English Grammar & Syntax Quiz: Pronoun Antecedent Agreement
18 questions · exam conditions
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Pronoun Antecedent AgreementQuestion 1 of 18

Neither of the sisters brought   own raincoat to the picnic.

their
her
its
his
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English Grammar & Syntax Quiz

English Grammar & Syntax Quiz: Pronoun Antecedent Agreement

Practice Pronoun Antecedent Agreement in English Grammar & Syntax with focused quiz questions that help you check what you know, review explanations, and build confidence with test-style prompts.

What this quiz covers

This quiz focuses on Pronoun Antecedent Agreement, giving you a quick way to practice the rules, question types, and explanations that matter most for English Grammar & Syntax.

How to use this quiz

Try each quiz question before looking at the correct answer. Use the explanations to review missed ideas, then come back to similar questions until the pattern feels familiar.

All questions

Question 1

Neither of the sisters brought   own raincoat to the picnic.

  1. their
  2. her (correct answer)
  3. its
  4. his
Explanation: Neither is singular, so the pronoun must be singular. Since the sisters are female, use her. The tempting choice is their, but it wrongly treats neither as plural even though the phrase refers to one sister at a time.

Question 2

One of the boys left   baseball glove in the dugout.

  1. their
  2. her
  3. his (correct answer)
  4. its
Explanation: Because "one" is the singular subject of the sentence, the possessive pronoun must refer back to that single boy, so "his" fits. "Their" is tempting because "boys" is plural, but "one of the boys" clearly means one individual, not the group.

Question 3

Someone in the girls' choir left   scarf in the rehearsal room.

  1. their
  2. his
  3. its
  4. her (correct answer)
Explanation: Someone is singular, and the phrase girls' choir identifies the person as female, so the possessive pronoun must be singular feminine: her. Their is the tempting choice as a generic singular, but it does not match the specific feminine context. Its is wrong because it refers to things, not people.

Question 4

Which pair of pronouns correctly completes the sentence in standard American English?

The orchestra has issued   rehearsal schedule, but the musicians have not yet received   individual copies.

  1. their; its
  2. its; their (correct answer)
  3. its; its
  4. their; their
Explanation: When a question asks you to choose pronouns for multiple nouns in the same sentence, treat each noun independently — ask yourself whether each antecedent is singular or collective/plural, then match the pronoun accordingly. Here, you have two distinct antecedents: the orchestra and the musicians. In standard American English, orchestra is a collective noun treated as a singular entity, so it takes the singular pronoun its. The orchestra issues its rehearsal schedule — one unified document belonging to the group as a whole. Musicians, on the other hand, is a straightforwardly plural noun, so it takes the plural pronoun their. The musicians receive their individual copies — each person gets one, signaling true plurality. That reasoning points directly to answer B: its; their. Choice A reverses the logic entirely, pairing their with orchestra (incorrect — collective singular) and its with musicians (incorrect — genuinely plural). Choice C applies its to both nouns, which works for orchestra but wrongly treats musicians as singular. Choice D applies their to both, which fits musicians but incorrectly treats orchestra as plural. The trap here is assuming that because an orchestra is made up of many people, it should take a plural pronoun. Don't let the implied plurality of a collective noun fool you — in American English, collective nouns like team, committee, jury, and orchestra are singular and take its, not their. When you spot a collective noun, pause and ask: "Is this functioning as one unit?" If yes, reach for its.

Question 5

The director, along with her producers, blamed   for the delay.

  1. themselves
  2. herself (correct answer)
  3. himself
  4. itself
Explanation: The subject is singular: the director, with 'along with her producers' just an extra phrase, so the pronoun must match the director. The feminine 'her' points to a female director, making 'herself' the needed reflexive. 'Themselves' is the trap because producers are plural nearby, but they aren't the grammatical subject.

Question 6

Either of the female candidates has   own strengths.

  1. their
  2. his
  3. her (correct answer)
  4. its
Explanation: Because 'either of the female candidates' is singular and the candidates are female, the possessive must agree in number and gender: 'her.' The tempting choice 'their' treats either as plural or gender-neutral, but the singular female subject requires 'her.'

Question 7

She is the only one of those managers who exceeds   sales targets.

  1. their
  2. its
  3. his
  4. her (correct answer)
Explanation: The verb 'exceeds' is singular, so 'who' points back to 'one,' not to 'managers.' Since the subject is 'she,' the matching possessive pronoun is 'her.' The tempting wrong choice is 'their,' which seems to agree with 'managers' but clashes with singular verb and with 'she.'

Question 8

Neither the supervisor nor her assistants submitted   forms.

  1. her forms
  2. their forms (correct answer)
  3. his forms
  4. its forms
Explanation: With neither...nor, the noun closer to the verb controls agreement; here 'assistants' is plural, so use 'their.' This depends on order alone: reverse it to 'Neither her assistants nor the supervisor' and the correct pronoun becomes 'her.' 'Her forms' is tempting because the supervisor is female, but she is not the nearer noun.

Question 9

A board of directors has reached   decision.

  1. its (correct answer)
  2. their
  3. his
  4. her
Explanation: Board is a singular collective noun, so the singular possessive its agrees with it. The tempting choice is their, but that treats the board as individual members rather than as one group, so it does not match the singular verb has.

Question 10

The duchess said directly to the duke, "Your speech impressed me." Which option correctly completes the reported version of her statement?

The duchess told the duke that   speech had impressed  .

  1. his; her (correct answer)
  2. her; him
  3. his; him
  4. her; her
Explanation: When converting direct speech to reported (indirect) speech, two things shift simultaneously: the perspective of pronouns and, often, the tense of verbs. Here, the duchess is speaking about the duke and about herself, so you need to track whose identity each pronoun represents once her words are filtered through a narrator's viewpoint. In the original quote, "your speech" refers to the duke's speech — so in reported speech, that becomes his speech. "Impressed me" refers to the duchess herself being impressed — so "me" becomes her, since we're now referring to her in the third person. That gives you his; her, which is option A, the correct answer. Option B ("her; him") reverses both pronouns entirely — it would suggest the duchess's speech impressed the duke, which flips the meaning of the original sentence. Option C ("his; him") gets the first pronoun right but then incorrectly uses "him" for the second blank, which would mean the duke was impressed — but it was the duchess who felt impressed. Option D ("her; her") makes both pronouns refer to the duchess, which would nonsensically imply that her own speech impressed herself. A reliable strategy here is to pause and ask: Who is each pronoun standing in for? Map every pronoun in the reported sentence back to a specific person in the original quote before you choose. In reported speech questions, the most common trap is swapping "him" and "her" in the object position — test-makers count on you rushing past that second blank. Slow down and verify each pronoun individually.

Question 11

Which pair of pronouns correctly completes the sentence?

The Netherlands revised   coastal policy after the Netherlands and Belgium had compared   flood-control plans.

  1. their; its
  2. their; their
  3. its; their (correct answer)
  4. its; its
Explanation: When a pronoun refers to a single country or organization, treat it as singular — even if that name sounds plural or refers to a large group of people. This question tests whether you can correctly identify the antecedent of each pronoun and match it in number. In the first blank, the antecedent is "the Netherlands" acting alone — it revised its own coastal policy. Because a single nation is a singular entity, the correct pronoun is "its," not "their." In the second blank, the antecedent is "the Netherlands and Belgium" — two countries joined by "and," forming a compound (plural) subject. When two distinct entities share something together, you use "their." So the sentence reads: The Netherlands revised its coastal policy after the Netherlands and Belgium had compared their flood-control plans. That's answer C. Answer A ("their; its") gets the logic exactly backwards — it pluralizes the solo country and singularizes the pair, which is the opposite of what's grammatically correct. Answer B ("their; their") applies a plural pronoun to the Netherlands acting alone in the first clause, incorrectly treating a single country as plural throughout. Answer D ("its; its") correctly handles the first blank but then wrongly singularizes the compound subject "the Netherlands and Belgium," ignoring that two separate entities require a plural pronoun. A useful rule of thumb: when you see a country name, remind yourself it's grammatically singular ("it"/"its"), but the moment you join two nouns with "and," the reference becomes plural ("their"). Always trace each pronoun back to its specific antecedent before choosing.

Question 12

Which pair of pronouns correctly completes the sentence?

The number of applicants has risen beyond   projected limit, but a number of applicants have withdrawn   applications.

  1. their; its
  2. their; their
  3. its; its
  4. its; their (correct answer)
Explanation: Whenever you see a pronoun-antecedent agreement questions, your first job is to identify what the pronoun is actually referring to — and in English, the phrases "the number of" and "a number of" behave very differently, even though they look nearly identical. "The number of" is a singular expression; it refers to a single, specific count. So in the first clause, "the number of applicants" takes a singular verb (has risen) and demands a singular pronoun — its. "A number of," by contrast, means "several" or "many" and is treated as plural. It refers to the applicants themselves as a group of individuals, takes a plural verb (have withdrawn), and demands a plural pronoun — their. That gives you its for the first blank and their for the second, making D the correct answer. Choice A (their; its) gets both blanks backwards — it treats the singular "the number" as plural and the plural "a number" as singular. Choice B (their; their) applies plural pronouns to both blanks, ignoring the singular nature of "the number of." Choice C (its; its) correctly handles the first blank but wrongly treats "a number of applicants" as singular in the second, when in fact the applicants are acting individually by withdrawing their own applications. A reliable tip: memorize this contrast as a set phrase. "The number" = singular (think of the pointing to one specific figure); "a number" = plural (think of a as meaning "some"). Spotting this distinction quickly will save you on any subject-verb or pronoun-antecedent question involving these constructions.

Question 13

Which option correctly completes the sentence?

Every laptop and every tablet assigned to the laboratory must remain in   designated charging station overnight.

  1. their own designated charging station
  2. our own designated charging station
  3. its own designated charging station (correct answer)
  4. his or her designated charging station
Explanation: When a sentence uses a pronoun to refer back to a subject, that pronoun must agree with its antecedent in both number and person — this is called pronoun-antecedent agreement, and it's exactly what this question tests. The subject here is "every laptop and every tablet." Although two nouns are joined by "and," the word every before each noun signals that they are being treated individually, not collectively. "Every" is a singular indefinite modifier, so the subject functions as singular. This means the pronoun referring back to it must also be singular. Option C, "its own", is correct. "Its" is a singular, third-person, gender-neutral pronoun — the perfect match for a singular, inanimate antecedent like a laptop or tablet. Option A, "their own", is the most tempting distractor. Many people use "their" as a gender-neutral singular pronoun in casual speech, and it's increasingly accepted in informal contexts. However, in formal grammar, "their" is plural, and the singular force of "every" means A creates a number disagreement. Option B, "our own", introduces first-person plural perspective, which makes no sense here — the sentence is describing the devices, not the speaker's belongings. Option D, "his or her", is singular and third-person, but it's used for people, not objects. Laptops and tablets are inanimate, so "his or her" is illogical in this context. Study tip: Whenever you see "every," "each," or "any" modifying a noun, treat it as singular — even if multiple nouns follow — and match your pronouns accordingly.

Question 14

Which pair of pronouns correctly completes the sentence?

Seventy percent of the machinery has reached the end of   service life, but seventy percent of the generators have not reached the end of   service lives.

  1. its; their (correct answer)
  2. their; its
  3. its; its
  4. their; their
Explanation: When a sentence uses a percentage expression like "seventy percent of  ," the pronoun agreement depends on the noun after "of," not the percentage itself. This is called the indefinite percentage rule: the verb and pronoun must agree with the noun in the prepositional phrase that follows. In the first clause, "seventy percent of the machinery" — machinery is a singular, uncountable noun, so the correct pronoun is its. In the second clause, "seventy percent of the generators" — generators is plural, so the correct pronoun is their. That gives you its... their, which is answer A, the correct choice. Answer B (their; its) reverses the logic entirely — it assigns a plural pronoun to singular "machinery" and a singular pronoun to plural "generators," getting both wrong. Answer C (its; its) correctly handles "machinery" but then incorrectly treats "generators" as singular, ignoring the plural noun. Answer D (their; their) correctly handles "generators" but misapplies a plural pronoun to singular "machinery," making the opposite error of C. A useful strategy: whenever you see a phrase like "percent of  ," "majority of  ," or "half of  ," immediately identify the noun after "of" and ask yourself — is it singular or plural? That noun controls everything: the verb and the pronoun. Don't be distracted by the number (like "seventy percent") at the front — it's grammatically invisible for agreement purposes.

Question 15

The projections belong to whichever party is required to defend them. Which option correctly completes the sentence?

Neither the chief accountant nor the regional managers could defend   during the audit.

  1. its revised regional projections
  2. his or her revised regional projections
  3. their revised regional projections (correct answer)
  4. your revised regional projections
Explanation: When a sentence uses a compound subject joined by "neither...nor," pronoun agreement depends on the subject closest to the verb — a rule called the proximity principle. Here, the two subjects are "the chief accountant" (singular) and "the regional managers" (plural). Because "regional managers" is the noun closest to the verb, the pronoun should be plural. That makes C ("their revised regional projections") the correct choice. "Their" is plural, agreeing with "regional managers," and it's also gender-neutral — appropriate since we don't know the gender composition of the group. The sentence flows naturally and satisfies both grammatical agreement and modern inclusive usage. Looking at the wrong answers: A ("its") treats the subject as a singular, nonhuman entity — something like a corporation. Neither part of this compound subject is an object or organization, so "its" is both the wrong number and the wrong category of pronoun. B ("his or her") is a common trap. Students often reach for "his or her" when a sentence feels formal or when a singular antecedent appears. While "his or her" would technically work for "chief accountant" alone, the proximity rule requires you to match the closest noun, "regional managers," which is plural — making a singular pronoun like "his or her" incorrect. D ("your") introduces second person, which is completely inconsistent with the third-person subjects in the sentence. A handy tip: whenever you see "neither...nor" or "either...or" in a pronoun agreement question, immediately identify both subjects, note which one is closer to the verb, and match your pronoun to that one.

Question 16

Which option correctly completes the sentence?

Leila is one of the researchers who archive   field notes in both print and digital formats.

  1. her original field notes
  2. its original field notes
  3. his or her original field notes
  4. their original field notes (correct answer)
Explanation: When you see a sentence containing the construction "one of the [plural noun] who," pay close attention to which noun is actually the antecedent for any pronouns that follow. This structure is a classic agreement trap. The key is identifying what "who" refers to. In this sentence, "who archive their original field notes" is a relative clause modifying "researchers" — not "one." Because "researchers" is plural, the verb "archive" (not "archives") is correct, and any pronoun referring back to that plural antecedent must also be plural. That makes D, "their original field notes," the correct choice. "Their" agrees with the plural "researchers," the true subject of the relative clause. Choice A fails because "her" is singular and feminine, arbitrarily excluding male or nonbinary researchers with no grammatical justification. Choice B uses "its," which refers to non-human or inanimate things — applying it to researchers is a category error. Choice C, "his or her," is singular and formal, but still incorrect because the antecedent "researchers" is plural; using a singular pronoun creates a number mismatch, regardless of how inclusive the phrasing sounds. A useful strategy: whenever you spot "one of the   who," mentally circle the plural noun inside that phrase and ask, "What does the 'who' clause actually describe?" If it describes the plural noun (as it does here), use plural verbs and pronouns. Don't let "one of" trick you into defaulting to singular agreement — the relative clause reaches past "one" to modify the whole group.

Question 17

Which option correctly completes the sentence according to formal pronoun–antecedent agreement?

Each of the archival boxes was returned to   after the inventory.

  1. its individually assigned shelf (correct answer)
  2. their individually assigned shelf
  3. its individually assigned shelves
  4. their individually assigned shelves
Explanation: When you see a pronoun–antecedent agreement questions, your first job is to identify the true subject — the word the pronoun must match — not just the nearest noun. Here, the subject is "Each," not "boxes." "Each" is an indefinite pronoun that is always grammatically singular, even when followed by a plural noun in a prepositional phrase like "of the archival boxes." Because "Each" is singular, any pronoun referring back to it must also be singular, and because the boxes are objects rather than people, that pronoun must be the neutral singular "its." That makes A correct: its individually assigned shelf pairs a singular pronoun with a singular noun, perfectly reflecting the fact that each box returns to one shelf — its own. B fails because "their" is a plural pronoun. Using it with the singular antecedent "Each" breaks pronoun–antecedent agreement, a very common error driven by the plural-sounding "boxes" nearby. D makes the same plural-pronoun mistake and compounds it by using "shelves," implying each box belongs on multiple shelves, which contradicts the logic of individual assignment. C uses the correct singular pronoun "its" but then pairs it with the plural "shelves" — one box cannot simultaneously have multiple individually assigned shelves, so the noun choice is illogical and internally inconsistent. A reliable strategy: whenever you see each, every, either, neither, anyone, or everyone as the subject, treat the sentence as singular and choose singular pronouns and verbs. The prepositional phrase that follows ("of the boxes") is a distractor — mentally bracket it off and focus on the core subject.

Question 18

Which option correctly completes the sentence?

Many a safety valve has failed because   internal seal was installed incorrectly.

  1. their pressure-resistant internal seal
  2. its pressure-resistant internal seal (correct answer)
  3. our pressure-resistant internal seal
  4. his or her pressure-resistant internal seal
Explanation: When you see a pronoun agreement question, your first job is to identify the subject the pronoun must match — specifically its number (singular or plural) and its reference. The subject here is "many a safety valve." This construction is a classic grammar trap: despite containing the word "many," the phrase "many a + singular noun" always takes a singular verb and singular pronoun. Notice the sentence already signals this with "has failed" (singular verb), not "have failed." So the blank requires a singular pronoun that refers back to the valve itself. Option B, "its pressure-resistant internal seal," is correct. The pronoun its is singular and neuter, making it the perfect match for a singular inanimate noun like "safety valve." Option A, "their pressure-resistant internal seal," uses their, which is plural. Since "many a safety valve" is grammatically singular, their creates a number disagreement — this is the most tempting distractor because many naturally suggests plurality. Option C, "our pressure-resistant internal seal," introduces the first-person plural pronoun our, which implies the speaker is one of the owners of the seal. Nothing in the sentence establishes that relationship, so this pronoun is contextually illogical. Option D, "his or her pressure-resistant internal seal," uses gendered personal pronouns appropriate for people, not inanimate objects like valves. Applying his or her to a mechanical component is grammatically awkward and semantically wrong. Your takeaway: whenever you see "many a + noun," treat it as singular — both the verb and any pronoun must agree with that singular noun, not with the idea of "many."