Digital PSAT Reading and Writing Practice Question 257: Answer and Explanation

Question: 257

Not long after the Pinkertons surrendered, Pennsylvania governor Robert Pattison authorized the militia to advance and placed the town of Homestead under martial law. In the days that followed, steel production at the plant resumed, with strikebreakers living on the _____________ too dangerous for them to cross the picket.

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

  • A. mills grounds: it was still
  • B. mills' grounds—it was still
  • C. mill's grounds, it was still
  • D. mill's grounds; it was still

Correct Answer: D

Explanation:

D. The mill is singular, and it possesses the grounds. Also, we need to have a clear separation between the two complete sentences, which the semicolon, but not a comma, can provide. Choice A provides no possession, Choice B would be for plural mills, and choice C would cause a comma splice.

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