SAT Writing: Pronoun Number Agreement
January 21, 2008 by Adam
Filed under All Posts, SAT Strategies, SAT Unlocked, Writing, Writing Multiple Choice
A pronoun must agree in number with the person, place or thing to which it refers.
If the person, place or thing is singular, the pronoun must also be singular.
If the person, place or thing is plural, the pronoun must also be plural.
Incorrect:
Although the country had a long history of peaceful relations with other nations, their leaders nevertheless voted to go to war.
Problem: ‘country’ is singular, while ‘their’ is plural.
Correct:
Although the country had a long history of peaceful relations with other nations, its leaders nevertheless voted to go to war.
Tip:
Any single group of people or things, like ‘country’, ‘agency’, etc., is always singular.
Tip:
For phrases like ‘each of’ or ‘one of’, the pronoun is singular.
From SAT Unlocked, which also includes a complete list of the practice questions in The Official SAT Study Guide that test this SAT Writing rule.
