What word is best to substitute for the highlighted words in the following sentence? The boy watched the lights in the house go off.

Rationale

He is the best substitute for the highlighted words in the sentence.

In this context, "the boy" is a third-person singular subject, and "he" serves as the appropriate pronoun to replace it while maintaining the grammatical structure of the sentence.

A (him) YOUR ANSWER

"Him" is an object pronoun used when referring to the object of a verb or preposition, which does not fit the subject role required in this sentence. Since the sentence needs a subject pronoun to perform the action of watching, "him" is not suitable as it would change the sentence's grammatical correctness.

B (his) YOUR ANSWER

"His" is a possessive pronoun that indicates ownership, which does not serve as a substitute for "the boy" in the context of the sentence. It cannot replace the subject since the sentence describes the action of watching, and a possessive form does not fulfill the subject requirement.

C (they) YOUR ANSWER

"They" is a plural pronoun that refers to multiple subjects, which does not fit as a replacement for "the boy." Since "the boy" is singular, using "they" would incorrectly imply that multiple individuals are involved in the action of watching, thus altering the intended meaning of the sentence.

D (he) CORRECT

"He" is a third-person singular subject pronoun that appropriately replaces "the boy" in the sentence. It maintains the correct grammatical structure and clearly indicates that the boy is performing the action of watching the lights go off.

Conclusion

The sentence requires a subject pronoun to replace "the boy," and "he" fulfills this role effectively. The other choices fail to provide an appropriate grammatical fit, either by altering the number or function of the pronoun. Thus, using "he" preserves the integrity and clarity of the original sentence.

What word is best to substitute for the highlighted words in the following sentence? *The boy* watched the lights in the house go off.

He is the best substitute for the highlighted words in the sentence.

Related Questions

Related Quizzes

How familiar were you with this question?

Report an Issue

Rate this Practice Test

What word is best to substitute for the highlighted words in the following sentence? The boy watched the lights in the house go off.