CELSA CELSA - Combined English Language Skills Assessment Pronoun Usage and Agreement Questions and Answers 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence uses pronoun-antecedent agreement correctly?
- Every student must bring their own pencil.
- Every student must bring his or her own pencil. (Correct answer)
- Every student must bring our own pencil.
- Every student must bring its own pencil.
Correct answer: Every student must bring his or her own pencil.
When the antecedent is a singular indefinite pronoun like 'every student,' use 'his or her' for formal agreement.
Question 2: Choose the correct pronoun case: 'The winner of the contest was ___.'
- him
- them
- he (Correct answer)
- us
Correct answer: he
After a linking verb like 'was,' use the subject pronoun (nominative case), so 'he' is correct.
Question 3: Which sentence contains a pronoun reference error?
- Maria told her sister that she had won the prize. (Correct answer)
- The committee reached its decision quickly.
- Jake gave the book to his friend.
- Both students completed their assignments.
Correct answer: Maria told her sister that she had won the prize.
In the first sentence, 'she' is ambiguous—it could refer to either Maria or her sister.
Question 4: Select the correct reflexive pronoun: 'She made the dress ___.'
- herself (Correct answer)
- itself
- hisself
- theirselves
Correct answer: herself
'Herself' is the correct reflexive pronoun for a feminine singular subject; 'hisself' and 'theirselves' are nonstandard.
Question 5: Which sentence uses an objective pronoun correctly?
- Between you and I, the answer is obvious.
- She spoke directly to he and I.
- The teacher praised both him and me. (Correct answer)
- Us students arrived early.
Correct answer: The teacher praised both him and me.
'Him' and 'me' are both objective pronouns, correctly used as objects of the verb 'praised.'
Question 6: Choose the sentence that correctly uses a relative pronoun.
- The book who I read was interesting.
- The student which passed spoke next.
- The teacher whom I admire retired last year. (Correct answer)
- The dog that it barked ran away.
Correct answer: The teacher whom I admire retired last year.
'Whom' correctly serves as the object of 'admire' when referring to a person.
CELSA CELSA - Combined English Language Skills Assessment Pronoun Usage and Agreement Questions and Answers 1
Which sentence uses pronoun-antecedent agreement correctly?