Pronoun Agreement

Phil Druker, UI, Department of English

 You need to make pronouns agree with the noun they refer to.

 Correct answers are highlighted.

1.  Each of the firms had  its / their      books audited.

2.  One should pick up after themselves  / himself   /  oneself.
    Generally, you should avoid "one" for American audiences

3.  The company will know how well it is / they are performing compared to other companies.

4a. The ratio indicates to the investor how much money he  is/ she is / it is  /           they are making compared to his/ her  its  /  their   competitors.
"Investor" is singular so the pronouns that refer to that word also need to be singular (their is plural, so it's not the correct choice.)
4b.The ratio indicates to the investors how much money he is/ she is / they are making compared to his/ her/  its  /  their   competitors.
"Investors" is plural so the pronoun that refers to that word also needs to be plural.

5.  If the student  is  not eligible ,  he is / she is /  they are referred to an agency that can deal with  his   /  her  /their    situation.
To avoid the awkward "he/she" use plural ("students ...their") -- see 4.b.

6.  The ratios will not specify the cause of the problem.    They / it only show a problem exits.