The editorial team at the local newspaper meets every Monday. During the meeting, ______ reviews reader submissions and decides which stories will be assigned.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For pronoun-agreement questions, first identify the grammatical role of the blank. Then locate the noun to which the missing word refers, determine whether that noun is singular or plural in context, and check that the chosen subject agrees with the verb.
Hints
Check the role of the missing word
Look at the words immediately after the blank. What kind of word is needed to serve as the subject of “reviews” and “decides”?
Find the antecedent
Determine which noun in the first sentence identifies the group performing the actions in the second sentence.
Match number and verb form
Decide whether that group is acting as one unit or as separate individuals, and then compare the subject choices with the singular verb “reviews.”
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the blank’s function
In “During the meeting, ______ reviews reader submissions and decides...,” the blank must provide the subject of the verbs “reviews” and “decides.”
Find the antecedent
The subject refers back to “the editorial team.” Because the team is acting as one unit, this collective noun is treated as singular in this context.
Check subject-verb agreement
The verbs “reviews” and “decides” are singular. Therefore, the sentence needs a singular subject pronoun that can refer to the team.
Test the choices
“they” and “those” are plural and do not agree with “reviews.” “their” is a possessive determiner, so inserting it would make “their reviews” a noun phrase and leave the rest of the sentence grammatically incomplete. “it” is a singular subject pronoun that agrees with the verbs and logically refers to the team.