Question

The pen is her's but it's not working. A. The pen is her's but it's not working. B. The pen is hers but its not working. C. The pen is her's but it has not working. D. The pen is hers but it's stopped working. E. The pen is hers' but its' stopped working.

Short answer

D

Step-by-step solution

Analyze Possessive Pronouns

The word 'her’s' is incorrect. The correct possessive pronoun is 'hers.'

Check for Contractions

The contraction 'it’s' should be used to mean 'it is.' The word 'its' is a possessive pronoun that does not require an apostrophe.

Review Each Option

Option A: 'her’s' is incorrect.Option B: 'its' should be 'it's.'Option C: 'it has not working' is grammatically incorrect.Option D: Both 'hers' and 'it’s' are correctly used.Option E: 'hers’' and 'its’' are incorrect.

Key concepts

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns show ownership or possession. Common ones include 'mine', 'yours', 'his', 'hers', 'its', 'ours', and 'theirs'. They replace nouns to avoid repetition: instead of saying 'the pen of her' repeatedly, we say 'hers'. In our exercise, 'her’s' is incorrect because possessive pronouns never have an apostrophe. The correct choice is 'hers' as seen in the detailed review.

Contractions in English

Contractions combine two words into one for ease and quickness. For example, 'it is' becomes 'it's' by adding an apostrophe where the letter is dropped. This is a common place of confusion with possessive pronouns. Remember: 'it's' means 'it is' or 'it has', while 'its', without an apostrophe, shows possession. In our exercise, this distinction helps identify the correct contractions essential for accuracy.

Grammar Correction Steps

When correcting grammar:

• Identify the type of error, whether it is punctuation or word choice.
• Choose the right form of the word, checking possessive terms and contractions.
• Review the context to ensure it maintains meaning. Each sentence component must work together logically and grammatically.

In our exercise, we corrected 'her’s' to 'hers'. We verified 'it’s' for 'it is', understanding that 'its' is possessive. Finally, after reviewing the provided options, we affirmed that option D is grammatically correct, exemplifying always cross-checking corrections.