Pronoun example
Last updated: 13 Oct 2008
Now for an example for you to try
Genetic engineers have serious ethical questions to face, since he really holds the power of creation in his hands.
- since he really holds the power of creation in his hands.
- since they really hold the power of creation in his hands.
- since they really hold the power of creation in their hands.
- since he really holds the power of creation in their hands.
- since he really holds the power of creation in its hands.
Try this yourself before reading the explanation below.
Explanation
We can tell that this is a pronoun question by looking at the changes in the answers. You should note that his changes to their and its.
In the permanent part of the sentence (the part of the sentence that is not underlined) we read "genetic engineers". Therefore, the verb of the sentence and any pronouns referring to the engineers must be plural.
The only sentence that has both a plural verb "hold", a plural pronoun "they", and a plural possessive adjective "their" is C.
Therefore C is the correct answer.
