The intricate beadwork of the Maasai people of East Africa is more than just decorative. The specific colors and patterns used in the jewelry serve as a complex visual language, conveying information about the _____ age, social status, and marital status.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Explanation
Context: The jewelry conveys information about the ___ age, social status, and marital status — traits belonging to the person wearing it, read as each individual wearer.
Answer: C) wearer's
Why? The age and statuses belong to the wearer, so a possessive is required; on the singular-possessor reading (each individual wearer), singular possessive wearer's — apostrophe before the s — is correct.
Traps:
- A) wearers → plain plural with no apostrophe; the sentence needs possession, not just more than one wearer.
- B) wearers' → a correctly formed plural possessive (multiple wearers as possessors); the keyed reading here treats the possessor as the single individual wearer.
- D) wearers's → doubles the possessive marker; "s's" on a plural is never a standard form.