Question 67·Easy·Form, Structure, and Sense
Gardeners recommend pruning fruit trees during the winter. Cutting back the branches encourages ______ growth in the spring.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For apostrophe questions, move in two quick steps: first, decide if the word must be possessive (showing ownership) or just plural—look for a following noun like "growth," "leaves," or "branches" that would belong to something. Second, decide if the owner is singular or plural, then apply the rule: add 's for singular nouns, and add only an apostrophe to plural nouns that already end in s. Eliminate any options that mismatch number (singular vs plural) or misuse apostrophes.
Hints
Identify what the blank is describing
Look at the word right after the blank. What kind of relationship does "growth" have with the word in the blank?
Singular or plural?
Think about "fruit trees" earlier in the sentence. Is the sentence talking about one tree or more than one?
Review possessive rules
Ask yourself: How do you show possession for a singular noun like "tree"? How is that different from a plural noun that already ends in s, like "trees"?
Match the number and possession
You need a form that both matches the plural idea from "fruit trees" and clearly shows that the growth belongs to them.
Step-by-step Explanation
Decide what kind of word is needed
Look at the phrase around the blank: "encourages ______ growth in the spring." The blank must describe whose growth it is. That means we need a possessive form (showing ownership), not just a plain noun.
Check if it should be singular or plural
Earlier in the passage, the sentence says: "Gardeners recommend pruning fruit trees during the winter." This is talking about fruit trees in general, so it is plural (more than one tree). The growth belongs to those trees, so we need a plural possessive form.
Apply the rule for plural possessives
For a singular noun like "tree," we make it possessive by adding 's → "the tree's growth." For a plural noun that already ends in s like "trees," we make it possessive by adding only an apostrophe after the s → "trees'." So the correct completion is "the trees'", which correctly shows growth belonging to multiple trees.