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Difficulty: EasyPronoun-Antecedent Agreement and Case

The Voyager 1 spacecraft, which was launched in 1977 to explore the outer planets and has since traveled past the boundary of the heliosphere, continues to transmit data to scientists on Earth. However, because ______ is currently billions of miles away, these signals take over twenty-two hours to arrive.

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

  1. itAnswer
  2. B
    they
  3. C
    them
  4. D
    their

Answer

it
The singular subjective pronoun 'it' correctly agrees in number with the singular antecedent 'spacecraft' and functions as the subject of the clause.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the antecedent that the pronoun in the blank is replacing.
The antecedent is the singular noun phrase 'The Voyager 1 spacecraft'.
The pronoun must agree in number and gender with its antecedent.
2
Determine the correct grammatical case for the pronoun based on its role in the clause.
The pronoun functions as the subject of the verb 'is' in the dependent clause 'because ______ is currently...', so it must be in the subjective case.
Subjective case pronouns are required for the subjects of verbs.
3
Select the pronoun that is both singular and in the subjective case.
The singular subjective pronoun 'it' fits the context perfectly.
This maintains correct pronoun-antecedent agreement and grammatical case.

Key Concept

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement and Case
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Topics

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement and Case

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