- Which revision corrects this agreement error: 'Any student who fails to complete their homework will receive a warning'?
Answer: Any student who fails to complete his or her homework will receive a formal warning notice.
The correct answer is C. 'Any student' is singular and requires singular pronouns 'his or her.' Choice A maintains the error with plural 'their.' Choice B inappropriately uses first-person 'our.' Choice D uses 'its,' which is for non-human entities, not people.
- Which sentence contains a pronoun-antecedent agreement error?
Answer: The flock of geese changed their migration pattern due to unusual weather conditions.
The correct answer is B. 'Flock' is a collective noun treated as singular, but 'their' is plural, creating disagreement. The pronoun should be 'its.' Choice A correctly uses singular 'its' with 'board.' Choices C and D contain no pronouns to create agreement errors.
- Identify the sentence that demonstrates correct pronoun-antecedent agreement.
Answer: Neither of the proposals received the approval it desperately needed from the review committee.
The correct answer is B. 'Neither' is singular and requires the singular pronoun 'it.' Choice A uses plural 'they' with singular 'neither.' Choice C inappropriately uses first-person 'we.' Choice D uses masculine 'he,' which is inappropriate for inanimate objects like proposals.
- Which sentence contains a pronoun-antecedent agreement error?
Answer: The faculty voted unanimously to support their students' petition for extended library hours.
The correct answer is B. 'Faculty' is a collective noun treated as singular in American English, but 'their' is plural, creating disagreement. The pronoun should be 'its.' Choices A, C, and D correctly use singular 'its' with singular collective nouns 'department,' 'administration,' and 'council.'
- Which revision fixes this pronoun-antecedent agreement error: 'The class decided that they would meet after school for extra practice'?
Answer: The class decided that it would meet after school for additional practice sessions.
The correct answer is C. 'Class' is a collective noun treated as singular in American English, requiring the singular pronoun 'it.' Choice A maintains the error with plural 'they.' Choice B inappropriately shifts to first-person 'we.' Choice D uses singular 'he,' which is inappropriate for a group.
- Which sentence demonstrates correct pronoun-antecedent agreement?
Answer: Both of the applicants submitted their resume with a detailed cover letter for consideration.
The correct answer is C. 'Both' is plural and requires the plural pronoun 'their.' Choice A uses singular masculine 'his' with a plural antecedent. Choice B uses 'its,' which is for non-human entities. Choice D inappropriately uses first-person 'our.'
- Which revision fixes the pronoun-antecedent agreement error: 'Either Sarah or Maria will present their research findings at the conference'?
Answer: Either Sarah or Maria will present her research findings at the conference.
The correct answer is A. With 'either...or' constructions, the pronoun agrees with the closer antecedent. Since 'Maria' is closer and singular, 'her' is correct. Choice B maintains the error with plural 'their.' Choice C incorrectly uses first-person 'our.' Choice D uses masculine 'his' when both antecedents are feminine names.
- Which sentence contains a pronoun-antecedent agreement error?
Answer: The audience showed their appreciation by giving the performers a standing ovation.
The correct answer is B. 'Audience' is a collective noun treated as singular in American English, but 'their' is plural, creating disagreement. The pronoun should be 'its.' Choices A, C, and D correctly use singular 'its' with singular collective nouns 'jury,' 'staff,' and 'committee.'
- Which sentence has correct pronoun-antecedent agreement?
Answer: The team celebrated its victory with an elaborate dinner at the restaurant.
The correct answer is B. 'Team' is a collective noun treated as singular in American English, requiring the singular pronoun 'its.' Choice A treats 'team' as plural with 'their.' Choice C uses inappropriate masculine singular 'his.' Choice D incorrectly shifts to first-person 'our.'
- Identify the sentence with a pronoun-antecedent agreement error.
Answer: None of the equipment was functioning properly when they tested it yesterday morning.
The correct answer is C. 'None of the equipment' is singular (equipment is non-count), but 'they' is plural, creating disagreement. The pronoun should be 'it.' Choices A, B, and D correctly use plural pronouns with plural antecedents ('employees,' 'participants,' 'students').
- Which sentence demonstrates a pronoun-antecedent agreement error?
Answer: Some of the information was outdated, so they needed to update it immediately.
The correct answer is C. 'Some of the information' is singular (information is non-count), but 'they' is plural, creating disagreement. The pronoun should be 'it.' Choices A, B, and D are correct: A has no pronoun, B correctly uses plural 'their' with plural 'employees,' and D has no pronoun.
- Identify the sentence that demonstrates an error in pronoun-antecedent agreement.
Answer: Anyone who wants to participate must register themselves by the end of this week.
The correct answer is B. 'Anyone' is singular and requires a singular pronoun, but 'themselves' is plural. The correct pronoun would be 'himself or herself.' Choices A, C, and D all correctly use singular pronouns 'his or her' with their singular antecedents 'someone,' 'everyone,' and 'nobody.'
- Identify the sentence with a pronoun-antecedent agreement error.
Answer: Neither of the proposals received the support they needed from the review board members.
The correct answer is B. 'Neither' is singular and requires a singular pronoun, but 'they' is plural, creating disagreement. Choice A correctly uses plural 'their' with plural 'members.' Choice C correctly uses plural 'their' with plural 'candidates.' Choice D correctly uses plural 'their' with plural 'participants.'
- Which revision corrects the pronoun-antecedent agreement: 'Everyone in the office should submit their timesheet by Friday afternoon'?
Answer: Everyone in the office should submit his or her timesheet by Friday afternoon.
The correct answer is C. 'Everyone' is singular and requires singular pronouns 'his or her.' Choice A maintains the error with plural 'their.' Choice B inappropriately uses first-person 'our.' Choice D uses 'its,' which is for non-human entities, not people.
- Identify the error in pronoun-antecedent agreement in this sentence: 'One of the students forgot to turn in their assignment before the deadline.'
Answer: The pronoun 'their' is plural, but the antecedent 'one' is singular and requires agreement.
The correct answer is A. The antecedent is 'one' (singular), not 'students,' so the plural pronoun 'their' creates a disagreement error. Choice B incorrectly identifies the antecedent as 'students.' Choice C misunderstands the issue as possessive vs. possessive pronoun. Choice D incorrectly suggests 'students' is the antecedent.
- Which revision fixes this pronoun-antecedent agreement error: 'Someone in the group forgot to bring their presentation materials to the meeting'?
Answer: Someone in the group forgot to bring his or her presentation materials to the important meeting.
The correct answer is C. 'Someone' is singular and requires singular pronouns 'his or her.' Choice A maintains the error with plural 'their.' Choice B inappropriately uses first-person 'our.' Choice D uses 'its,' which is for non-human entities, not people.
- Which sentence demonstrates correct pronoun-antecedent agreement?
Answer: Every student must submit his or her final project by Friday to receive full credit for the assignment.
The correct answer is B. The singular antecedent 'every student' requires a singular pronoun. 'His or her' correctly maintains singular agreement. Choice A uses the plural pronoun 'their' with a singular antecedent. Choice C incorrectly uses 'its,' which is for non-human entities. Choice D uses 'our,' which doesn't agree with the third-person antecedent.
- Which revision fixes this error: 'The organization announced that they would be restructuring their departments'?
Answer: The organization announced that it would be restructuring its departments for improved efficiency.
The correct answer is B. 'Organization' is singular and requires singular pronouns 'it' and 'its' throughout. Choice A mixes plural 'they' with singular 'its.' Choice C inappropriately shifts to first-person pronouns. Choice D uses inappropriate masculine singular pronouns for an organization.
- Identify the sentence that demonstrates correct pronoun-antecedent agreement.
Answer: Each of the musicians tuned his or her instruments carefully before the important evening performance.
The correct answer is B. 'Each' is singular and requires singular pronouns 'his or her.' Choice A uses plural 'their' with singular 'each.' Choice C inappropriately uses first-person 'our.' Choice D uses 'its,' which is for non-human entities, not people.
- Identify the sentence with correct pronoun-antecedent agreement.
Answer: Nobody wants to admit his or her mistake when confronted with clear evidence of wrongdoing.
The correct answer is B. 'Nobody' is singular and requires singular pronouns 'his or her.' Choice A uses plural 'their' with singular 'nobody.' Choice C inappropriately uses first-person 'our.' Choice D uses 'its,' which is for non-human entities, not people.
