Public-awareness campaigns about the need to reduce single-use plastics can be successful, says researcher Kim Borg of Monash University in

Question

Public-awareness campaigns about the need to reduce single-use plastics can be successful, says researcher Kim Borg of Monash University in Australia, when these campaigns give consumers a choice: for example, Japan achieved a 40 percent reduction in plastic-bag use after cashiers were instructed to ask customers whether blank wanted a bag.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

Accepted Answer

Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is pronoun-antecedent agreement. The plural pronoun &ldquo;they&rdquo; agrees in number with the plural antecedent &ldquo;customers.&rdquo; Choice B is incorrect because the singular pronoun &ldquo;one&rdquo; doesn&rsquo;t agree in number with the plural antecedent &ldquo;customers.&rdquo; Choice C is incorrect because the second person pronoun &ldquo;you&rdquo; isn&rsquo;t conventional as a substitute for &ldquo;customers.&rdquo; It suggests that the audience (&ldquo;you&rdquo;) is the customer. Choice D is incorrect because the singular pronoun &ldquo;it&rdquo; doesn&rsquo;t agree in number with the plural antecedent &ldquo;customers.&rdquo;

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