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Question

Difficulty: MediumApostrophes for Possessives and Contractions

While the school's teachers prepared for the upcoming semester, the administrators' chief goal was it's successful launch.

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

  1. A
    administrators' chief goal was it's
  2. B
    administrator's chief goal was its
  3. administrators' chief goal was itsAnswer
  4. D
    administrators' chief goal was its'

Answer

administrators' chief goal was its
The correct option correctly uses the plural possessive "administrators'" to show that the goal belongs to the collective group of administrators, and the possessive pronoun "its" to modify the noun phrase "successful launch."

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Determine if the noun "administrators" should be singular or plural, and how to make it possessive.
The context refers to the school's collective staff in the plural (indicated by "teachers"), so "administrators" should be plural. To show possession of "chief goal," the plural possessive form "administrators'" must be used.
Plural nouns ending in -s show possession by placing an apostrophe after the final -s.
2
Determine whether to use a contraction or a possessive pronoun before "successful launch."
The sentence requires the possessive pronoun "its" to show that the launch belongs to the semester. Using "it's" (it is) would create a grammatical error.
Possessive pronouns (such as its, their, and whose) do not use apostrophes, while contractions (such as it's, they're, and who's) do.
3
Combine the correct forms to identify the correct option.
The correct phrase is "administrators' chief goal was its".
This option correctly applies the rules of plural possession and possessive pronouns.

Key Concept

Apostrophes for Plural Possessives and Possessive Pronouns vs. Contractions
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Apostrophes for Possessives and Contractions

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