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Sentence Correction 8 / 50

Choose the option that best corrects the grammatical or logical error in the underlined fragment.

Despite reports indicating a significant decline in quarterly profits, the corporation's executive board, after extensive internal discussions, decided that their primary objective was to prioritize long-term market share over immediate fiscal gains.

A. (No change)
B. its primary objective
C. their primary objectives
D. its primary objectives

1. Identification of Error: Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement.
2. Grammatical Rule: A collective noun, such as 'executive board', takes a singular pronoun when the group is acting as a single, unified entity. Here, the board "decided" on one "primary objective," indicating singular action.
3. Option Elimination:
A. Incorrect — 'their' is a plural pronoun, but 'the corporation's executive board' functions as a singular antecedent in this context.
B. Correct — 'its' is a singular pronoun that correctly agrees with the singular collective noun 'executive board'.
C. Incorrect — Maintains the incorrect plural pronoun 'their' and introduces an unnecessary pluralization of 'objectives'.
D. Incorrect — Introduces an unnecessary pluralization of 'objectives' and, while using 'its', the plural noun is not supported by the context of a single 'primary objective'.

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