Difficulty: Medium
Average Score: 91%
Entry Exam
Passage / Scenario
Which of the following language conventions is violated in the sentence: 'The gist of the saying went something like this: If a person wants to get ahead in life, they have to be willing to work for it'?
Correct answer
C
Rationale
The sentence violates the pronoun-antecedent agreement rule. The pronoun 'they' lacks a clear antecedent, creating ambiguity about its reference. It is not explicitly defined whether 'they' refers to the general 'person' mentioned earlier or some other unspecified subject. This lack of clarity violates the agreement between the pronoun 'they' and its antecedent, making option C the correct choice.