Question

Enjoy yourself at the party everyone. A. yourself B. himself C. themselves D. yourselves E. ourselves

Short answer

D. yourselves

Step-by-step solution

- Identify the Subject of the Sentence

Determine who is the speaker addressing. The phrase 'Enjoy yourself at the party everyone' indicates that the speaker is addressing a group of people.

- Analyze the Context

The word 'everyone' suggests the speaker wants each individual in the group to enjoy themselves. This would typically call for a reflexive pronoun that matches the plural subject.

- Choose the Correct Pronoun

From the options, choose the reflexive pronoun that corresponds to 'everyone' in a plural form. The correct pronoun to use in this context is 'yourselves' because 'everyone' in this context is addressing a group of people. 'Yourself' is singular, and the other options ('himself', 'themselves', 'ourselves') do not fit.

Key concepts

Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are essential in English grammar. They are used when the subject and the object of a sentence are the same person or group. Reflexive pronouns end in '-self' for singular forms and '-selves' for plural forms.
For example:

• I made myself a sandwich.
• They enjoyed themselves at the concert.

In the exercise, the correct choice is 'yourselves' because 'everyone' refers to a group. Reflexive pronouns must correspond in number and person to the noun or pronoun they refer to. By choosing 'yourselves', you're correctly aligning the pronoun to match the plural audience addressed in the sentence.

Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject-verb agreement is a fundamental aspect of English grammar. It ensures that the verb matches the subject in both number and person.

• Singular subjects take singular verbs. Example: 'The cat purrs.'
• Plural subjects take plural verbs. Example: 'The cats purr.'

In the context of reflexive pronouns, it's important because an incorrect reflexive pronoun can affect the clarity and accuracy of the sentence. For instance, 'Enjoy yourself at the party everyone' is incorrect because 'yourself' is singular, whereas 'everyone' indicates a group, making 'yourselves' the correct match. Proper subject-verb agreement not only makes the sentence grammatically correct but also makes it easier to understand.

Sentence Correction

Sentence correction involves spotting and fixing errors to ensure clarity, grammatical correctness, and appropriateness of the sentence.
In the given exercise, the error lies in the reflexive pronoun 'yourself'. The sentence 'Enjoy yourself at the party everyone' is incorrect as 'yourself' is singular.
Here's how you can correct it:

• Identify the group or individual addressed in the sentence.
• Choose the correct form of pronoun based on whether the subject is singular or plural.
• Replace 'yourself' with 'yourselves' to properly address the group.

Correcting this small error makes the sentence clear and grammatically accurate. It's a crucial skill, especially for standardized tests like the GMAT, where precise language use is key.