Question

Which sentence illustrates correct pronoun-antecedent agreement? A. Did most of the players sink their three-point shots? B. Neither Martin nor Cesar made most of their foul shots. C. Everyone who tried out for the basketball team had their hearts set on playing center. D. Each of the players must provide their own uniforms.

Answer 1

Answer:

The sentence that illustrates correct pronoun-antecedent agreement is:

A. Did most of the players sink their three-point shots?

Explanation:

We can eliminate letter B because of the compound conjunction "neither... nor". This conjunction makes the subject singular, which causes "their" to be the wrong pronoun. The correct pronoun would be "his", even though two people are mentioned.

Letter C can also be eliminated since the noun "everyone" is also singular and demands a singular verb and singular pronouns. We tend to think of it as referring to many people, which is the cause of confusion. With "everyone", we should avoid using "their".

Letter D is also incorrect. "Each" is the antecedent we need to consider, and it is a singular one. Again, the use of "their" is wrong here.

Therefore, we are left with letter A. "Most" can be used with singular or plural nouns. The verbs and pronouns that follow will agree with the noun, not with the word "most". In this case, we have "most of the players", "players" being plural. For that reason, the use of "their" is correct.