Question

Which sentence contains an inappropriate shift in person?

Before you leave for the day, make sure you turn off all the lights to save energy.

Many people have forgotten the name of their first teacher.

Neither Mike nor Dave remembered to bring his guitar to the party.

Some actors work as a waiter until their big break.

Answer 1

The sentence with the inappropriate shift in person is 'Some actors work as a waiter until their big break,' where it shifts from third person plural to singular.

Step-by-step explanation:

The sentence containing an inappropriate shift in person is: Some actors work as a waiter until their big break. This sentence starts by talking about actors in the third person ("Some actors") but then shifts to talking about only one person in a different job role ("a waiter") instead of maintaining the plural form ("waiters"). A correct version of this sentence preserving the third-person perspective could be: Some actors work as waiters until they get their big break.

Answer 2

Some actors work as a waiter until their big break.

Step-by-step explanation:

The sentence that contains an inappropriate shift in person is the last one. Instead of a waiter, we should say waiters (Some actors work as waiters...). Actors is a plural noun and it should be followed by a plural noun. Another thing that confirms this is the use of the plural possessive pronoun their.

The rest of the sentences are correct. In the first sentence, there is no dilemma. In the second sentence, we have the phrase many people, which requires a plural verb and plural possessive pronoun. These conditions are fulfilled. The third sentence is a bit tricky because of the correlative conjunction neither... nor. The verb and possessive pronoun should be in the singular form in this case (as Dave is a singular noun), and they are, which makes this sentence correct.

This is why the fourth option is the correct answer.