OUR Mathematics teacher has been transferred.

Analyze the question This is an emphatic stress question. The word in capital letters (OUR) carries the stress. The stressed word is the new or corrected information. The sentence answers a question in which that word was wrongly assumed or doubted.

Explain the concept Emphatic stress contrasts one word with another. If OUR is stressed, the speaker is correcting or contrasting "our" with some other possessive, such as "their", "your" or "his". Everything else in the sentence (Mathematics teacher has been transferred) is already known and is not in dispute.

Solution The sentence is: OUR Mathematics teacher has been transferred.

Test each option by asking which word the answer would need to stress:

• A. Has their Mathematics teacher been transferred? The question is about "their" teacher. The reply "OUR Mathematics teacher has been transferred" corrects "their" to "our". The stress on OUR fits.
• B. Has our Physics teacher been transferred? The reply would stress MATHEMATICS, not OUR.
• C. Has our Mathematics teacher been promoted? The reply would stress TRANSFERRED.
• D. Has our Mathematics supervisor been transferred? The reply would stress TEACHER.

Only option A makes the possessive the point of contrast.

Answer: A

Tip: Find the capitalised word in the answer, then look for the option where that exact word is the one that differs. That word is the one being corrected. Here, "their" in the question is replaced by "OUR" in the answer.