2014-06-06 09:00:34

In the newspaper today, they said that the fire downtown was caused by an electrical problem.

(A) they said that the fire downtown was caused by an electrical problem
(B) there was an article that stated that the fire downtown was caused by an electrical problem
(C) I read that an electrical problem was what was the cause of the fire that was downtown
(D) there was an article, it states that the fire downtown was caused by an electrical problem
(E) they stated that the fire in the building downtown was an electrical problem

The correct answer is B
Explanation: As written, this sentence contains a pronoun error. The plural pronoun "they" is ambiguous, as it lacks a clear antecedent. The sentence implies that something was read in the newspaper, but the newspaper would be singular, and there is no "they" that would exist physically in the newspaper. Choice B corrects this error by eliminating the errant pronoun and replacing it with the phrase "there was an article that stated."