Pronoun issues

Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns. As with verbs, there are three types of errors that a

pronoun can have:1. Agreement2. Ambiguity3. Case

AGREEMENT

• Pronouns must agree in number with the nouns they replace.

• Singular pronouns replace singular nouns.• Plural pronouns replace plural noun.• The noun that the pronoun replaces is known as

the antecedent.• The key to these types of questions is figuring out

the antecedent and the pronoun, and then deciding if they should both be plural or if they should both be singular.

• Do you need some extra buttons? I have several.• Several can function as other parts of speech as

well.

• An antecedent is a word to which a later pronoun refers back. • “Richard put on his shoes,” “Richard” is the

antecedent to which “his” refers.• When the pronoun does not agree in gender or

number with its antecedent, there’s an agreement error. For example:• WRONG: Already late for the show, Mary

couldn’t find their keys.RIGHT: Already late for the show, Mary couldn’t find her keys.

Gender

• A pronoun must share the same gender as its antecedent.

The boy washed his bike.After she completed the test, the woman self-graded her essay. NOT tested on SAT

Number Agreement

• Most Common Pronoun error on SAT• Singular antecedent must employ singular pn

The girl mailed her application. Owen thought he deserved a raise.The dog chases its tail.

• A plural antecedent uses a plural pn• The girls won their game• The children wonder what they might be when

they grow up.

• Compound antecedents receive plural pronouns.• Grace and Hakim are proud of themselves.• Although Harry, Ron, and Hermione are fictional

characters, they come to life in the book.

• The western horned owl, (a) which has brown spots, a large face, and feathered toes, (b) is named for the upright feathers (c) projecting above (d) their ears. (e) No error

• The error occurs at (D). The plural pronoun “their” does not agree with its singular antecedent “The western horned owl.”

• There is no error at (A). The relative pronoun “which” is properly used to introduce a nonrestrictive clause, and the singular verb “has” agrees with the singular antecedent (“The western horned owl”) of its subject (“which”).

• There is no error at (B). The singular verb phrase “is named” agrees with its singular subject, “The western horned owl.”

• There is no error at (C). The present participle “projecting” is appropriately placed after the noun phrase (“the upright feathers”) that it modifies.

• Corrected sentence:

• When astronauts view Earth A. from space, B. he or she sees C. what looks like a blue marble D. suspended in an inky void. E No error

• The error occurs at (B). The singular pronoun phrase “he or she” does not agree with its plural antecedent, “astronauts.”

• There is no error at (A). The preposition “from” is idiomatically used to complement the verb “view,” indicating the viewer’s location.

• There is no error at (C). The relative pronoun “what” is equivalent to “that which” and properly serves as both the object of the verb “sees” and the subject of the verb phrase “looks like.”

• There is no error at (D). The participle “suspended” is appropriately placed immediately after the noun phrase (“a blue marble”) that it modifies.

Expect the pn and antecedent to be far apart• While the definition of Generation X is hotly debated concerning the

age ranges of its members, culturists generally agree that they describe a group of self-focused adults.

A. is hotly debated concerning the age ranges of its members, culturists generally agree that they describe

B. is hotly debated concerning the age ranges of its members, culturists generally agree that it describe

C. is hotly debated concerning the age ranges of its members, culturists generally agree that it describes

D. are hotly debated concerning the age ranges of its members, culturists generally agree that they describe

E. is hotly debated concerning the age ranges of its members, culturists generally agree that they will be describing

C• Definition is singular and needs a singular pronoun and

singular verb

• Always check verbs when you make a pronoun antecedent error to make sure that they agree

ambiguous pronouns

• You will also run into agreement errors where the antecedent is unclear. In these cases, the pronoun is ambiguous• WRONG: Trot told Ted that he should get the

mauve pants from the sale rack.

• This sentence is wrong because we don’t know to whom “he” refers.

• Once Ben told his dad, he called a tow truck company.

Solutions:• Once Ben told his dad, Ben called a tow truck

company. • Ben called a tow truck company after he told his

dad.

Ambiguity• When you see a pronoun in a sentence on the

PSAT, you should make sure it’s perfectly clear what the pronoun replaces.

The director (A)told the star of the production that (B)he was making far too much money (C)to tolerate such nasty (D)treatment from the producer. (E)No error.

B

• Alvin and the flight attendant were able to land the plane in Minneapolis, (A) where (B) he was awarded a medal for acting so (c)courageously when the senior pilot(D) fell ill. (E) no error

B

• Looking at the record of warnings and citations issued, it is evident that water quality is the reason for the department’s monitoring of the lake, like that of other state agencies. • A. like that of other state agencies• B. like those of other state agencies• C. as it is for other state agencies• D. as they are for other state agencies• E. being like that of other state agencies

C

• The sentence lacks a clear antecedent for that. To correct it, add a conjunction and verb and change the pn.

Singular Indefinite pronouns

• EVERY TIME.• NO MATTER WHAT.Everybody Nobody Anybody Somebody Everyone No one Anyone SomeoneEverything Anything Each Another

Memorize

• Everyone (A)on the softball team (B)who came up to bat squinted (C)at the pitcher in order to keep the sun’s glaring rays out of (D)their eyes. (E)No error.

• Everyone of the soldiers reported that (a) they (b) had completed the training exercise prior to the incident, although the lieutenant claimed several members of (C) the squadron (d) were not present. (E) no error

A• Everyone is singular therefore they should be he or she

• Every building within a twenty-mile radius of the downtown business district had an interruption in their electric service during the ice storm.

• Answer Choices • (A) had an interruption in their electric service• (B) had its electric service interrupted• (C) had their electric service interrupted• (D) that interrupted the electric service• (E) that had its electric service interrupted

• Choice (B) is correct. It avoids the pronoun error of the original sentence by using the singular pronoun “its” to refer to the singular noun phrase “Every building within a twenty-mile radius of the downtown business district.”

• Choice (A) produces a pronoun error. The plural pronoun “their” does not agree with its apparent antecedent, the singular noun phrase “Every building within a twenty-mile radius of the downtown business district.”

• Choice (C) produces a pronoun error. The plural pronoun “their” does not agree with its apparent antecedent, the singular noun phrase “Every building within a twenty-mile radius of the downtown business district.”

• Choice (D) produces a sentence fragment. The resulting expression is a long noun phrase, lacking the main verb needed to form a grammatically complete sentence. The verb “interrupted” cannot serve as the sentence’s main verb because it is embedded in a subordinate clause.

• Choice (E) produces a sentence fragment. The resulting expression is a long noun phrase, lacking the main verb needed to form a grammatically complete sentence. The verb “had” cannot serve as the sentence’s main verb because it is embedded in a subordinate clause.

Plural indefinite pronouns• both, few, many, and several are always plural.

A few of the nurses from the emergency room (a)were disgruntled to learn that (b) he or she (c) had been moved to another area of the hospital (d) due to the budget crisis. (e) no error

• B• Few is always plural so the pronoun must be plural

Singular or plural indefinite pronouns

• all, any, either, none, some, more, most. • The rule states that when these pronouns are followed by a

prepositional phrase, the pronoun must agree in number with the object of the preposition. The verb in the sentence must agree in number with the antecedent. Sound confusing? Here are two examples:

• Most of the work is finished.• Most of the books are out of date.• In this case work requires a singular verb and books requires a

plural verb.

Case

1st/ 2nd 3rd / I you he themMe your she hisMy yours it hersMine one itsWe they theirUs him theirsOur her indefinite pn

PNs must agree in person with noun or pn antecedent. a. Once we graduate from school, you should

have 120 credits. (x)b. Once we graduate from school, we should

have 120 credits. (correct)c. Once we graduate from school, I should have

120 credits. (correct)d. Once you graduate from school, you should

have 120 credits. (correct)

a) When a person drives, you should not use your cell phone. (x)

b) When you drive, you should not use your cell phone. (correct)

c) When a person drives, he or she should not use your cell phone. (correct)

• A. One must become a citizen before you can vote.• B. One must become a citizen before they can

vote. • C. One must become a citizen before one can

vote.• D. One must become a citizen before he can

vote.• E. You must become a citizen before you can

vote.

• On the SAT most common pronoun errors with person agreement occur with one. When you see the word one, immediately check that any other words agree is person.

(A)Although (B) you might choose to research symptoms on the internet, one should really see a doctor if (c) he believes he (d) has been exposed to the foreign virus. (e) no error

B• Note several pronouns in this instance if use you all must be

you.

• If (a). one spends (b.) much time with children, you should realize that a promise (c.) made to a child is a serious matter because the child (d.) will never forget it. (E.) No error

• The correct answer is A

• Everyone in that school (a) is required to attend physical education classes (b)at least four times a week because(C) you (d) benefit from an active life. (e) No error.

• Subject vs Object • I me• He him• She her• They them• We us• Who whom

Subject pns are subjetcs (usually at the beginning of the sent) Object pn receive the action in the sentence and are usually at the end of the sentence. She is following him.He is planning to call her.They traded places with us.

The I/Me Thing Take a look at each separately to determine

which is correct.a) The book belongs to Jerry and I.b) The book belongs to Jerry and me.a) Clare is more creative than I.b) Clare is more creative than me. Add the verb “to be” at the end of the sentence

(i.e. “I am”) to determine the correct case.

The Objective Case

• As may be obvious from its name, the objective case should be used when the pronoun is the object of another part of speech, usually a preposition or a transitive verb (a verb that takes a direct object):

• PREPOSITION: She handed the presents to them.Olivia made a cake for Emily, Sarah, and me.Between whom did you sit?

• TRANSITIVE VERB: Harry gave me the tickets. Call me!Did you take him to the movies?

Transitive verb/Direct Object• After I give my dog Oreo a scoop of peanut butter, she always

kisses me with her sticky tongue.• She = subject; kisses = verb. She kisses who? Me = direct

object.• Because Jo had skipped Mr. Duncan's class five times in a row,

she ducked out of sight whenever she spotted him on campus.• She = subject; spotted = verb. She spotted who? Him = direct

object.• Because David was always eating her food, Theresa sneaked

corn chips and candy bars into her room and hid them in the clothes hamper.• Theresa = subject; hid = verb. Theresa hid what? Them = direct

object.

• The lights above them suddenly went out. • The winner of the competition is Tony to whom I

am engaged.• This present is from Dad and me.

• During my acceptance speech, (A) I thanked my brother, Brett, without (B) who I (c) would have never been able to build the model rocket that helped (D) me win the science award. (E) no error

B• Without whom prepositional phrase.

compound structures• 1. In compound structures, where there are two pronouns or

a noun and a pronoun, drop the other noun for a moment. Then you can see which case you want.

• Not: Bob and me travel a good deal.(Would you say, "me travel"?)

• Not: He gave the flowers to Jane and I.(Would you say, "he gave the flowers to I"?)

• Not: Us men like the coach.(Would you say, "us like the coach"?)

• After our success in (A) planning the school dance, the president of the social committee (B) asked (C) Rylan and I to help (D) her coordinate the junior prom in April. (E) no error

C• Direct object

Once (A) she and (b) me each sign the paperwork, the house keys (c) are transferred, (d) her name is assigned to the deed, and payment is deposited into my bank. (e) no error

B• She and I

When my mother (A) was done speaking, B) one man stood up and declared that (C) us citizens will no longer tolerate the city’s involvement in (D) our neighborhood governance. (E) no error

• C

• B – object of a preposition

Objective vs. Subjective case

• Me and Jesse went to Cosmic Bowling Night at the Bowladrome.

• F. NO CHANGE G. Jesse and me • H. Jesse and I J. I and Jesse

• H

• A Beeping his horn, the truck driver B. warned Ellen and I • to move C. out of the intersection. D. No error.

• B DIRECT OBJECT

• A. Between you and I, the smell B. coming from that corner of the room C. is offensive, and the janitor should be fired. D.No error.

• Between you and me• Prep phrase • Most commonly

In comparisons. Comparisons usually follow than or as:

• He is taller than I (am tall).• This helps you as much as (it helps) me.• She is as noisy as I (am).• Comparisons are really shorthand sentences which usually

omit words, such as those in the parentheses in the sentences above. If you complete the comparison in your head, you can choose the correct case for the pronoun.

• Not: He is taller than me.(Would you say, "than me am tall"?)

Pronoun Comparisons

• The nominative also follows comparative clauses that usually begin with “as” or “than.” When a pronoun is involved in a comparison, it must match the case of the other pronoun involved. For example,

• WRONG: I’m fatter than her, so I’ll probably win this sumo wrestling match.

• RIGHT: I’m fatter than she, so I’ll probably win this sumo wrestling match.

The Possessive Case• You already know to use the possessive case when indicating

possession of an object (see “The Possessive and Pronouns” under “Apostrophes”):

• My car, Her dress, Its tail, Whose wheelbarrow• You should also use the possessive case before a gerund, a verb form

that usually ends with “ing” and is used as a noun. For example,• When it comes to my studying for the ACT, “concentration” is my

middle name.• Despite hours of practice, her playing is really terrible.• You can think of gerunds as turncoat verbs that are now nouns, so

they need to be preceded by the same possessive pronouns that precede noun objects.

Relative pronouns

• People use who, whom, and whose• Thing , idea, or place use that, which, and where• The league that wins will play 4 of 7 games. Here league is a thing

• The baseball team who I follow just signed a multi-million dollar contract with the best home run hitter since Mark McGwire.• A. no change• B. I follow a baseball team who just• C. Following a baseball team that just• D. The baseball team that I follow just• E. The baseball team who I am following just

D

• During the bottom half of the seventh inning, the obnoxious fan that threw the cup into left field was escorted out of the stadium. • A. no change• B. who threw the cup into left field was escorted • C. who had thrown the cup into left field was

escorted • D. who threw the cup into left field was escorting• E. that threw the cup into left field had been

escorted

• B refers to person