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Question

Difficulty: EasyPronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

During the annual press conference, the committee presented _____ unanimous decision on the new environmental regulations.

Which of the options below correctly completes the sentence?

  1. itsAnswer
  2. B
    their
  3. C
    it's
  4. D
    there

Answer

its
The word 'committee' is a collective noun functioning as a single, cohesive unit because it made a single 'unanimous decision'. Therefore, it requires the singular possessive pronoun 'its' to maintain proper pronoun-antecedent agreement.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the antecedent in the sentence
The antecedent is the collective noun 'committee'.
The pronoun to be filled in refers back to 'committee'.
2
Determine the number and nature of the collective noun antecedent
Since the committee reached a 'unanimous decision', the group is acting as a single, unified entity.
Collective nouns take singular pronouns when the group acts as one body.
3
Select the correct singular possessive pronoun
'Its' is the correct singular neuter possessive pronoun.
It agrees in gender and number with the singular collective noun without containing a contraction apostrophe.

Key Concept

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement with Collective Nouns
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Topics

Pronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

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