Question 155·Medium·Form, Structure, and Sense
Although the research team uncovered numerous fossilized plant specimens at the site, _____ were too fragmentary to be classified beyond the family level.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For pronoun questions, first underline the noun the pronoun refers to (the antecedent) and decide if it is singular or plural. Next, check how the pronoun is used in the sentence—before the verb usually means it is a subject, after a verb or preposition usually means it is an object. Eliminate any choices that do not match the antecedent in number (singular/plural) or that use the wrong pronoun case (subject vs. object), and then reread the sentence with the remaining option to confirm it sounds natural and logical.
Hints
Identify the antecedent
Look at the noun phrase just before the comma. What group of things does the blank refer back to?
Check singular vs. plural
Ask yourself: Is that noun phrase referring to one thing or many things? Your pronoun must match this.
Decide the pronoun’s role
In the clause with the blank, is the pronoun acting as the subject of the verb "were" or as an object? That tells you what kind (subject vs. object) of pronoun you need.
Eliminate mismatches
Cross out any options that are singular, do not match the noun’s number, or are object pronouns where a subject is needed.
Step-by-step Explanation
Find what the pronoun refers to
Look just before the comma: the sentence mentions "numerous fossilized plant specimens." This noun phrase is what the blank is referring back to.
Because it says "numerous" and "specimens" (with an -s), the antecedent is clearly plural (more than one specimen). Any pronoun we choose must also be plural.
Decide the pronoun’s grammatical job
Now look at the structure of the second part of the sentence: "_____ were too fragmentary to be classified beyond the family level."
In this clause:
- The blank comes before the verb "were."
- The word that comes before the verb is the subject of the verb.
So the pronoun in the blank must be a subject pronoun (because it is doing the action of "were"), not an object pronoun.
Match number (singular/plural) and case (subject/object)
Now classify the answer choices:
- "it" = singular subject or object pronoun
- "they" = plural subject pronoun
- "that" = usually singular demonstrative pronoun or determiner
- "them" = plural object pronoun
We need a pronoun that is:
- Plural (to match "numerous ... specimens"), and
- A subject pronoun (because it comes before "were" and acts as the subject).
Only one choice fits both requirements: the plural subject pronoun "they", so the completed sentence is: "Although the research team uncovered numerous fossilized plant specimens at the site, they were too fragmentary to be classified beyond the family level."