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Difficulty: MediumApostrophes for Possessives and Contractions

Before the final spacecraft launch, the mission controllers double-checked the telemetry data. The controllers' primary worry was it's potential to be corrupted during transmission, which would jeopardize the entire landing sequence.

Which of the following options completes the underlined portion of the sentence in a grammatically correct way?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. controllers' primary worry was itsAnswer
  3. C
    controller's primary worry was its
  4. D
    controllers' primary worry was its'

Answer

controllers' primary worry was its
The correct option properly uses 'controllers'' to show that the worry belongs to the plural group of controllers mentioned in the previous sentence. It also correctly uses 'its' as the possessive pronoun referring to the telemetry data.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Determine if the noun 'controllers' should be singular or plural, and possessive.
The first sentence mentions 'mission controllers' (plural). Because the worry belongs to these controllers, a plural possessive form is needed, which is written as 'controllers''.
To show possession for a plural noun ending in 's', the apostrophe must go after the 's'.
2
Determine whether to use 'its' or 'it's'.
The sentence refers to the potential of the telemetry data. Therefore, the possessive pronoun 'its' is required.
'It's' is a contraction for 'it is' or 'it has', whereas 'its' is the possessive pronoun form.
3
Combine the correct plural possessive noun and the correct possessive pronoun.
The correct phrase is 'controllers' primary worry was its'.
This combination satisfies both the plural noun possession requirement and the possessive pronoun requirement.

Key Concept

Using plural possessive nouns and distinguishing between possessive pronouns and contractions
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Topics

Apostrophes for Possessives and Contractions

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