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Difficulty: Very hardPronoun-Antecedent Agreement and Case

Under the leadership of the new director, the council of local organic farmers and food distributors, which recently convened to draft guidelines for the regional farmers' market, has decided that ______ will implement a strict zero-waste policy starting next season.

Which choice completes the passage so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

  1. A
    they
  2. itAnswer
  3. C
    itself
  4. D
    them

Answer

The singular pronoun 'it' is correct because it maintains pronoun-antecedent agreement with the singular collective noun antecedent 'council.'
The pronoun must refer back to the singular collective noun 'council.' Therefore, the singular subject pronoun 'it' correctly maintains pronoun-antecedent agreement in number. The intervening plural nouns in the prepositional phrase and the relative clause do not alter the grammatical number of the main subject.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the antecedent of the pronoun to be filled in the blank.
The antecedent is the noun phrase headed by 'council.'
The pronoun must refer back to this noun phrase to complete the meaning of the sentence.
2
Determine the grammatical number of the antecedent.
'Council' is a singular collective noun.
Although followed by the plural nouns 'farmers' and 'distributors' in a prepositional phrase, the core subject remains singular.
3
Identify the grammatical role of the blank in its clause.
The blank functions as the subject of the verb 'will implement.'
This determines that a subject case pronoun is required.
4
Select the option that is both singular and in the subject case.
The pronoun 'it' is selected.
'It' is a singular subject pronoun, which correctly matches the antecedent 'council' and functions as the subject of the clause.

Key Concept

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement and Case
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Topics

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement and Case

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