ACT English 5.7 Passage Drill

It may not sound like it, but we just said three words with three completely different meanings.

The sentence in question requires the version of the word that’s a possessive pronoun.

Whichever word we choose has to tell us that these webs belong to orb-weaving spiders.

Trust us, you don’t want to challenge an orb-weaver over ownership of its web.

Option (A) suggests the word “there” spelled T.H.E.R.E, but this is incorrect.

This version of the word definitely gets points for versatility. It can be an adverb, adjective,

noun, pronoun, or interjection, depending on how it’s used in a sentence.

One thing it can never be, however, is a possessive pronoun.

So (A) is off the list.

Now let’s take a look at choice (B), which suggests “they’re” spelled T.H.E.Y. apostrophe R.E.

This option is also wrong because it’s a contraction for “they are,”

not a possessive pronoun. If we ever get confused about this idea,

we just say the sentence with “they are” in it instead of “they’re.”

Listen to this...

“They are webs are complex nets...”

Sounds like one too many “ares,” right?

This sentence needs another verb like it needs a hole in its head, so we’ll nix choice (B).

The correct choice is answer (C).

Their, T.H.E.I.R., is the correct spelling of the possessive pronoun “their.”

Now those orb-weavers can be reassured that everybody knows to whom those webs belong.