CELSA - Combined English Language Skills Assessment Pronoun Usage and Agreement Questions and Answers Flashcards

Which sentence uses pronoun-antecedent agreement correctly?

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.

Choose the correct pronoun case: 'The winner of the contest was ___.'

Answer: he

After a linking verb like 'was,' use the subject pronoun (nominative case), so 'he' is correct.

Which sentence contains a pronoun reference error?

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.

Select the correct reflexive pronoun: 'She made the dress ___.'

Answer: herself

'Herself' is the correct reflexive pronoun for a feminine singular subject; 'hisself' and 'theirselves' are nonstandard.

Which sentence uses an objective pronoun correctly?

Answer: The teacher praised both him and me.

'Him' and 'me' are both objective pronouns, correctly used as objects of the verb 'praised.'

Choose the sentence that correctly uses a relative pronoun.

Answer: The teacher whom I admire retired last year.

'Whom' correctly serves as the object of 'admire' when referring to a person.