Give it to Aminata, it is …

Analyze the question: The sentence "Give it to Aminata, it is ..... " asks for a word that completes the statement to show ownership. Aminata is a single female person, and the blank must stand alone after "is" with no noun following it.

Explain the concept: English has two kinds of possessive words:

• Possessive adjectives (my, your, her, their) come before a noun: "her book".
• Possessive pronouns (mine, yours, hers, theirs) replace the noun and stand alone: "The book is hers."

Solution, step by step:

1. After "it is" there is no noun, so the blank needs a possessive pronoun, not an adjective.
2. A. her is a possessive adjective and needs a noun after it ("it is her ___"). Wrong.
3. B. their is also an adjective, and it is plural, so it doesn't match Aminata. Wrong.
4. C. yours is a possessive pronoun, but it refers to "you". Aminata is being spoken about in the third person, so this doesn't fit. Wrong.
5. D. hers is a possessive pronoun, and it matches Aminata (female, singular). Correct.

The completed sentence is: "Give it to Aminata, it is hers."

Answer: D. hers

Exam tip: If the blank comes at the end of the sentence, or has no noun after it, look for a possessive pronoun (mine, yours, hers, ours, theirs). Note that these never take an apostrophe, so write "hers", not "her's".