Question bank / Form, Structure, and Sense
The Venus flytrap catches insects with specialized leaves lined with tiny trigger hairs. When an insect touches two of these hairs in quick succession, the leaf responds immediately: ______ snaps shut in less than a second.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
they
them
it
those
Answer: C
The pronoun refers to "the leaf," which is singular, so the singular subject pronoun "it" is correct. "They" and "those" are plural, and "them" is an object pronoun that can't serve as the subject of "snaps."
Choice A may seem to refer to "hairs," but it is the leaf, not the hairs, that snaps shut.
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