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Question

Difficulty: HardApostrophes for Possessives and Contractions

Although the national park employs two conservation agencies, each agencies' primary goal is to preserve it's designated wetlands.

Which of the following is the correct punctuation and spelling of the underlined portion of the sentence?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. agency's primary goal is to preserve itsAnswer
  3. C
    agency's primary goal is to preserve it's
  4. D
    agencies' primary goal is to preserve its

Answer

The correct answer is the option that uses 'agency's' and 'its' because 'each' modifies a singular noun, and 'its' is the correct possessive pronoun.
The correct option correctly pairs the singular possessive noun 'agency's' with the singular determiner 'each,' and uses the possessive pronoun 'its' to denote ownership of the wetlands.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Determine whether the noun modified by 'each' should be singular or plural.
Since 'each' is a singular modifier, it must modify a singular noun. The singular form of the noun is 'agency.'
Grammatical agreement requires singular determiners to pair with singular nouns.
2
Determine the correct possessive punctuation for the singular noun.
To show that the goal belongs to the singular agency, add an apostrophe and an 's' to form 'agency's.'
Singular nouns show possession by adding an apostrophe followed by 's.'
3
Choose the correct pronoun to refer to the wetlands belonging to the agency.
The possessive pronoun is 'its.' The contraction 'it's' (meaning 'it is') is incorrect in this context.
The sentence requires a possessive pronoun to show ownership of the designated wetlands.

Key Concept

Distinguishing between singular and plural possessive nouns, and distinguishing between the contraction 'it's' and the possessive pronoun 'its.'
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Topics

Apostrophes for Possessives and Contractions

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