Examkin

Question

Difficulty: EasyPronoun Clarity and Reference

To prepare for the spring planting season, the gardeners moved the young tomato plants into the new brick raised beds. They had been constructed out of recycled materials to minimize environmental impact. The team hoped that this sustainable approach would yield a bountiful harvest of organic vegetables.

Which choice most clearly and precisely identifies what was constructed out of recycled materials?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. The bedsAnswer
  3. C
    It
  4. D
    Which

Answer

The beds
Replacing the pronoun with the specific noun phrase 'The beds' removes all ambiguity, making it clear that the raised beds—rather than the tomato plants—were constructed from recycled materials.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the underlined pronoun and locate its potential antecedents in the preceding sentence.
The pronoun is 'They', and the preceding sentence contains two plural nouns that could act as its antecedent: 'plants' and 'beds'.
This step determines whether the pronoun is ambiguous by seeing if it could logically refer to multiple nouns.
2
Evaluate the choices to find the one that clarifies the noun being referenced without creating grammatical errors.
Replacing 'They' with the specific noun phrase 'The beds' removes the ambiguity. The options 'It' and 'Which' create new grammatical errors.
Using a specific noun resolves pronoun ambiguity and ensures the sentence is clear and grammatically correct.

Key Concept

Pronoun clarity and reference require that every pronoun has a single, clear, and grammatically matching noun antecedent to avoid ambiguity.
Rate this question

Topics

Pronoun Clarity and Reference

More questions from this topic