The teacher said they were going to grade the test over the weekend. Is it A. Pronoun shift in number B. Pronoun shift in person C. Ambiguous reference D. No error
Teacher = they?
No!
What do you think the error is?
Actually, I can see two possible answers -- depending upon the original meaning.
It could be a pronoun shift in number.
Or it could be an ambiguous reference if more than one person would be grading the test.
To determine the correct answer, let's break down the given sentence:
"The teacher said they were going to grade the test over the weekend."
In this sentence, we have the pronoun "they" referring to "the teacher." Now let's consider the answer choices:
A. Pronoun shift in number: This occurs when there is a change in the number (singular/plural) of the pronoun without a corresponding change in the noun it refers to. However, in the given sentence, both the pronoun "they" and the noun "the teacher" are referring to the same person, so there is no inconsistency in number.
B. Pronoun shift in person: This occurs when there is a change in the person (first/second/third) of the pronoun without a valid reason. In the given sentence, the pronoun "they" (third person) is used to refer to "the teacher" (also third person), so there is no shift in person.
C. Ambiguous reference: This refers to a situation where it is unclear what noun a pronoun is referring to. In the given sentence, "they" clearly refers to "the teacher," so there is no ambiguity.
D. No error: This option suggests that there is no grammatical error in the sentence. However, after analyzing the previous answer choices, it is clear that one of them is the correct answer.
Therefore, the correct answer is D. No error.