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Difficulty: Very hardPronoun Case and Person

The lab director insisted that the responsibility for calibrating the particle accelerator belonged to the senior physicists and they, since they're research depended on absolute precision.

Which of the following choices is the most grammatically correct replacement for the underlined portion?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. them, since theirAnswer
  3. C
    them, since they're
  4. D
    they, since their

Answer

them, since their
The correct choice is the option that replaces the underlined text with 'them, since their'. The pronoun is part of a compound object of the preposition 'to' ('to the senior physicists and them'), which requires the objective case pronoun 'them'. Additionally, the possessive pronoun 'their' is required to modify the noun 'research', whereas the original text uses the contraction 'they're' ('they are').

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Determine the correct case for the pronoun in the compound object of the preposition.
The pronoun follows the preposition 'to' in the compound phrase 'to the senior physicists and [pronoun]'. Prepositions require objective case pronouns, so 'they' must be changed to 'them'.
Objects of prepositions must always be in the objective case.
2
Determine the correct word choice between the homophones 'they're' and 'their'.
The word modifies the noun 'research'. The contraction 'they're' means 'they are', which does not fit grammatically. The possessive pronoun 'their' is required.
A possessive pronoun is needed to indicate ownership of the research.
3
Combine the corrections.
The correct phrase is 'them, since their'.
This resolves both the pronoun case error and the homophone confusion error.

Key Concept

Pronoun Case in Compound Constructions and Homophone Distinctions
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Pronoun Case and Person

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