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Question

Difficulty: HardPlural and Possessive Nouns and Pronouns

The following passage is adapted from an archaeological study of ancient trade networks. Based on the context of the passage, what is the correct form of the noun 'vessel' that should fill the blank?

Answer:To construct a precise chronology of the region's ancient trade networks, archaeologists analyzed the chemical composition of several newly excavated clay vessels. By identifying the unique trace elements in the clay, the researchers concluded that the pottery's distinct mineral signature could reliably trace each 【vessel's】 origin to a single, localized kiln in the river valley.

Answer

vessel's
The correct answer is the singular possessive form 'vessel's'. The word is preceded by the singular determiner 'each', which requires a singular noun rather than a plural one. Furthermore, the noun modifies 'origin', meaning it must be in the possessive case to show the relationship between the vessel and its origin.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the syntactic role of the word in the blank.
The blank precedes the noun 'origin' and must modify it to indicate relationship or association, which requires a possessive form.
Nouns modifying other nouns to show possession or relationship must be in the possessive case.
2
Determine the number (singular or plural) of the noun based on surrounding modifiers.
The determiner 'each' precedes the blank and specifies a singular noun.
The word 'each' is grammatically singular and must modify a singular noun.
3
Combine the singular number and possessive case to form the correct word.
The singular possessive form of 'vessel' is 'vessel's'.
Singular nouns are made possessive by adding an apostrophe followed by the letter 's'.

Key Concept

Plural and Possessive Nouns
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Topics

Plural and Possessive Nouns and Pronouns

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