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The first time I ever saw a hummingbird, I was completely mesmerized. I had never seen a bird that could hover in mid-air, let alone fly backwards. It’s wings beat so rapidly, creating a blur, yet the hummingbird remained perfectly still. It’s colors were brilliant, and it’s beak, long and slender, looked like a tiny, iridescent needle. I watched, captivated, as it dipped it’s beak into a flower and then flew off to the next blossom.

SAT · English · previous-year question

  1. A.It’s wings beat so rapidly, creating a blur, yet the hummingbird remained perfectly still. It’s colors were brilliant, and it’s beak, long and slender, looked like a tiny, iridescent needle.
  2. B.It’s wings beat so rapidly, creating a blur, yet the hummingbird remained perfectly still. Its colors were brilliant, and its beak, long and slender, looked like a tiny, iridescent needle.correct
  3. C.It’s wings beat so rapidly, creating a blur, yet the hummingbird remained perfectly still. It’s colors were brilliant, and it’s beak, long and slender, looked like a tiny, iridescent needle.
  4. D.It’s wings beat so rapidly, creating a blur, yet the hummingbird remained perfectly still. Its colors were brilliant, and its beak, long and slender, looked like a tiny, iridescent needle.

Answer

B. It’s wings beat so rapidly, creating a blur, yet the hummingbird remained perfectly still. Its colors were brilliant, and its beak, long and slender, looked like a tiny, iridescent needle.

Explanation

The best way to punctuate the sentence is to use an apostrophe in the word "It’s" and a period after "still." The possessive pronoun "Its" should be capitalized because it begins a new sentence.

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