16Hit1600
Standard English ConventionsEasy–MediumPronoun agreement with 'everyone'

Standard English Conventions practice question

Everyone on the expedition had to carry ____ own water for the two-day crossing.

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

  1. A. theirCorrect
  2. B. its
  3. C. our
  4. D. his or hers

Answer: A. their

'Everyone' takes 'their' as a singular generic possessive in current standard usage.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. its
'Its' refers to things, not people.
C. our
'Our' shifts to the first person, which the sentence doesn't use.
D. his or hers
'His or hers' is a standalone possessive pronoun, not a determiner before 'own water'.

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