Question 196·Easy·Form, Structure, and Sense
During the festival, volunteers distributed flyers to inform ______ of the day's schedule of events.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
When you see apostrophe choices on the SAT, ask whether the sentence needs ownership or simply a plural noun. If the word is just naming multiple people or things, it usually should not have an apostrophe.
Hints
Focus on the verb inform
Ask who is being informed. The blank should name the people receiving the information.
Decide whether possession is needed
Are the volunteers informing the attendees, or something that belongs to the attendees? That tells you whether an apostrophe belongs here.
Check singular versus plural
The sentence refers to festivalgoers in general, not just one person, so the noun should be plural.
Step-by-step Explanation
Use the verb pattern
In standard English, "inform" is followed by the person or group receiving the information. Here, the volunteers are informing festivalgoers.
Eliminate possessive forms
"Attendee's" and "attendees'" both show possession, but the sentence is not describing something owned by the attendees. It is naming the people being informed.
Choose the correct plural noun
Because the sentence refers to many people, the best choice is the simple plural noun "attendees."