<p>Here is another question i was tripped up with although it may look like it's easy. </p>
<p>Members of the vice-presidential family (are permitted) to choose paintings from the National Gallery of Art (to display) in the Victorian mansion that (serves as) (their) official residence. (No error)</p>
<p>I picked D because "their" is ambiguous; it can refer to the members or the paintings for all we know. Or is there something im missing out on regarding the rules of pronoun usage? Do tell. The answer, btw, is E.</p>
<p>I actually would’ve picked C because I was stuck thinking that “serves” was for the paintings, haha. </p>
<p>edit: I see what you’re saying about the ambiguity for “their” though. “their” usually refers to a person possessing the object/place though. It wouldn’t sound as right if it said that the mansion serves as the paintings’ official residence.</p>
<p>No it can’t be because of the relative pronoun “that” is preceding it and “that” is referring to the Victorian Mansion (singular) and therefore, necessitates the use of the singular, “serves”.
I hope i cleared that for you. </p>
<p>im pretty sure that it is not usually just people. It’s a pronoun antecedent, meaning that it could take the position of a person, place, thing, feeling, emotion, quality. You’re reason is not convincing. </p>
<p>BTW, you’re right that substituing the paintings in the official residence doesn’t make any sense, but that just adds more credibility to what i was saying—that it’s ambiguous. You can’t just twist the sentence into meaning what it’s actually intended to mean. You have to look at it for what it’s got. And what it’s got can be either “members” or the “paintings” as the antecedent.</p>
<p>I actually see what you’re saying. Condensing it down by taking out the unneeded phrases/adjectives:
Members are permitted to choose paintings to display in the mansion that serves as their residence.</p>