Standard English ConventionsVery hardPronoun agreement with a singular indefinite antecedent in a long sentence
Standard English Conventions practice question
Neither of the surveyors who measured the tower in 1900 left ____ notes in the archive, so the figures cannot be checked.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- A. his or herCorrect
- B. their
- C. its
- D. our
Answer: A. his or her
'Neither' is singular and refers to people; formal usage takes a singular personal pronoun.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. their
- 'Their' is plural; the antecedent 'neither' is singular.
- C. its
- 'Its' is for things.
- D. our
- 'Our' shifts to the first person.
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