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Difficulty: MediumPronoun Case and Person

During the restoration of the historic theater, the architect explained to the contractor and I that if you want to preserve the lobby's original plaster, one must ensure that its surface remains dry.

Which of the choices makes the underlined portion of the sentence grammatically correct?

  1. A
    I that if you want to preserve the lobby's original plaster, one must ensure that its
  2. me that if you want to preserve the lobby's original plaster, you must ensure that itsAnswer
  3. C
    I that if you want to preserve the lobby's original plaster, you must ensure that it's
  4. D
    me that if you want to preserve the lobby's original plaster, one must ensure that it's

Answer

The correct option is the one that reads: 'me that if you want to preserve the lobby's original plaster, you must ensure that its'.
The correct option correctly uses the objective pronoun 'me' because it is part of the compound object of the preposition 'to' ('explained to the contractor and me'). It also maintains pronoun consistency by keeping the second-person perspective ('if you want... you must ensure') and uses the correct possessive pronoun 'its' to modify 'surface'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Determine the correct pronoun case for the compound object.
The pronoun follows the preposition 'to' in the phrase 'explained to the contractor and...'. Since it serves as part of the object of the preposition, the pronoun must be in the objective case ('me') rather than the subjective case ('I').
Prepositions require objective case pronouns.
2
Ensure pronoun-person consistency within the conditional clause.
The clause begins with 'if you want', establishing a second-person perspective. To maintain consistency, the subsequent main clause must also use the second-person 'you must ensure' rather than shifting to the third-person 'one must ensure'.
Shifting pronoun perspective within a sentence violates conventions of usage.
3
Check the possessive pronoun spelling.
The sentence refers to the surface belonging to the plaster ('its surface'). The correct possessive pronoun is 'its'. The contraction 'it's' (meaning 'it is') is grammatically incorrect in this context.
Possessive pronouns do not use apostrophes.

Key Concept

Pronoun Case and Person
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Topics

Pronoun Case and Person

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