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Difficulty: HardApostrophes for Possessives and Contractions

While the space probe gathered invaluable data from Saturn's rings, the six flight directors' main concern was it's failing power source.

Which of the following options is the correct punctuation for the underlined portion of the sentence?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. directors' main concern was itsAnswer
  3. C
    director's main concern was its
  4. D
    directors main concern was its'

Answer

The correct option is 'directors' main concern was its', which properly uses the plural possessive apostrophe for 'directors'' and the possessive pronoun 'its' for the space probe.
The correct answer is 'directors' main concern was its' because the sentence refers to the collective concern of 'six flight directors' (requiring the plural possessive noun 'directors'') and the power source of the space probe (requiring the possessive pronoun 'its').

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Determine if the noun 'directors' should be singular or plural, and possessive.
The context mentions 'six flight directors,' which is plural. To show possession of the 'main concern,' we add an apostrophe after the 's' to form 'directors''.
This correctly represents a plural possessive noun.
2
Determine whether the pronoun referring to the space probe's power source should be a possessive pronoun or a contraction.
We need the possessive pronoun 'its' to modify 'failing power source'. The contraction 'it's' (meaning 'it is') would be grammatically incorrect in this context.
The sentence refers to the power source belonging to the space probe.
3
Combine the correct choices to select the best option.
The correct combination is 'directors' main concern was its'.
This choice resolves both the plural possessive noun and the possessive pronoun rules correctly.

Key Concept

Apostrophes for Possessives and Contractions
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Apostrophes for Possessives and Contractions

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