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Question

Difficulty: MediumPronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Read the sentence below carefully and identify the word that ensures proper grammatical alignment. What pronoun correctly completes the given sentence?

Answer:Every one of the female research fellows presented 【her】 findings at the international bioethics symposium.

Answer

her
The correct answer is 'her'. The grammatical subject of the sentence is the singular indefinite expression 'Every one'. The prepositional phrase 'of the female research fellows' specifies gender while leaving the subject singular. Therefore, the singular feminine possessive pronoun 'her' maintains correct agreement.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the grammatical antecedent of the pronoun in the sentence.
The simple subject and true antecedent is the singular indefinite expression 'Every one', modified by the prepositional phrase 'of the female research fellows'.
Indefinite pronoun constructions beginning with 'every one' are grammatically singular, regardless of any plural nouns within the modifying prepositional phrase.
2
Determine the appropriate number and gender for the possessive pronoun.
Since the modifying phrase explicitly identifies a female group ('female research fellows'), the singular feminine possessive pronoun 'her' is required.
A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in both number (singular) and gender (feminine).

Key Concept

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement with Singular Indefinite Expressions
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Topics

Pronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

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