Improve the bracketed part of the sentence by correcting the possessive form: She broke down at his words uttered with blatant disregard for a (personal’s) feelings.

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: person’s

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
This question tests correct use of possessive forms in English. The sentence describes someone speaking with blatant disregard for another individual's feelings, which requires a proper possessive noun. The bracketed part "personal’s" is not a valid possessive form in this context, so we must select the option that gives the correct structure and meaning.



Given Data / Assumptions:

  • The phrase under correction is "for a personal’s feelings."
  • The context is emotional sensitivity toward another individual.
  • We need a singular noun that can take a possessive form.
  • The sentence refers to feelings that belong to a person, not to "personal" as an adjective.



Concept / Approach:
The word "personal" is usually an adjective, as in "personal opinion" or "personal belongings." Adjectives do not normally take the possessive apostrophe plus s structure. Instead, we need the noun "person" to show ownership of the feelings. The correct possessive form of "person" is "person’s." Therefore, the phrase should be "for a person’s feelings," which means "for the feelings of a person."



Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify that "personal" is an adjective, not a noun that can directly take a possessive ending. Step 2: Recognise that the sentence talks about feelings that belong to an individual, so we need the noun "person." Step 3: Form the possessive of "person" by adding apostrophe plus s, giving "person’s." Step 4: Insert the article "a" before "person’s" to maintain the structure "for a person’s feelings." Step 5: Check the full sentence: "She broke down at his words uttered with blatant disregard for a person’s feelings." This now reads naturally and clearly.



Verification / Alternative check:
We can compare with similar phrases like "for a child’s safety" or "for a student’s benefit." In each case, a singular countable noun is converted into a possessive form to show ownership. Applying that pattern here confirms that "person’s feelings" is the appropriate structure. "Personal’s feelings" does not match any standard grammatical pattern.



Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A: "personnel’s" refers to staff members collectively, as in "the company personnel." Using it with "a" and in the singular is incorrect, and the meaning does not fit the sentence, which is about one person’s feelings. Option C: "person" without the possessive ending would give "for a person feelings," which is grammatically incomplete. We need the possessive form to show that the feelings belong to that person. Option D: "No improvement" is wrong because "personal’s" mixes an adjective with a possessive ending, which is not standard English.



Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes confuse "person," "persons," "people," and "personnel," or try to attach possessive endings to adjectives. Another common problem is forgetting to use the possessive form when describing something that belongs to someone. Remember that nouns, not adjectives, take possessive apostrophe plus s. When in doubt, substitute a simpler phrase like "of a person" to check whether a possessive structure is needed.



Final Answer:
The correct improvement is "person’s," so the phrase should read: blatant disregard for a person’s feelings.


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