I think the answer should be D:

Here is my explanation:

- acoustic production is referring back to sounds and not to piano. So we should use "their".
- "all" doesn't seem correct here because "all" sounds a small component is not correct usage.
- There is a slight difference between each and every. They have similar but not always identical meanings.


Each = every one separately
Every = each, all

Here we want to refer to each sound as a small component. So "Each" is better in this statement.

Answer should be D

IMO A.

Piano is the subject. Hence "its" is required instead of "they"
BDE out.

All sounds cannot be a small component of acoustic production.
E out.

pick A

IMO, A. You have to use it's here since it's refers back to piano, which leaves just A & C. All the sounds cant be a component, so eliminate C and you are left with A

@kvcpk, You're absolutely right that the underlined pronoun refers back to the subject of the sentence, the piano. A quick logic check can help here -- it's the piano that has an acoustic production, and the sounds are simply a component of this production. So, as you said, we want the singular pronoun "its," and we can eliminate BDE.

Another interesting number agreement issue here arises in the sound/component parings. Each of the answer choices uses the singular noun phrase "a small component," so we must refer to the sounds individually, not collectively. Therefore, we can get rid of any answer choice that uses the plural "sounds" (B and C). To correctly use "sounds," we would have to call them "small components" of the acoustic production. With this elimination and the pronoun issue mentioned above, you're left with answer choice A as correct.

The broader rule at play here is that when the object of a sentence or clause refers back to or describes the subject, the object and subject must agree in number. You would never say, "The dogs are a loyal retriever." Since "loyal retriever" describes the plural subject, you'd have to say, "The dogs are loyal retrievers."

Another quick word on every/all/each. Every always takes singular nouns and verbs. All can be singular or plural depending on the number of the noun to which it's referring -- "All the sounds ARE beautiful" versus "All the cake HAS been eaten." Each is always singular when it precedes the noun, but can be plural if it follows the noun -- "Each team IS winning" versus "The girls each HAVE a dress."

Hope that helps!

Great explanation. I was able to narrow down to A and C but was not able to break the tie b/w A and C. Your explanation makes it clear.

jen@knewton wrote:@kvcpk, You're absolutely right that the underlined pronoun refers back to the subject of the sentence, the piano. A quick logic check can help here -- it's the piano that has an acoustic production, and the sounds are simply a component of this production. So, as you said, we want the singular pronoun "its," and we can eliminate BDE.

Another interesting number agreement issue here arises in the sound/component parings. Each of the answer choices uses the singular noun phrase "a small component," so we must refer to the sounds individually, not collectively. Therefore, we can get rid of any answer choice that uses the plural "sounds" (B and C). To correctly use "sounds," we would have to call them "small components" of the acoustic production. With this elimination and the pronoun issue mentioned above, you're left with answer choice A as correct.

The broader rule at play here is that when the object of a sentence or clause refers back to or describes the subject, the object and subject must agree in number. You would never say, "The dogs are a loyal retriever." Since "loyal retriever" describes the plural subject, you'd have to say, "The dogs are loyal retrievers."

Another quick word on every/all/each. Every always takes singular nouns and verbs. All can be singular or plural depending on the number of the noun to which it's referring -- "All the sounds ARE beautiful" versus "All the cake HAS been eaten." Each is always singular when it precedes the noun, but can be plural if it follows the noun -- "Each team IS winning" versus "The girls each HAVE a dress."

Hope that helps!

Thank you for your reply.
I have one more question, if there was another option:

each sound a small component of its

In this scenario, should we go with each / every?

Each and every are extremely similar -- in this question, they're interchangeable enough that you wouldn't see two answer choices where the only difference was each versus every.

Grammatically, the big difference is that each can be a noun ("each of the members is going"), whereas every cannot (you couldn't say "every of the members is going").

There's a slight rhetorical distinction between the two words, as some people have mentioned in this thread, but in this particular sentence, they'd be virtually identical and either would be correct.

jen@knewton Thank you, now it is clear.

jen@knewton wrote:@kvcpk, You're absolutely right that the underlined pronoun refers back to the subject of the sentence, the piano. A quick logic check can help here -- it's the piano that has an acoustic production, and the sounds are simply a component of this production. So, as you said, we want the singular pronoun "its," and we can eliminate BDE.

Another interesting number agreement issue here arises in the sound/component parings. Each of the answer choices uses the singular noun phrase "a small component," so we must refer to the sounds individually, not collectively. Therefore, we can get rid of any answer choice that uses the plural "sounds" (B and C). To correctly use "sounds," we would have to call them "small components" of the acoustic production. With this elimination and the pronoun issue mentioned above, you're left with answer choice A as correct.

The broader rule at play here is that when the object of a sentence or clause refers back to or describes the subject, the object and subject must agree in number. You would never say, "The dogs are a loyal retriever." Since "loyal retriever" describes the plural subject, you'd have to say, "The dogs are loyal retrievers."

Another quick word on every/all/each. Every always takes singular nouns and verbs. All can be singular or plural depending on the number of the noun to which it's referring -- "All the sounds ARE beautiful" versus "All the cake HAS been eaten." Each is always singular when it precedes the noun, but can be plural if it follows the noun -- "Each team IS winning" versus "The girls each HAVE a dress."

Hope that helps!

To resolve the pronoun issue,what rule is to be followed
Does it have to be the subject of the sentence or should we employ logic to acsertain the antecedent of the pronoun "its"