Question 218·Medium·Form, Structure, and Sense
Early in the 20th century, glass artist René Lalique revolutionized the perfume industry by designing bottles whose exquisite forms mirrored the elegance of their contents. ______ innovative approach transformed packaging from a mere necessity into an art form.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For pronoun questions in the SAT Reading & Writing section, first identify what the blank needs to do (show possession, act as a subject, etc.), then find the clear antecedent (who or what the pronoun refers to) in the surrounding context. Check that the pronoun choice matches the antecedent in number (singular/plural), person (1st/2nd/3rd), and, when relevant, gender, and make sure you are not accidentally choosing a contraction (like "he's") when you need a possessive form (like "his"). Finally, plug each remaining option into the sentence and choose the one that is both grammatically correct and makes clear logical sense.
Hints
Look at the word after the blank
The word right after the blank is "innovative." Ask yourself: what word type usually comes before an adjective + noun phrase like "innovative approach" to show who it belongs to?
Find the person or thing being referred to
Think about who in the previous sentence could logically have an "innovative approach" that transforms packaging. Is it a person, an object, or a group?
Check the kind of pronoun and its form
Some choices are contractions (like "he is"), and some show possession. Also think about number and type: does the pronoun need to be singular or plural, and referring to a person or a thing?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand what the blank is doing
Read the sentence around the blank:
"______ innovative approach transformed packaging from a mere necessity into an art form."
The word in the blank comes directly before the noun phrase "innovative approach", so it must describe whose approach it is. That means we need a word that shows possession (ownership).
Identify who the sentence is talking about
Look at the first sentence:
"Early in the 20th century, glass artist René Lalique revolutionized the perfume industry by designing bottles whose exquisite forms mirrored the elegance of their contents."
The main person being discussed is glass artist René Lalique. In the next sentence, the blank clearly refers back to that same person and to the approach that belongs to him.
Decide what kind of pronoun is needed
Because we are talking about the approach that belongs to René Lalique, we need:
- A possessive form (showing ownership) before the noun "innovative approach".
- It must match a singular human (René Lalique).
So the correct choice must be a singular possessive pronoun that can go directly before a noun (like "___ innovative approach").
Evaluate each answer choice and choose the one that fits
Now check each option:
- A) He's: This is a contraction of "he is." You cannot say "He is innovative approach" before a noun; it is grammatically wrong here.
- B) Its: This is a possessive pronoun for things or animals, not usually for people. It also would refer better to an object (like the industry), but the sentence is emphasizing the artist.
- D) Their: This is usually plural (or sometimes singular when gender is unknown), but the clear antecedent here is the single person René Lalique.
Only C) His is a singular possessive pronoun that correctly refers to a male person and can go before a noun: "His innovative approach transformed packaging...". So the correct answer is C) His.