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Difficulty: MediumPlural and Possessive Nouns and Pronouns

While excavating the ruins of the ancient city of Petra in modern-day Jordan, archaeologists uncovered a highly complex network of subterranean water channels. These channels demonstrate the ________ sophisticated understanding of desert hydraulics, which allowed them to harvest seasonal flash floods and sustain a thriving agricultural civilization in an otherwise arid environment.

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

  1. A
    Nabataeans
  2. Nabataeans'Answer
  3. C
    Nabataean's
  4. D
    Nabataean

Answer

Nabataeans'
The correct option is the plural possessive form 'Nabataeans''. The plural number is required because the passage later refers to the group with the plural pronoun 'them'. The possessive case is required because the noun modifies 'sophisticated understanding,' indicating that the understanding belonged to the Nabataeans.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Determine the grammatical relationship between the noun in the blank and the noun phrase that follows it ('sophisticated understanding').
The blank must contain a possessive noun because the 'understanding' belongs to the people of the ancient city.
Possession is required when one noun modifies another by showing ownership or association.
2
Identify clues in the passage that indicate whether the possessive noun should be singular or plural.
The subsequent pronoun 'them' is plural, indicating that the noun refers to the people collectively (plural).
Pronouns must agree in number with their antecedents or referents.
3
Combine the plural and possessive requirements to select the correct punctuation.
The plural possessive form of the noun is 'Nabataeans'', which places the apostrophe after the plural '-s' suffix.
Standard English conventions dictate that plural possessive nouns ending in '-s' receive an apostrophe at the end of the word.

Key Concept

Plural and Possessive Nouns and Pronouns
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Topics

Plural and Possessive Nouns and Pronouns

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