What the question looks like
The question reads: “Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?” Every grammar question uses that wording, so it’s the choices that tell you what’s being tested. On a pronoun question they’re short words such as “it,” “they,” “this,” and “these,” or “its,” “their,” “it’s,” and “they’re.”
Often the blank sits right in front of a noun, as in “______ windows.” Then the question is whose windows they are. When only some of the choices have an The mark in “don’t” and “the crew’s log,” which stands for missing letters or shows ownership.Read the lesson, part of the question is spelling.
Find the noun first
Work through this one:
“The lighthouse at the end of the two stone piers has ______ windows washed every spring.”
- A.
their - B.
it’s - C.
its - D.
they’re
- Find the noun the blank points back to. Ask whose windows they are. They’re the lighthouse’s windows. “At the end of the two stone piers” only tells you where the lighthouse is, so cross it out and read what’s left: “The lighthouse has ______ windows washed every spring.” The noun a pronoun stands for is called its The noun a pronoun stands for. In “The vault stayed shut until it was opened,” the “it” stands for the vault..
- Decide whether it’s one thing or more than one, and whether it’s a person or a thing. There’s one lighthouse, so the word has to be The form of a word that means just one, like box., even though the lighthouse has several windows. A lighthouse is a thing, so “his” or “her” would be wrong too. You want “it” or “its.”
- Now match the choices to it. “Their” and “they’re” are for more than one, so cross them out. “It’s” is short for “it is” or “it has,” and “has it is windows washed” makes no sense. That leaves C, “its.”
- Check by putting the noun in place of the pronoun: “The lighthouse has the lighthouse’s windows washed every spring.” It’s clumsy, but it says the right thing.
With “the two stone piers” so close to the blank, “their windows” may sound smoother than “its windows.” Go by the noun you found in step 1 and ignore how the choice sounds.
When another noun is closer
“The violin, together with two spare strings and a bow, came in ______ original case.”
Cross out “together with two spare strings and a bow,” and you’re left with “The violin came in ______ original case.” There’s one violin, so the blank takes “its.”
A pronoun matches the noun it stands for, even when another noun is closer.
- Right
- The violin, together with two spare strings and a bow, came in its original case.
- Wrong
- The violin, together with two spare strings and a bow, came in their original case.
The case belongs to the violin. The strings and bow are only added on by 'together with.'
Words that start with “together with,” “along with,” “as well as,” or “in addition to” add to a noun without making it The form of a word that means more than one, like boxes.. Words that start with “of,” “which,” or “that” only describe the noun before them, so cross those out too. Only “and” joins two nouns into a plural: “The violin and the bow came in their own cases.”
Trap: Matched to the nearest noun
“The list of approved suppliers updates their format every year.” “Their” agrees with “suppliers,” the plural closest to the blank, but the format belongs to the list.
What to do: Cross out the words between the noun and the blank. “The list updates its format every year” is what’s left.
When the noun is a sentence back
Sometimes the noun is in an earlier sentence, with other nouns in between:
“Three volunteers agreed to lead the workshops. The printed schedule beside the entrance gives the time and place of every session. ______ can take turns explaining the activities to visitors.”
- A.
They - B.
It - C.
This volunteers - D.
This
When the noun is that far back, start from the A word for what something does or is, such as carry or seem. after the blank. Ask who can take turns explaining the activities. The volunteers can, so the blank needs a plural word that means them. A is right.
B matches “schedule,” the nearest singular noun, but a schedule can’t take turns. C names the right people but puts “this” in front of them.
Before a noun, use “this” or “that” for one thing and “these” or “those” for more than one.
- Right
- These volunteers can take turns explaining the activities to visitors.
- Wrong
- This volunteers can take turns explaining the activities to visitors.
'This' goes with one thing, and 'volunteers' is more than one.
D, “This,” standing alone, points back to the whole idea just before it, which here is the sentence about the schedule. A “this” like that is fine in plenty of sentences, such as “This helps visitors find the right room.”
Trap: A “this” that fits nothing
“This can take turns explaining the activities to visitors.” It reads smoothly, but “this” would mean the sentence about the schedule, and a sentence can’t take turns.
What to do: Name the noun the choice stands for. If nothing in the passage could do what the sentence says, cross the choice out.
A pronoun also fails when two nouns could fit it equally well.
A pronoun needs one noun it clearly points to.
- Right
- When Maya met Elena, Maya was carrying the ledger.
- Wrong
- When Maya met Elena, she was carrying the ledger.
With 'she,' you can’t tell whether Maya or Elena had the ledger.
Don’t switch to we or you
A passage about other people keeps talking about them. It doesn’t suddenly switch to “we,” which brings in the writer, or to “you,” which turns to the reader.
Keep talking about the same people the passage has been talking about.
- Right
- The volunteers run a Saturday school, and they meet every week.
- Wrong
- The volunteers run a Saturday school, and we meet every week.
Nobody in the sentence is 'we.' The people who meet are the volunteers.
When the passage has its own “we,” as when someone is quoted saying “My coworkers and I,” then “we” is right. The same rule holds for “one”: “If one practices daily, one improves quickly” is right, and “If one practices daily, you improve quickly” switches.
Trap: Switching to you
“Visitors to the cave walk in single file, and you have to duck under a low ledge at the entrance.” That switch sounds natural when people talk, but the sentence is about the visitors.
What to do: Look for the people the pronoun could mean. If the passage never brought in a “we” or a “you,” cross those choices out.
They or them
Some choices keep the same number and change only the form: “they” or “them,” “we” or “us.”
Use “they,” “we,” “he,” or “she” for whoever does the action. Use “them,” “us,” “him,” or “her” for whoever the action is done to, as in “The ropes hold them.”
- Right
- The guides check the ropes before they start the climb.
- Wrong
- The guides check the ropes before them start the climb.
The guides are the ones starting the climb, so the blank needs 'they.'
Itself and themselves
“Itself” and “themselves” point back to a noun in the same part of the sentence, usually the one doing the action.
“The notices, which each cost a small posting fee, paid for ______ within a week.”
Cross out “which each cost a small posting fee,” and you’re left with “The notices paid for ______ within a week.” There’s more than one notice, so the blank takes “themselves.”
Use “itself” for one thing and “themselves” for more than one.
- Right
- The notices, which each cost a small posting fee, paid for themselves within a week.
- Wrong
- The notices, which each cost a small posting fee, paid for itself within a week.
'Itself' matches 'fee,' which sits inside the words you crossed out.
Use a “-self” form only when it means the same one who does the action. “The divers checked themselves” means the divers checked the divers. “The divers checked them” means they checked someone or something else.
Its or it’s
“Its” and “their” show belonging with no apostrophe. “It’s” always means “it is” or “it has,” and “they’re” means “they are.”
“Its,” “their,” “your,” and “whose” never take an apostrophe.
- Right
- The library keeps its rare maps in a locked room.
- Wrong
- The library keeps it’s rare maps in a locked room.
Read 'it’s' as 'it is' or 'it has.' 'Keeps it is rare maps' makes no sense.
Trap: Apostrophe swap
“The workers packed they’re tools at noon.” The apostrophe looks like it shows belonging, because nouns use one for that, as in “the workers’ tools.”
What to do: Read the word with the apostrophe as two words. “Packed they are tools” makes no sense, so use “their.”
Some questions test spelling and number at once. Handle the apostrophes first, and then the number.
“The two bridges over the canal, each built by a different crew, kept ______ original railings after the repairs.”
- A.
it’s - B.
their - C.
they’re - D.
its
Read A and C as two words each: “kept it is original railings” and “kept they are original railings.” Neither makes sense, so cross both out. Now ask whose railings they are. They belong to the two bridges, so the answer is B, “their.” D matches “crew,” the singular noun closest to the blank.
The plurals and possessives lesson covers the spelling of every The form of a word that shows ownership, like the crew’s log or its handle.Read the lesson form, including these.
Practice
Work the three examples, then try five more. For each one, name the noun the pronoun stands for before you look at the choices.
Marek’s fountain design, together with sketches and measurements, directs ______ central water jet toward a stone channel so that splashing is reduced near the surrounding benches while the water remains visible from every entrance to the busy square throughout the day.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- A
its
- B
their
- C
it’s
- D
they’re
Show the answer
- A
its
Correct answer“Its” is the The form of a word that means just one, like box. The form of a word that shows ownership, like the crew’s log or its handle.Read the lesson determiner that refers to “Marek’s fountain design.” The phrase “together with sketches and measurements” does not change the singular The noun a pronoun stands for. In “The vault stayed shut until it was opened,” the “it” stands for the vault.Read the lesson.
- B
their
“Their” incorrectly matches the nearby The form of a word that means more than one, like boxes. A word for a person, place, thing, or idea, like harbor or silence. “sketches” and “measurements.” The water jet belongs to the The form of a word that means just one, like box. “design,” so the A word like “it” or “they” that stands in for a noun. must be singular.
- C
it’s
“It’s” is the Two words joined into one with an apostrophe where letters were left out, like it’s or doesn’t.Read the lesson of “it is,” but the blank requires a The form of a word that shows ownership, like the crew’s log or its handle.Read the lesson determiner showing that the central water jet belongs to the design.
- D
they’re
“They’re” is the Two words joined into one with an apostrophe where letters were left out, like it’s or doesn’t.Read the lesson of “they are.” The sentence requires a The form of a word that means just one, like box. The form of a word that shows ownership, like the crew’s log or its handle.Read the lesson determiner before “central water jet,” not a The form of a word that means more than one, like boxes. contraction.
Solution
The A word for a person, place, thing, or idea, like harbor or silence. that directs the water jet is the The form of a word that means just one, like box. noun “design.” The words “sketches and measurements” appear in the phrase “together with sketches and measurements,” so they do not become the The noun a pronoun stands for. In “The vault stayed shut until it was opened,” the “it” stands for the vault.Read the lesson of the A word like “it” or “they” that stands in for a noun..
The blank comes before the A noun and the words attached to it. “The old brass compass” is one.Read the lesson “central water jet” and shows that the jet belongs to the design. The singular The form of a word that shows ownership, like the crew’s log or its handle.Read the lesson determiner “its” supplies that meaning: “Marek’s fountain design . . . directs its central water jet.”
A tannery worker explains, “My coworkers and I treat hides in large wooden drums. Our foreman checks the solution carefully before each batch, since its strength affects the finished leather. Once the mixture is ready, ______ the hides with tanning agents to make the material durable.”
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- A
we soaked
- B
us soak
- C
we soak
- D
we soaking
Show the answer
- A
we soaked
“Soaked” shifts to the past The time a verb shows, like the past in held or the future in will hold., even though the worker describes the usual process in the present tense.
- B
us soak
“Us” is an objective A word like “it” or “they” that stands in for a noun., but the sentence needs the The who or what a sentence is about. In “The vault held papers,” it’s the vault. pronoun “we” to perform the action.
- C
we soak
Correct answer“We soak” supplies the The who or what a sentence is about. In “The vault held papers,” it’s the vault. “we” and the present-tense A word for what something does or is, such as carry or seem. “soak,” matching the passage’s description of the workers’ usual process.
- D
we soaking
“Soaking” is a The “-ing” or “-ed” form of a verb used to describe something. In “a box sealed in 1908,” it’s sealed.Read the lesson and needs an A verb like “is” or “will” that comes before the main verb and helps it.Read the lesson, such as “are,” to form a complete A word for what something does or is, such as carry or seem. phrase.
Solution
The worker describes a process that the workers regularly perform. The A word for what something does or is, such as carry or seem. “treat,” “checks,” “affects,” and “is” establish the present The time a verb shows, like the past in held or the future in will hold..
After the introductory phrase “Once the mixture is ready,” the sentence needs an A clause that could stand on its own as a sentence. “The road reopened” is one.Read the lesson with a The who or what a sentence is about. In “The vault held papers,” it’s the vault. and a complete present-tense verb. “We soak” provides both: “we” is the subject, and “soak” agrees with it while maintaining the passage’s present tense.
An early food can displayed in a museum exhibit tracing the transition from hand-applied paper wrappers to mechanically printed labels retains ______ original lid, allowing visitors to examine how the container was sealed before manufacturing methods changed the appearance of food cans.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- A
their
- B
it’s
- C
those
- D
its
Show the answer
- A
their
“Their” incorrectly matches the nearby The form of a word that means more than one, like boxes. A word for a person, place, thing, or idea, like harbor or silence. “labels.” The owner of the lid is the The form of a word that means just one, like box. “can.”
- B
it’s
“It’s” is a Two words joined into one with an apostrophe where letters were left out, like it’s or doesn’t.Read the lesson meaning “it is” or “it has.” The blank requires a The form of a word that shows ownership, like the crew’s log or its handle.Read the lesson word to show whose lid the can retains.
- C
those
“Those” is The form of a word that means more than one, like boxes., so it cannot modify the The form of a word that means just one, like box. A word for a person, place, thing, or idea, like harbor or silence. “lid.”
- D
its
Correct answer“Its” shows that the original lid belongs to the The form of a word that means just one, like box. “can.” This The form of a word that shows ownership, like the crew’s log or its handle.Read the lesson form has no The mark in “don’t” and “the crew’s log,” which stands for missing letters or shows ownership.Read the lesson.
Solution
The sentence’s The who or what a sentence is about. In “The vault held papers,” it’s the vault. is “An early food can,” and its A word for what something does or is, such as carry or seem. is “retains.” The description between them explains where the can is displayed; “labels” is part of that description.
The blank needs a The form of a word that shows ownership, like the crew’s log or its handle.Read the lesson word referring to the can, which owns the “original lid.” The The form of a word that means just one, like box. possessive “its” completes the sentence: “An early food can . . . retains its original lid.”
Next steps
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