Toefl exam Essentials

6. All of the children sleeps/sleep at naptime.
7. One of the first modern detectives in literature was/were
created by Edgar Allan Poe.
GETTING PRONOUNS RIGHT
Pronouns are words that take the place of a noun or another pro-
noun. The nouns represented by pronouns are called antecedents.
Just as subjects and verbs must agree in number, pronouns and
antecedents need to agree in number. If the antecedent is singu-
lar, the pronoun is singular; if the antecedent is plural, the pro-
noun is plural. In the following examples, pronouns are italicized
and the antecedents are underlined:

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TOEFL EXAM ESSENTIALS
The teachers received their benefits.
Maggie wants to bring her digital camera on the trip.
Sometimes pronoun agreement is tricky. Review these guide-
lines so you can identify common pronoun errors in the TOEFL
exam:
■
Indefinite pronouns (pronouns that don’t refer to a
specific person) like each, either, neither, anybody, anyone,
everybody, everyone, no one, nobody, one, somebody, and
someone always require singular pronouns.
Each of the boys wore his favorite costume.
Neither of the tenants could find her copy of the lease.
■
If two singular nouns or pronouns are joined by and, use
a plural pronoun.
When Grandma and Grandpa visit,  they always bring
presents.
■
If two singular nouns or pronouns are joined by or, use a
singular pronoun.
Remember to give Sophie or Jane her application.
■
If a singular and a plural noun or pronoun are joined by
or, the pronoun agrees with the closest noun or pronoun
it represents.
The coach or players will explain their game strategy.
The players or the coach will explain his game strategy.

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