63(D) “them” is a pronoun so first check ambiguity. “Them” refers to business partners so no
ambiguity there. “Partners” is plural and “them” is plural, so there is no pronoun agreement
error. Check for pronoun case. This is particularly confusing, as “to” comes before the pronoun.
“To” is a preposition, and object pronouns do indeed follow prepositions; however, the
sentence should be comparing our chief priorities to THEIR chief priorities, not to “them,”
which stands for the partners. We can also justify this error as an unclear comparison, which
I cover in Chapter 5.
Revised sentence:
Our new business partners are the most
A
hardworking people we have ever known, and our
B
chief priorities, increasing profit and strengthening
C theirs Pronoun Case
client relations, are similar to them. No error
D E
Correct Answer: (D)
- The Toyota Corolla, Honda Accord and Range Rover -
each of these cars was the highest ranked
A B C
in the world at the time they were built. No error
D EDissect the answer choices to catch the Pronoun Agreement error.
(A) check the preposition “of” by making your own sentence. Each of the dogs... Great, it works.
They are indeed “cars,” so no problem with the rest of (A).
(B) “was” is a simple past tense verb so check SVA. Cross out the prep phrase of these cars and
realize that the subject of the verb is the singular “each.” SVA checks. The tense is fine as well,
as we are in a specific time of the past (the time they were built).
(C) “highest” is an adverb that describes the action “ranked.”
(D) “they” is a pronoun, but careful! “They” does not refer to the “cars,” rather they refers to
each. We have a pronoun agreement error and they were should be changed to it was.
Revised sentence:
The Toyota Corolla, Honda Accord and Range Rover -
each of these cars was the highest ranked
A B C it was Pronoun Agreement/SVA
in the world at the time they were built. No error
D E
Correct Answer: (D)