A pronoun question tests whether you can find what a pronoun stands for among several earlier nouns. Sort the choices by one thing or more than one. A subject pronoun names who or what a verb is about; a possessive form before a noun shows who or what that noun belongs to. Then ask what does the pronoun stand for?, read back to find that noun, and match its number. Follow the meaning, because the nearest noun may be unrelated.
Hints
- Hint 1
The blank comes right before a verb about morale and productivity. Ask what is supposed to bring about those changes.
- Hint 2
Read the critics’ fear and the company’s claim together. What is being described in both parts of the sentence?
- Hint 3
Once you’ve found what would limit flexibility and what would increase morale and productivity, decide whether that noun names one thing or more than one.
Step-by-step
Sort, find, and match
Step 1Check number and job
The words will actually increase come right after the blank, so we need a subject, the noun or pronoun that names what will do the increasing. Sort the choices by number and job: they and those refer to more than one, while their shows who or what something belongs to. Can their stand here? No, because their needs a noun after it rather than a verb. The blank needs a subject, not an owner.
- Step 2
Find what will cause the change
Read back to would limit flexibility for employees. What did the critics fear would have that effect? The sentence names the new scheduling policy, and the company offers a different prediction about that same policy. The critics fear less flexibility, while the company predicts higher morale and productivity, so both parts describe what the policy will do. The pronoun points back to the policy, not the critics who fear its effects, the employees affected by it, or the company making the claim.
- Step 3
Match the noun’s number
Is the new scheduling policy one thing or more than one? The phrase names a single policy, so the pronoun must be singular. The plural forms they and those can't match that noun. Use it, which names one thing and can be the subject before will actually increase, giving the blank a pronoun with the right number and job. Choice D.