Question when-a
When a given industry—water and electricity are two well-known examples—carries high infrastructural start-up costs and other barriers that discourage competition, blank of just one or two suppliers per municipality. Such industries are known as natural monopolies.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
these often consist
they often consist
it often consists
this often consists
When a given industry-water and electricity are two well-known examples-carries high infrastructural start-up costs and
Hard-difficulty · SAT Reading & Writing · Form, Structure, and Sense — Modifier placement and clarity. Read the question above, select your answer, and check the full explanation below to understand exactly why the correct choice works.
Answer explanation
Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is pronoun-antecedent agreement. The singular pronoun "it" agrees in number with the singular antecedent "industry" and clearly indies that the industry consists of just one or two suppliers per municipality.
Choice A is incorrect. The plural pronoun "these" neither agrees in number with the singular antecedent "industry" nor clearly indies that the industry—not another plural noun in the sentence, such as "start-up costs" or "barriers"—consists of just one or two suppliers per municipality. Choice B is incorrect because the plural pronoun "they" doesn’t agree in number with the singular antecedent "industry." Choice D is incorrect because the singular pronoun "this" is ambiguous in this context; the resulting sentence leaves unclear what consists of just one or two suppliers per municipality.
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