SAT OwlQuestion bank / Form, Structure, and Sense
Many of the city's public libraries now lend more than books. Residents can borrow tools, musical instruments, and even fishing rods, and the Westfield branch has recently added a seed collection to ______ shelves.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
their
it's
its
they're
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C
The shelves belong to "the Westfield branch," a singular noun. The singular possessive pronoun is "its," with no apostrophe.
Choice A matches the plural "libraries" earlier in the text, but the shelves belong to one branch.
Why the other choices are wrong
- A. "Their" is plural, but it refers to the singular "Westfield branch."
- B. "It's" means "it is," which makes no sense before "shelves."
- D. "They're" means "they are" and is plural.
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