The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
Of course. Here is the correct answer and a detailed explanation.
Correct Answer: D) organization’s members
The corrected sentence should read: “The organization’s members are planning a picnic.”
This question tests your understanding of possessives and plurals, which are often confused because both can involve the letter ‘s’. The key is to analyze what the sentence is trying to say. The picnic is being planned by the members who belong to a single organization.
Let’s break down why option D is correct. The phrase “organization’s members” correctly uses two different grammatical forms. First, “organization’s” is a singular possessive. The apostrophe ‘s’ indicates that something belongs to the one organization. In this case, it is the members who belong to it. Second, “members” is a simple plural noun. It indicates that there is more than one member. This plural noun “members” serves as the subject of the sentence. Since the subject is plural, it correctly agrees with the plural verb “are.”
Now let’s examine why the other options are incorrect.
The original sentence, “The organization’s member’s,” is wrong because “member’s” is a singular possessive. This would incorrectly imply that something belonging to a single member is planning the picnic, which makes no sense.
Option B, “organizations members,” is incorrect because “organizations” is a plural noun, suggesting there is more than one organization. However, the use of the article “The” at the start of the sentence points to a specific, single organization. Furthermore, it lacks the necessary possessive apostrophe to show the relationship between the members and the organization.
Option C, “organization’s members’,” is also incorrect. While “organization’s” is correct, “members'” is a plural possessive. This would mean “belonging to the members.” The sentence would then illogically state that something belonging to the members of the organization is planning the picnic, rather than the members themselves.
