Question

word choice - exercise 1
(their, there, and theyre)
directions: fill in the blanks with the appropriate choice—their, there, or theyre. check your answers with the interactive version of the exercise.

1. unable to tolerate the dust one moment longer, elizabeth spent the afternoon cleaning the living room tables and shelves. now ______ slippery with furniture polish, glowing in the sunlight that spills through the open window.
2. \oh, no! ______ are lima beans on my plate!\ screamed noel before he fainted with a thud on the dining room floor.
3. nothing makes dianes cat big toe joe happier than a laundry basket full of fresh warm towels. ______ he will sleep, purring in contentment and shedding long white hair on the clean terry cloth.
4. mrs. oshea spent the day steam cleaning the living room floor. now her children can hardly find the kitchen without ______ trail of dirty footprints leading the way.
5. dolly hates dogs more than snakes or cockroaches. she believes that canines are loathsome creatures because ______ only goal in life is to kill her front lawn with urine.
6. behind the sofa ______ is a collection of desiccated broccoli spears that simon, the family cocker spaniel, carries away for noel, who cannot stomach the vegetable.
7. the knives in roseannes kitchen are encrusted with bits of brownie and smears of dried mustard. ______ is no way a doctor would ever consider operating with any instrument that roseanne had washed!

Explanation:

Question 1

We need to choose between "their", "there", and "they're" for the blank. "Their" shows possession, "there" refers to a place or existence, and "they're" is a contraction of "they are". Here, we are talking about the tables and shelves (a place) being slippery, so we use "they're" would be wrong, "their" is possessive, but here we need to refer to the tables and shelves (the place) being slippery? Wait, no, the subject here is the tables and shelves, so "they're" (they are) would be: Now they're (the tables and shelves are) slippery... Wait, let's re - examine. The sentence is "Now ____ slippery with furniture polish...". The subject is the tables and shelves (plural), so "they're" (they are) is correct. Wait, no, maybe I made a mistake. Wait, "their" is possessive, "there" is a place. Wait, the tables and shelves are the ones that are slippery, so "they're" (they are) is the right choice. Wait, no, let's check again. The sentence structure: "Now [subject] slippery...". The subject is the tables and shelves (plural), so "they're" (they are) is appropriate. Wait, but maybe I messed up. Wait, the original sentence: "Elizabeth spent the afternoon cleaning the living room tables and shelves. Now ____ slippery with furniture polish...". So the tables and shelves (they) are slippery, so "they're" (they are) is correct.

We need to choose between the three words. The sentence is "______ are lima beans on my plate!". "There" is used to indicate the existence of something in a place. "Their" is possessive, "they're" is "they are". So "There are lima beans..." is the correct structure to show the existence of lima beans on the plate.

We have to choose among "their", "there", "they're". The sentence is "______ he will sleep...". "There" is used to refer to a place where he will sleep (in the laundry basket). "Their" is possessive, "they're" is "they are", which doesn't fit here. So we use "There".

Answer:

they're

Question 2