Extract:
What word is best to substitute for the underlined word in the following sentence?
Roseanne was sent to the lab to collect Roseanne’s results.
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A
she
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B
their
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C
her
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D
hers
The word "her" best substitutes for "Roseanne's" because the possessive pronoun must modify the noun "results."
A) she
"She" is subjective case pronoun—cannot function as possessive modifier before a noun. "She results" creates ungrammatical construction lacking possessive form.
B) their
"Their" is plural possessive—incorrect number to replace singular "Roseanne's." Pronoun number must match antecedent number.
C) her
"Her" is singular possessive pronoun correctly replacing "Roseanne's" before the noun "results." Possessive pronouns modifying nouns require the dependent possessive form ("her," not "hers").
D) hers
"Hers" is absolute possessive pronoun used without a following noun ("The results are hers"). It cannot modify a noun directly—"hers results" is ungrammatical.
Conclusion
Possessive pronouns modifying nouns require dependent forms ("my," "your," "her," "his," "its," "our," "their"). Since "results" follows the pronoun, dependent possessive "her" is required—not absolute possessive "hers" which stands alone without a noun.