A pronoun question about a person tests how that person connects to the rest of the sentence. Read around the blank to find the pronoun’s job, then check which noun it points to. A subject pronoun names who does something, and an object pronoun names who receives it. A possessive shows ownership, and a contraction stands for full words. Sound alone won’t tell you the job, so use the sentence’s words.
Hints
- Hint 1
Read the words on both sides of the blank and ask how they connect.
- Hint 2
Check how the research connects to the surgeon. What does “research focuses” already tell you, and how does that research connect to Dr. Gupta?
Step-by-step
Find the pronoun’s job
Step 1Expand the apostrophe
Expand who's into who is or who has, then try the full words between a surgeon and research focuses. We'd get a surgeon who is research focuses or a surgeon who has research focuses, which adds an extra verb and breaks the sentence. The apostrophe marks missing letters, not ownership.
- Step 2
Find the connection
In research focuses on improving recovery times, what does the focusing? The research does, which means this part already has a doer and a verb. How does Dr. Gupta connect to that research? The sentence describes the surgeon’s research, so the missing word must show ownership. It doesn't need to add another person doing or receiving something.
- Step 3
Choose the ownership form
Which form can link an owner to research? Who names a person doing something, and whom names a person receiving something. Whose means belonging to the person being described, so it shows ownership in a surgeon whose research focuses. Choice C.