Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement in English Grammar

Question:

Which sentence demonstrates a problem with pronoun-antecedent agreement?

Answer:

The sentence with a problem in pronoun-antecedent agreement is 'a) Not everyone who drops out of college ruins their life.'

Explanation:

The set of sentences provided aims to assess the correct use of pronoun-antecedent agreement. This grammatical rule requires that pronouns and their antecedents match in both number and gender. In this case, the sentence 'a) Not everyone who drops out of college ruins their life' has a problem with pronoun-antecedent agreement. The pronoun 'their' is plural, while its antecedent 'everyone' is considered singular.

Therefore, the correct way to write the sentence would be: 'Not everyone who drops out of college ruins his or her life.' This ensures that the pronoun and its antecedent agree in number.

It's important to note that pronoun-antecedent agreement is a fundamental aspect of English grammar to maintain clarity and coherence in writing.