Question 34·Easy·Form, Structure, and Sense
Like many mammals, the Arctic fox grows a thicker coat as winter approaches, insulating it from temperatures that can drop below −50 °C. During the brief summer, the fox sheds ______ heavier fur, replacing it with a lighter coat to stay cool.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For pronoun and possessive questions, first decide what role the missing word plays: is it showing ownership, acting as a subject, or forming a contraction? Then, identify the antecedent (the noun the pronoun refers to) and match number (singular/plural) and gender or neutrality. Quickly test any option with an apostrophe by expanding it (e.g., "it's" → "it is") to see if it still makes sense; if not, eliminate it and choose the possessive pronoun that agrees with the noun and fits the sentence meaning.
Hints
Check what the sentence is saying
Read the sentence around the blank: "the fox sheds ______ heavier fur." Ask yourself what kind of word belongs in front of "heavier fur" to show the relationship between the fox and the fur.
Decide between possession and contraction
One choice is a contraction that can be expanded to "it is" or "it has." Try reading the sentence with "it is" or "it has" in the blank—does that make sense there?
Match number and gender
Think about the noun the pronoun refers to: "the fox." Is it singular or plural? Is it clearly male, clearly female, or not specified? Eliminate any pronouns that don’t match in number or are needlessly gendered.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the grammar role of the blank
Look at the phrase: "the fox sheds ______ heavier fur." The missing word comes right before a noun, "heavier fur," and tells us whose fur it is. That means we need a possessive pronoun (a word that shows ownership).
Find the noun the pronoun refers to
Ask: Whose heavier fur is being shed? The sentence is talking about "the Arctic fox" and then "the fox," which is a singular, nonhuman animal with no gender specified. So the pronoun must be singular and gender-neutral, and it must show possession of the "heavier fur."
Eliminate options that don’t fit meaning or form
Go through the choices:
- One option is a contraction meaning "it is" or "it has"; that would not make sense before "heavier fur" because we need ownership, not another verb.
- One option is a plural possessive pronoun (used for more than one person or thing), which does not agree with the singular noun "fox."
- One option is a male-specific possessive pronoun (used for a male person), which does not match a fox whose gender is not specified and is not a person.
Choose the possessive pronoun that matches "fox"
The only remaining choice that is a singular, gender-neutral possessive pronoun (and not a contraction) is "its", which correctly shows that the heavier fur belongs to the Arctic fox. So the answer is A) its.