Loading...

Lesson: Sentence Correction Basic - 17

Pronouns

[Page 17 of 27]

The second common grammatical error that we'll look at pertains to pronouns. Pronouns — or words that stand in for nouns, like "they" for "the employees" or "he" for "Sam" — are often tested. And that's good news for us because there's only one way for a pronoun to be wrong, and therefore only one way to fix it! As you saw in the grammar module, a pronoun is correct only when it's clear what it refers to. Compare these two versions of a sentence:

After Janet spoke with her mother on the phone, she went out to run some errands.
After Janet spoke with her mother on the phone, Janet went out to run some errands.

Which is correct? Does the sentence need to repeat "Janet" after the comma or is "she" sufficient? Technically, "she" could refer to either Janet or her mother. Even though the structure of the first sentence suggests that Janet is the one who will run some errands, grammatical structure dictates that the mother could do so as well. Therefore, the pronoun in the first version is a grammatical flaw, and the second version is correct.

When you see a pronoun underlined, ask yourself what or who it refers to. If there's more than one option, then the correct answer choice will omit the pronoun and replace it with a noun.

Back Next v>

Next to display next topic in the chapter.

Video Lessons and 10 Fully Explained Grand Tests

Large number of solved practice MCQ with explanations. Video Lessons and 10 Fully explained Grand/Full Tests.

Current Menu