In this sentence-improvement question on subject–pronoun agreement, choose which phrase, if any, should replace the highlighted part "The trees shed his leaves every time autumn approaches" in the sentence "The trees shed his leaves every time autumn approaches but a healthy tree always gets its leaves back in the spring, which explains the point that fighting spirit is enough to keep one afloat."

Introduction / Context:
This question tests your understanding of subject–pronoun agreement and tense consistency. The sentence is: "The trees shed his leaves every time autumn approaches but a healthy tree always gets its leaves back in the spring, which explains the point that fighting spirit is enough to keep one afloat." The highlighted portion "The trees shed his leaves every time autumn approaches" must be checked against the three suggested alternatives (i, ii, iii). You must determine which replacement gives the grammatically correct and logically consistent form.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Original highlighted phrase: "The trees shed his leaves every time autumn approaches".
• Option (i): has shed their leaves every time autumn approaches.
• Option (ii): shed their leaves every time autumn approaches.
• Option (iii): shed its leaves every time autumn approaches.
• The subject "trees" is plural, while each individual "tree" mentioned later is singular.
• The sentence describes a general, repeated event, not a single completed action.

Concept / Approach:
The main problem in the original phrase is the pronoun "his". The subject is "The trees", which is plural and non-human, so the possessive pronoun should be "their" rather than "his". Furthermore, the sentence describes a general habit that happens "every time autumn approaches", so the simple present tense "shed" is appropriate. We must choose the alternative that corrects the pronoun and keeps the general present tense structure for a repeated natural phenomenon.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the subject: "The trees" is clearly plural. Step 2: Notice the incorrect pronoun "his leaves", which mismatches the plural, non-human subject. Step 3: Recall the correct possessive pronoun for plural, non-human subjects is "their". Step 4: Check the tense: the phrase "every time autumn approaches" indicates a habitual, repeated action, so simple present "shed" is correct. Step 5: Evaluate option (i): "has shed their leaves every time autumn approaches" – here "has shed" is present perfect, which does not fit well with "every time", a habitual marker. Step 6: Evaluate option (ii): "shed their leaves every time autumn approaches" – this correctly uses "shed" as the simple present and "their leaves" to match the plural subject. Step 7: Evaluate option (iii): "shed its leaves every time autumn approaches" – the pronoun "its" is singular, but the subject "trees" is plural, so this is incorrect. Step 8: Conclude that only option (ii) is fully correct.

Verification / Alternative check:
If we rewrite the first clause using option (ii), we get: "The trees shed their leaves every time autumn approaches but a healthy tree always gets its leaves back in the spring." This version is grammatically sound: "trees ... their leaves" is correct, and the simple present "shed" matches the habitual sense. It also connects logically to the later clause that speaks about a single healthy tree getting its leaves back, forming a clear comparison between many trees and an individual tree.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option (i) "has shed their leaves every time autumn approaches" mixes present perfect "has shed" with the time phrase "every time", which normally goes with simple present, making the sentence less natural. Option (iii) "shed its leaves every time autumn approaches" has a singular pronoun "its" referring back to the plural subject "trees", causing a pronoun agreement error. The original phrase with "his leaves" is also wrong because "his" suggests a singular male person, not plural trees.

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes focus only on the verb tense and ignore pronoun agreement, or they change the tense unnecessarily while trying to fix the pronoun. Another frequent mistake is to think that "has shed" sounds more advanced, but it may be incorrect with repetitive expressions like "every time". In exam questions, always check both pronoun agreement and tense consistency together: the subject should agree in number and type with its pronouns, and the tense must match the time expression given in the sentence.

Final Answer:
The correct replacement is Only ii, so the clause should read "The trees shed their leaves every time autumn approaches".