Proofreading a notice with six hidden errors
A proofreading question gives a notice with six errors. The notice reads: 'Notice: Inter-house Drama Competition. All students are invited to attend the drama competition on Friday, 14th June. Each house must submit there entry form by Wednesday. The competition will be held in the main hall, and it will starts at 2.00 p.m. Students who is interested should meet Mrs Perera in Room 12. Please bring your own costume, props and script's. Late entries will not be accepting.' The question asks candidates to correct the six errors. A candidate has found four: 'there' to 'their', 'starts' to 'start', 'is' to 'are' and 'accepting' to 'accepted'. The candidate cannot see two more errors and is unsure whether 'Each house must submit their entry form' is already correct because 'their' can be used for a single person.
1. Identify the two remaining errors in the notice and correct them.
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Two remaining errors: (1) 'script's' should be 'scripts'. The sentence lists plural items ('costume, props and scripts'), so the apostrophe is wrong; it is not a possessive. (2) 'Each house must submit their entry form' should be 'its entry form'. In formal examination English, 'each' is singular, so the possessive pronoun must agree with it. The candidate has already corrected 'there' to 'their', but 'their' is still the wrong choice in this sentence. Full corrections: 'Each house must submit its entry form by Wednesday' and 'Please bring your own costume, props and scripts.'
2. Explain the grammar rule behind 'Each house ... its entry form' and why 'their' is not accepted here, even though singular 'they' exists in speech.
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'Each' is a singular indefinite pronoun, so traditional formal grammar treats 'each house' as one unit and requires the singular possessive 'its'. 'Their' is common in speech as a singular gender-neutral pronoun, and it is increasingly accepted in some writing. However, this notice is formal, and the mark scheme is likely to test the standard rule. If the sentence were rewritten 'All houses must submit their entry forms', 'their' would be correct because 'houses' is plural. The candidate should therefore choose 'its' here, not because 'their' is always wrong, but because the subject is 'each house'.
3. The candidate has ten minutes left and is unsure about the 'their/its' point. Advise what to do, with reasons.
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With ten minutes left, the candidate should make a decision and move on. The safer exam answer is 'its', because 'each house' is singular and formal notices usually follow the standard agreement rule. Leaving it blank guarantees no mark; writing 'its' gives a strong chance of the mark. If the candidate has space for a brief note, they could add 'formal singular agreement' next to the correction, but they should not spend time debating. They should also check that the other five corrections are clearly written, since one uncertain item should not cost marks on the rest.