Vague pronouns one writing lab revision module youtube. Pronoun reference recognize pronoun reference when you see it. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girls quick and dirty tips. Changing a vague pronoun to a noun is not always enough. In these three sentences, the pronouns refer to the idea that harry was always late, but they cant logically refer back to either of the two nouns, harry or class. Improve your language arts knowledge with free questions in identify vague pronoun references and thousands of other language arts skills. Pronoun agreement can be trickier than it might seem on the surface. Make sure that your pronouns refer clearly to their antecedents or referents. In one sentence, for example, the pronoun he might mean zippy the dog. Using pronouns as subjects read the following sentences aloud, stressing the italicized pronouns.
Keep in mind that the pronouns this, that, and which should refer to specificantecedents. Better writing avoiding vague and ambiguous pronoun. However, this can confuse the reader if it is not clear what the pronoun is standing in for. If this, that, these, and those are used not as adjectives, as in this book is. They also consist of a personal pronoun plus self or selves. Correcting vague pronouns lesson 6 curriculum ssociates llc coying is not ermitted 242 l6 correcting ague ronouns 1 a they showed skill in stone masonry to a high degree. These are pronouns that direct attention to a specific person, place, or thing. To repair the faulty pronoun reference this rephrase the sentence to eliminate the pronoun. Often, my feedback will say things like, make sure you listen carefully during todays lesson, you have a few paragraphs that feature vague pronouns. Subjective case pronouns are used for the subject of a sentence or for the noun subject. He and i agree that lacrosse is the most exciting game weve ever played. I, me, my, mine, we, us, ollr, and ollrs this is the speaker or writer.
The antecedents are sometimes stated in the sentence, butoften, the antecedents are not present at all. A pronoun is considered to be vague when it is difficult to. Pdf this paper is an enquiry into the english pronouns and their usages. Proofreading a paragraph for correct pronoun forms some of the sentences in the following paragraph contain pronouns that have been used incorrectly. Avoiding vague pronoun references macmillanmcgrawhill.
The word this can be a demonstrative pronoun when it takes the place of a noun. While acceptable in informal situations, or in cases in which the writer is. Vague pronoun reference and pronounantecedent disagreement definition. Vague pronoun reference sometimes faulty pronoun reference occurs, not because there are too many nouns possibly being referred to, but because there is none. You can improve your writing a lot by taking care not to use vague pronoun references. Be sure that each pronoun in your sentences has an expressed antecedent, a noun for. Subjectverb agreement can also seem tricky when the subject is whats called an indefinite pronoun. A sentence may be confusing and unclear ifa pronoun appears to refer to. Pdf the english pronouns and thier usage researchgate. In the following pairs of sentences, one sentence is correct, and the other sentence contains a vague or ambiguous pronoun reference. The rule is that we must make sure our pronouns agree in number and gender with the nouns they. Ambiguous pronoun reference a pronoun with multiple.
Avoiding vague and ambiguous pronoun references vocabulary antecedent the noun which a pronoun substitutes for or refers to. Reflexive pronouns point back to a noun or pronoun and indicate the sentence subject receives the action of the verb. When you have completed the exercise, compare your revised sentences with those on the bottom of the page. This is a great product for teaching students how to avoid using vague pronouns in sentences. Introduction pronouns help writers to avoid repetition, but when a pronoun is. In some cases you may need to replace a pronoun with a noun or add an antecedent that the pronoun logically refers to. It contains an activity in which the language learners are asked to underline the best word possessives or object pronouns.
Choose from 147 different sets of vague pronoun reference flashcards on quizlet. Example 1 to velma and i, dizzy dean is one of the greatest. No, there is no vague pronoun reference in those sentences. Avoiding vague pronouns in your research article aje. In this module, we discuss the importance of having clear antecedents for your pronouns, and we practice specific strategies for revising sentences with vague pronouns. Sometimes authors get into the habit of using the pronouns this, that, it, or which to refer to a noun or clause called an antecedent in the previous.
After the play, henrique told isadora that her solo was excellent. The pronoun reference is faulty here because the pronoun it has two antecedents. In an affirmative sentence, pronouns are placed after the verb in the imperative, with a hyphen, if they are the objects of that verb. Exercise on vague or unclear pronoun reference in the following pairs of sentences, one sentence is correct, and the other sentence contains a vague or ambiguous pronoun reference. Vague pronouns writing lab revision module by arik. You may need to revise the sentence to give a bit more information. A clear description of what a vague pronoun is in a sentence and three different. He used simple language and vague pronouns to convey complex meanings to his readers. Hemingway uses vague pronouns and simple language to. However, in the given sentence, the word this is functioning as an adjective, describing the noun pollution. It, this, and which are pronouns, and they need to refer back to a specific noun, not to the whole idea of a previous statement. The pronoun it does not have a clear noun antecedent. See more ideas about pronoun activities, teaching language arts and this or that questions.
End slide includes an activity to practice correcting sentences containing vague pronouns. As a result, the reader cannot know for sure whether kara sold the disk or the cabinet. By using simple language he made his works more approachable for the readers while also. In this module, we discuss the importance of having clear antecedents for your pronouns, and we practice specific strategies for. Such errors, called faulty or vague pronoun reference, can confuse readers and obscure the intended meaning. Learn vague pronoun reference with free interactive flashcards. Recognize variations from standard english in their own and others writing and speaking, and. A list english pronouns list below is a list of english pronouns pronouns are words that are used as noun and noun phrase replacements. Indefinite pronouns, pronoun vagueness, and emphatic pronouns. Exercise on vague or unclear pronoun reference with answer. A pronoun is a word used to stand for or take the place of a noun a pronoun should refer clearly to one, clear, unmistakable noun coming before the pronoun.
Indefinite pronouns do not point to a specific person or thing. A pronouns antecedent is the word to which the pronoun refers. Richard nordquist is professor emeritus of rhetoric and english at georgia southern university. Vague pronoun reference vague college of the mainland. To avoid a vague pronoun reference, make sure that a pronoun cannot possibly refer to more than one antecedent. Vague guidelines lead to a misstep on gender pronouns. Bernardo reads both fiction and nonfiction, and he likes it a lot. Pronouns are frequently used in academic writing, but the use of vague pronouns can be problematic. Pronouns allow writers to refer back to a noun without repeating it. Vague pronouns connors writing center dimond library 329.
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