Question

Which sentence has a pronoun-antecedent error?

A) All of the football team hit the streets, determined to raise as much money as possible for the fundraiser.
B) Students claim that some of the professor's classes were too hard and that they frequently fail his mid-terms.
C) Neither Margaret nor the Mimsy sisters were able to convince their manager to cancel their upcoming and arduous American tour.
D) If any student wants to attend the free Shakespeare performance, then they need to sign up with Mrs. Hall before the end of the week.

Answer 1

D: if any students wants to attend the free Shakespeare performance, then they need to sign up with Mrs. Hall before the end of the week. Because wants do not agree to the subject.

Answer 2

The sentence that has a pronoun-antecedent error is:

D) If any student wants to attend the free Shakespeare performance, then they need to sign up with Mrs. Hall before the end of the week.

Step-by-step explanation:

A pronoun is a word that substitutes a noun that has already been mentioned before (antecedent), be it in the same sentence or in the context as a whole. Examples of pronouns are: me, I, him, theirs, hers etc. Pronouns can function as subjects or objects in a sentence.

In the sentence, "If any student wants to attend the free Shakespeare performance, then they need to sign up with Mrs. Hall before the end of the week," the first clause talks of "any student". Notice how "student" is singular here. The verb that follows the noun "student" is conjugated in the third-person singular form, "wants". Therefore, if a pronoun is to substitute the noun "student", it must be a third-person singular pronoun, "he" or "she". But the following clause uses a third-person plural pronoun, "they", being incorrect for that reason.

On of the possible corrections would be as follows:

If any student wants to attend the free Shakespeare performance, then he needs to sign up with Mrs. Hall before the end of the week.