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Select the incorrectly used pronoun in the sentence below:
People with a strong work ethic tend to be more successful at work because you are more likely to get complete all tasks in a timely manner.
Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number and person. Do not use a plural pronoun for a singular antecedent or a singular pronoun for a plural antecedent. Do not shift person within a sentence. In particular, do not use the second-person pronouns you or your to refer to a first-person or third-person antecedent.
In this sentence "People" was shifted incorrectly to "you". "you" should be "they" .
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Select the incorrectly used pronoun in the sentence below:
It is excusable for students to leave school early for a doctor's appointment, as long as you return with a doctor's note.
Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number and person. Do not use a plural pronoun for a singular antecedent or a singular pronoun for a plural antecedent. Do not shift person within a sentence. In particular, do not use the second-person pronouns you or your to refer to a first-person or third-person antecedent.
In this sentence "students" was shifted incorrectly to "you". "you" should be "they" .
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Select the incorrectly used pronoun in the sentence below:
Indoor stadiums have become more popular recently because it protects people from weather conditions.
Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number and person. Do not use a plural pronoun for a singular antecedent or a singular pronoun for a plural antecedent. Do not shift person within a sentence. In particular, do not use the second-person pronouns you or your to refer to a first-person or third-person antecedent.
In this sentence "stadiums" was shifted incorrectly to "it". "It" should be "they" .
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Select the incorrectly used pronoun in the sentence below:
Mom said that the boys could go outside, as long as he wore a jacket.
Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number and person. Do not use a plural pronoun for a singular antecedent or a singular pronoun for a plural antecedent. Do not shift person within a sentence. In particular, do not use the second-person pronouns you or your to refer to a first-person or third-person antecedent.
In this sentence, “boys” was shifted incorrectly to “he”. “he” should be “they” (with “jacket” becoming “jackets”).
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Select the incorrectly used pronoun in the sentence below:
Sometimes, a man will be criticized even when they are doing what is right.
Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number and person. In this example, “a man” (singular) is shifted incorrectly to “they” (plural). “they” should be “he”.
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Select the incorrectly used pronoun in the sentence below:
When the scientists mixed the two chemicals, you saw a surprising reaction.
Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number and person. Do not use a plural pronoun for a singular antecedent or a singular pronoun for a plural antecedent. Do not shift person within a sentence. In particular, do not use the second-person pronouns you or your to refer to a first-person or third-person antecedent.
In this example, “scientists” (plural, third-person) shifts to “you” (singular, second-person). “you” should be “they”.
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Select the incorrectly used pronoun in the sentence below.
For her son’s birthday, Karen is going to give him their gift.
Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number and person. Do not use a plural pronoun for a singular antecedent or a singular pronoun for a plural antecedent. Do not shift person within a sentence. In particular, do not use the second-person pronouns you or your to refer to a first-person or third-person antecedent.
In this example, there are three pronouns to deal with. “her” clearly refers to Karen, while “him” clearly refers to the son. It is unclear who “their” is referring to. “their” is plural, but must be referring to Karen (singular) or her son (singular). “their” should be “his” or “her”.
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Select the incorrectly used pronoun in the sentence below.
When Joshua was on the team, he called Marty for their tickets.
Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number and person. Do not use a plural pronoun for a singular antecedent or a singular pronoun for a plural antecedent. Do not shift person within a sentence. In particular, do not use the second-person pronouns you or your to refer to a first-person or third-person antecedent.
In this example, there are two pronouns to seal with: “he” and “their”. “he” clearly refers to Joshua, but it is unclear who “their” (plural) refers to. Josh and Marty are both singular, so “their” should be “his”.
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Select the incorrectly used pronoun in the sentence below.
If students are late, he must have a pass.
Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number and person. Do not use a plural pronoun for a singular antecedent or a singular pronoun for a plural antecedent.
In this example, “he” is singular” while referring to “students” (plural). “he” should be “they”.
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Select the incorrectly used pronoun in the sentence below.
Chris told his friend that classes were canceled for today and it would resume tomorrow.
Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number and person. In this example, there are two pronouns to consider: “his” and “it”. “his” (singular) clearly refers to Chris (also singular), while “it” (singular) seems to refer to “classes” (plural). “it” should be “they”.
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Select the incorrectly used pronoun in the sentence below.
Rachel told her mom that you really should drink more water.
Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number and person. Do not shift person within a sentence. In particular, do not use the second-person pronouns you or your to refer to a first-person or third-person antecedent.
In this example, there are two pronouns to consider: “her” and “you”. “her” refers to Rachel, but “you” represents a shift in person. Rachel and her mom are both third person, so “you” (second-person) should be “she” (third-person).
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Select the incorrectly used pronoun in the sentence below.
David and his team decided they would work hard, and you should always be on time.
Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number and person. Do not shift person within a sentence. In particular, do not use the second-person pronouns you or your to refer to a first-person or third-person antecedent. In this example, there are to pronouns to consider: “his” and “you”. “his” clearly refers to David, while “you” (singular, second-person) represents a shift in number and in person. “you” should be “they” (plural, third-person).
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Select the incorrectly used pronoun in the sentence below.
Vivian and her friends know that when they are focused, you cannot beat them.
Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number and person. Do not use a plural pronoun for a singular antecedent or a singular pronoun for a plural antecedent. Do not shift person within a sentence. In particular, do not use the second-person pronouns you or your to refer to a first-person or third-person antecedent.
There are four pronouns in this sentence. Three of them are written in the third-person (“her”, “they”, and “them”), while “you” represents a shift to second-person. The end of this sentence can be revised from “you cannot beat them.” to something like “they cannot be beat.”
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Select the wording that best completes the underlined portion of the following sentence.
When you think about children, we should always consider the importance of education.
Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number and person. This sentence starts off in the second-person (“when you think about children,”), then shifts to first-person “we”. “we” should be replaced by “you” so the sentence maintains the second-person.
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Select the wording that best completes the underlined portion of the following sentence.
When people play team sports, you get exercise and learn teamwork.
Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number and person. This sentence begins in the third-person with “when people play team sports,” then shifts to the second-person “you”. “you” should be replaced with the third person “they”.
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Select the wording that best completes the underlined portion of the following sentence.
When David’s family arrived at the hotel, he was exhausted.
Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number and person. In this case, the antecedent is plural (David’s family), so the pronoun needs to be plural as well.
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Select the vague pronoun:
A virus is an infective agent that typically consists of a nucleic acid molecule in a protein coat. They can proscribe antibiotics to help fight the virus.
A vague pronoun reference occurs when a pronoun could refer to more than one possible antecedent, thus making it unclear who is being referred to. In this example, it's unclear who "They" are. We can assume based on the context that "They" might be a doctor, but we can't be sure.
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Select the vague pronoun:
When Melissa and Ali finally graduated, she celebrated with a big party!
A vague pronoun reference occurs when a pronoun could refer to more than one possible antecedent, thus making it unclear who is being referred to. In this example, it's unclear who "she" is. Is "she" Ali or Melissa? "She" needs to be replaced with one of the names.
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Select the vague pronoun:
They say that the delivery time is always under 30 minutes.
A vague pronoun reference occurs when a pronoun could refer to more than one possible antecedent, thus making it unclear who is being referred to. In this example,
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Select the vague pronoun:
When Adley and her sister flew to Chicago, the airline lost her luggage.
A vague pronoun reference occurs when a pronoun could refer to more than one possible antecedent, thus making it unclear who is being referred to. In this example, it's unclear who "her" is.
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