Question 127·Easy·Form, Structure, and Sense
The city council invited the public to comment on _____ proposed plan to renovate the park.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For pronoun choice questions, first identify the noun the pronoun refers to and decide whether the sentence needs possession (ownership) or a contraction (like "it is"). Then, check if that noun is singular or plural and choose a pronoun that matches in number and function. For tricky pairs like "its/it's" or "their/there," quickly substitute the full form ("it is" or "it has") into the sentence; if it doesn’t make sense, eliminate the contraction and look for the possessive form that fits.
Hints
Check what the pronoun refers to
Look at the noun that comes earlier in the sentence: which word is the blank referring back to, and what relationship does it show?
Decide if you need ownership or a contraction
Ask yourself: does the sentence need to show that something belongs to the city council, or does it need a shortened form of "it is" or "it has"?
Match singular or plural
Think about whether "city council" is treated as one thing or many people. Then make sure the pronoun you choose matches that number.
Eliminate words that don’t fit the meaning
Quickly test each option in the blank and see if the sentence still makes sense in meaning and grammar when you read it out loud in your head.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand what the blank is doing in the sentence
Read the sentence: "The city council invited the public to comment on _____ proposed plan to renovate the park."
The blank comes right before "proposed plan" and must describe whose plan it is. So the word in the blank must show possession/ownership of the plan by "the city council."
Decide on number: singular or plural pronoun?
Ask: Is "the city council" treated as one group (singular) or several separate people (plural)? On the SAT, a noun like "city council" is treated as a single unit, so you need a singular pronoun to refer back to it.
So we are looking for a singular word that can show possession for "city council."
Eliminate words that don’t match function or number
Check each option:
- "it's" = "it is" or "it has" (a contraction, not possessive)
- "their" = plural possessive (does not match singular "city council")
- "there" = refers to place or existence ("over there" or "there is")
None of these correctly act as a singular possessive pronoun for "city council."
Choose the singular possessive pronoun that fits
The remaining choice is the singular possessive pronoun that shows ownership by "the city council" and fits the sentence: "The city council invited the public to comment on its proposed plan to renovate the park."
So, the correct answer is D) its.