The African extended family system gives .......members.

Analyze the question

The sentence is: "The African extended family system gives ....... members." We need the possessive pronoun that correctly refers back to the subject, "The African extended family system."

Explain the concept

A possessive pronoun or determiner must agree with its antecedent (the noun it refers to) in number and gender.

• The antecedent here is "system," which is a singular, non-living thing.
• A singular thing (not a person) takes its.
• "His" and "her" are used for a specific male or female person.
• "Their" is plural, so it would not agree with the singular "system" (although some people use it informally for collective nouns).

Step-by-step solution

1. Find the subject: The African extended family system. The head noun is system, which is singular.
2. Check for gender: a "system" is neither male nor female, so his (A) and her (B) are out.
3. Check for number: their (D) is plural and doesn't agree with the singular "system."
4. The correct pronoun is its, giving: "The African extended family system gives its members..."

Correct answer: C. its

Exam tip

When you see a blank for a pronoun, ask yourself: "What noun is it pointing back to, and is that noun singular or plural, person or thing?" Singular thing → its. Be careful not to be misled by words like "family" or "African" near the blank; the real antecedent is the head noun, "system."