____ analytical report directly to the ethics governing council.

Which pronoun best fits the blank to ensure standard formal pronoun-antecedent agreement?

  1. his or herAnswer
  2. B
    their
  3. C
    theirs
  4. D
    there

Answer

The possessive pronoun phrase 'his or her' is correct because the true subject and antecedent is the singular indefinite pronoun 'each'.
The sentence relies on the singular indefinite pronoun 'each' as its grammatical antecedent. In formal English examination standards (such as JAMB UTME), singular indefinite pronouns ('each', 'every', 'everyone', 'either', 'neither') must be followed by singular possessive pronouns. Therefore, 'his or her' correctly maintains singular concord.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the true grammatical antecedent in the sentence clause.
The core antecedent is the indefinite pronoun 'each'. The phrase 'of the principal investigators' is an intervening prepositional phrase.
Nouns located within prepositional phrases do not change the grammatical number of the sentence subject/antecedent.
2
Determine the required number and case of the modifier needed for the blank.
Since 'each' is grammatically singular and modifies the noun phrase 'analytical report', a singular possessive pronoun/determiner is required.
Formal English rules mandate that singular indefinite antecedents take singular possessive pronouns.
3
Select the option that strictly adheres to formal singular pronoun-antecedent agreement.
'his or her' maintains singular agreement with 'each'.
Plural pronouns such as 'their' violate formal concord rules in traditional examination contexts.

Key Concept

Pronoun-Antecedent Concord with Singular Indefinite Pronouns
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Topics

Pronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

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