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Difficulty: Very hardPlural and Possessive Nouns and Pronouns

In her analysis of Homer's *Odyssey*, classicist Emily Wilson highlights how the narrative frequently shifts between the perspectives of elite heroes and marginalized figures. Wilson argues that while the former group's members dominate the poem's formal speeches, the other ______ quiet observations provide a crucial counter-narrative, offering a critique of the rigid social hierarchy that governs ancient Ithaca.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

  1. A
    characters
  2. B
    character's
  3. characters'Answer
  4. D
    character

Answer

characters'
The correct answer is the plural possessive noun 'characters''. In the sentence, the word in the blank modifies the noun 'observations' to indicate who is observing, requiring a possessive form. The context refers back to the plural 'marginalized figures,' indicating that a plural possessive noun is needed. For plural nouns ending in 's,' the possessive is formed by adding an apostrophe after the 's.'

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the noun that the blank word modifies and determine if possession is required.
The word in the blank modifies the noun 'observations'. Because the observations belong to the other characters in the narrative, a possessive form is necessary.
Possessive nouns are used to indicate ownership or association with a following noun.
2
Determine whether the possessive noun should be singular or plural based on the context.
The blank refers back to 'marginalized figures', which is a plural noun phrase.
The grammatical number of the possessive noun must agree with its plural antecedent.
3
Combine the plural and possessive requirements to select the correct spelling and punctuation.
The plural of 'character' is 'characters', and its possessive form is created by adding an apostrophe after the 's' ('characters'').
Plural nouns ending in 's' form the possessive by adding only an apostrophe.

Key Concept

Plural and Possessive Nouns
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Topics

Plural and Possessive Nouns and Pronouns

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