sat suite question viewer
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?
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 indicates 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 indicates 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.