A pronoun question with apostrophe choices tests what a pronoun stands for and whether it shows ownership. Sort the choices by one thing or more than one, then expand any apostrophe. A pronoun’s apostrophe marks missing letters, while ownership forms have no apostrophe, so read around the blank to decide which job it needs. Next, find the noun the pronoun stands for and check whether each choice matches one thing or more than one. Don’t let a nearby noun decide for you.
Hints
- Hint 1
Look at the words on either side of the blank. Expand the apostrophe forms and read the sentence with those full words.
- Hint 2
Ask whose pages are being copied, and find that noun in the first part of the sentence. Does that noun name one thing or more than one?
Step-by-step
Find the owner of the pages
Step 1Sort the forms and expand the apostrophes
Start with digital facsimiles of ______ pages, sorting the choices by number and expanding any apostrophes. Does the blank need an owner or a verb? Singular it's means it is or it has, and plural they're means they are. That gives us of it is pages, of it has pages, or of they are pages, none of which works. This spot needs an owner, so set aside it's and they're.
- Step 2
Read back to find whose pages they are
Whose pages are being copied? Read back to the original manuscript, the document named in the first part of the sentence. The digital facsimiles are copies of that document's pages, so the facsimiles aren't the noun the pronoun stands for. The nearby strict archival conditions tell us how the manuscript is stored, not whose pages appear online. The pronoun stands for the manuscript, and manuscript names one document even though it contains many pages.
- Step 3
Match the singular owner
Match the owner's number, not the number of pages: one manuscript can have many pages. Their means belonging to them, so it would point to a plural owner. The singular ownership form is its, which means belonging to it, so the phrase is digital facsimiles of its pages. Choice D.