Question 79·Easy·Form, Structure, and Sense
To improve public safety, several cities have installed flashing crosswalk beacons. When pedestrians press the button, ______ lights begin blinking to alert drivers to stop.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For pronoun agreement questions, first locate the noun the pronoun refers back to (its antecedent) by asking, "Who or what does this word stand for?" Then check that the pronoun matches that noun in number (singular vs. plural) and type (person vs. thing, gender if relevant). Quickly eliminate any choices that are singular when the antecedent is plural, or that are used only for people when the antecedent is an object, and reread the sentence with the remaining option to confirm it sounds logical and grammatical.
Hints
Notice what comes after the blank
Focus on the phrase that follows the blank: "_____ lights begin blinking." The missing word must show who or what the lights belong to.
Decide which earlier noun has the lights
Ask yourself: Do the lights belong to the cities, the pedestrians, the button, or the flashing crosswalk beacons? Choose the noun that logically would have lights attached to it.
Check number and type of noun
Once you know which noun has the lights, decide if that noun is singular or plural, and whether it refers to a person or a thing. Eliminate any answer choices that don’t match in number or that are only used for people.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what the blank is doing in the sentence
The blank comes right before the noun "lights" in the phrase "_____ lights begin blinking." This means the missing word must be a possessive pronoun showing who or what the lights belong to (like "its lights" or "their lights").
Find the noun that owns the lights
Look back earlier in the sentence: "several cities have installed flashing crosswalk beacons. When pedestrians press the button, ______ lights begin blinking..." The things that have lights are the flashing crosswalk beacons, not the cities, pedestrians, or button. The noun "beacons" is plural and refers to things, not people.
Match the pronoun to the antecedent
Because "beacons" is plural and not a person, we need a plural possessive pronoun for things. Among the options, only "their" is a plural possessive pronoun that can refer to things, so the correct answer is A) their.