1.
Neither Paul nor Stephen should stop telling personal stories about ________ childhoods.
Correct Answer
B. Their
Explanation
The sentence can be completed as follows: "Neither Paul nor Stephen should stop telling personal stories about their childhoods." In this case, "their" is used to refer to both Paul and Stephen collectively, indicating that personal stories about their childhoods are relevant for both individuals.
2.
Paul should not have trouble finding information for _______ report.
Correct Answer
B. His
Explanation
The correct answer is "his" because the subject of the sentence is "Paul," indicating that the report belongs to him. Since Paul is singular, the possessive pronoun "his" is used to show that Paul will not have trouble finding information for his own report.
3.
Dennis, the class valedictorian, has chosen Shakespeare as ______ speech topic.
Correct Answer
B. His
Explanation
The correct answer is "his" because the pronoun "his" is used to indicate possession by a male singular noun. In this case, Dennis is a male, so the correct pronoun to use is "his."
4.
Which of the following sentences demonstrates correct pronoun-antecedent agreement?
Correct Answer
C. Neither of the boys forgot his jacket.
Explanation
In pronoun-antecedent agreement, the pronoun must agree in number and gender with its antecedent. Option C is correct because "Neither of the boys" is singular, and "his" correctly matches the singular antecedent "Neither." In option A, "Every student" is singular, but "their" is plural, creating a mismatch. In option B, "Each" is singular, but "their" is plural. In option D, "The committee" is considered a singular entity, so "their" should be replaced with "its."
5.
Several other classmates have also chosen __________ topic.
Correct Answer
A. Their
Explanation
The correct answer is "their" because the word "classmates" is plural, indicating that there are multiple people involved. Therefore, the possessive pronoun "their" is used to show that the topic belongs to more than one classmate.
6.
Each of the boys refused help, saying that _________ would proofread the report on ________ own.
Correct Answer
A. He, his
Explanation
To complete the sentence, we need to fill in the blanks with appropriate pronouns, referring to the boys mentioned earlier. The correct sentence would be:
“Each of the boys refused help, saying that he would proofread the report on his own.”
7.
Nobody likes to discover that ___________ have just read a dull paper about an interesting subject.
Correct Answer
B. They
Explanation
The correct answer is "they". This is because "they" is a gender-neutral pronoun that can be used to refer to both singular and plural antecedents. In this case, "nobody" is the antecedent, which is a singular pronoun. Therefore, "they" is the appropriate pronoun to use to refer to "nobody" and indicate that nobody likes to discover that they have just read a dull paper about an interesting subject.
8.
Martin has just chosen George Washington as _________ topic for his research paper.
Correct Answer
B. His
Explanation
The correct answer is "his" because the sentence indicates that Martin has chosen George Washington as the topic for his research paper. "His" is a possessive pronoun that shows ownership, indicating that George Washington is Martin's chosen topic.
9.
Either Maggie or Sadie offered ________ help with proofreading.
Correct Answer
B. Her
Explanation
The correct answer is "her" because the sentence is referring to either Maggie or Sadie, both of whom are females. Since "her" is the possessive pronoun used for females, it is the appropriate choice in this context.
10.
Each of these founding fathers is known to have left ________ mark on the world.
Correct Answer
B. His
Explanation
The phrase "each of these founding fathers" refers to individual male figures, so the singular masculine pronoun "his" is grammatically correct. "Their" would be incorrect because "each" is singular, and "her" would not be applicable when referring to male individuals (founding fathers). The correct answer is "his."