Pronouns replace nouns - examples include "he", "she",
"them", "we", "mine" and "they". They help make sentences less
repetitive. But when you create sentences, the reader must be
able to identify what noun the pronoun is referring to,
or else it will be confusing/ambiguous to the reader.
For example, you see a vacuum cleaner ad on TV. Their slogan
is:
"Don't kill your wife with work. Do it with
electricity!"
What is "it"? Is "it" the work that should be done with
electricity, or "it" killing your wife? I'm pretty sure this ad
didn't intend to say that you should kill your wife with
electricity.
In your sentence correction questions, you will sometimes have to
pick the best way to end a sentence. You have to make sure you
don't have any ambiguous pronouns in the sentence you pick as
your answer.
Here are some ways to avoid ambiguous pronouns.
If you come across a pronoun:
- check backwards through the sentence until you come across the noun that is being referred to
- ensure that you have the correct pronoun gender (he, she)
- ensure you have the right number (singular or plural)
1. What are you talking about?
Which noun is the pronoun referring to? The possible answers may try to trick you into using the incorrect noun to judge the pronoun.
"It is believed that the suicide bomber drove a car laden with explosives next to the bus before detonating it."
"Before detonating it" - what is "it"? Is it the car? Is it the bus?
Neither. "It" is actually the explosives. But explosives is plural, so you must replace "it" with "them":
"It is believed that the suicide bomber drove a car laden with explosives next to the bus before detonating them."
Yay! The sentence is grammatically correct. And since "explosives" is the only plural noun in the sentence, it makes the meaning clear that "them" refers to the explosives and nothing else.
2. Who are you talking about?
Consider this sentence:
"The virus that causes the common cold is always
evolving, and it is doubtful whether they will ever be able to
find a reliable drug to combat it."
Who does "they" refer to? This pronoun is pretty vague - "they"
could be any sorts of people - clowns, hockey players,
bookkeepers. For this sentence to sound credible - and less
clumsy - a wise answer choice would probably look like this:
"The virus that causes the common cold is always
evolving, and it is doubtful whether scientists will ever be able
to find a reliable drug to combat it."
I have simply replaced "they" with "scientists". Now we know who
we are talking about!
Some exercises for you to work on
Pick the best sentence and choose a phrase to replace the
underlined part of the question. Try not to change the meaning of
the sentence itself.
1. This picture of Mrs. Jones was sketched by a
close friend of hers by memory a few weeks after her
death.
a) was sketched by a close friend of hers by memory a few weeks
after her death
b) was sketched by her close friend from memory a few weeks after
her death
c) on her death bed, was sketched by a close friend of hers from
memory a few weeks later
d) was sketched by a close friend a few weeks after her death by
memory
e) was sketched from memory a few weeks after her death by a
close friend of hers
Click here
for the answer.
This sentence makes it clear that it was Mrs. Jones who died, that the person who sketched the picture was a close friend of hers, and that the sketch was made a few weeks after Mrs. Jones' death.
2. The puppy has bitten my younger son twice, and each time, he has had to be sent to his kennel.
a) each time, he has had to be sent to his
b) every time, it has had to be sent to his
c) each time, it has had to be sent to its
d) every time, it has had to be sent to its
e) each time, he has had to be sent to its
Click here for the answer.
To avoid this ambiguity, refer to the dog as "it", while your son is a "he" (obviously).
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