Pronoun errors

Pronoun errors that fall into three categories:

1. Pronoun malapropisms
2. Agreement mistakes
3. Reference errors.
SELFSAME ERRORS: The following Reflexive and ntensive pronouns don!t exist. "xcept for
#hisself# $whose %ase personal pronoun #he# follows the same rules of declension as #who#&' the(
all suffer from a num%er agreement error $#our# is plural and #self# is singular' for instance.&
Therefore' these pronouns are malapropisms and should never %e used:
hisself
ourself
theirself
itselves
PRONOUN AGREEMENT ERRORS: Pronoun errors' pronouns that don!t represent their
antecedents correctl(' are among the most common errors of grammar in college level writing.
There are three wa(s in which pronouns ma( %e incorrect' and the( correspond to the three wa(s
in which pronouns are identified: in num%er' in person' and in case.
Pronoun Case Errors: )onversational "nglish makes man( allowances for pronoun case errors
%ecause' in the spontaneous flow of dialogue and ever(da( interaction' no one stops to demand
correct grammar. *riting' on the other hand' is not spontaneous+ it can %e reread or read slowl('
and these mistakes are more glaring indications of the writer!s poor command of "nglish. The
most common pronoun case errors confuse the su%,ect case with o%,ect case' or misuse the
reflexive case.
Subject-Object Case Error:
made him promise to keep this delicate matter %etween him and .
-e and Terrence camped in .osemite over the weekend.
.ours and (our friend!s ties are exactl( alike.
Reflex!e Case Error:
This application should %e filled out %( (ourself onl(.
/amantha' Peter and m(self are now roommates.
0er friends respect herself more than she does.
Nu"ber A#ree"ent: *hen a plural pronoun does not agree with its singular antecedent' most
often it is %ecause the writer is tr(ing to avoid sexism. The "nglish language has onl( awkward
solutions for pronouns whose antecedents are of an unknown gender' %ut pairing a plural third1
person pronoun with a singular antecedent is not one of them.
ncorrect: f a student parks a car on campus' the( have to %u( a parking sticker.
)orrection: f a student parks a car on campus' she has to %u( a parking sticker.
*henever students park their2 cars on campus' the( have to %u( parking stickers.
3ote: Plural pronouns ver( often demand that other nouns in the sentence' whether su%,ective or
o%,ective' also %e plural. 2"ven though 4their5 is a possessive ad,ective' it con,ugates the wa(
other personal pronouns do. Therefore' it is su%,ect to the rules of num%er agreement.
Person A#ree"ent: *hen the person of the pronoun $first1' second1' or third1person& is
inconsistent with its antecedent' or shifts ar%itraril(' this is an error of Pronoun Person
Agreement:
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"xample
*hen a student comes to class late' (ou should at least have (our homework read(.
*hen a student comes to class late' he should at least have his homework read(.
*hen students come to class' the( should at least have their homework read(.
"xample
6ver the course of (our life' we can expect our hearts to %eat 2.7 %illion times.
6ver the course of our life' we can expect our hearts to %eat 2.7 %illion times.
8inking 9er%s: :nlike most other ver%s' linking ver%s reiterate the su%,ect of the clause with
another noun $as in the case of appositive phrases+ see a%ove& or with a modifier. *hen
pronouns are used with linking ver%s' the( must use the su%,ect case' not the o%,ect case.
"xample
thought the( were speaking a%out m( friend' %ut' in truth' it was me.
thought the( were speaking a%out m( friend' %ut' in truth' the su%,ect of their conversation was .
*hen the switch%oard operator asked to speak to -ar( ;onaldson' said' #This is she.#
PRONOUN REFERENCE ERRORS: The prefix #am%i1# means #%oth# in 8atin. Am%iguit( occurs
when there are two or more possi%le meanings. *hen a pronoun has two or more possi%le
antecedents' %ut it is unclear which is the right one' this causes a Pronoun Reference "rror.
Am%iguous pronoun references are ver( similar to misplaced modifiers.
Mult$le Antece%ents
ncorrect: *hen a president carefull( selects a /upreme )ourt <ustice' he is sworn to impartialit(
in his ,udgment.
)orrection: *hen carefull( selected %( a president' a /upreme )ourt <ustice is sworn to
impartialit( in his ,udgment.
/worn to impartialit( in his ,udgment' a president carefull( selects a /upreme )ourt <ustice.
A"b#ut& an% Ms$lace% Mo%fers
ncorrect: Average citi=ens have made great strides toward maintaining democrac( in their own
wa(.
)orrection: Average citi=ens in their own wa( have made great strides toward maintaining
democrac(.
Average citi=ens have made great strides in their own wa( toward maintaining democrac(.
'a#ueness: 9agueness occurs when the antecedent of a pronoun cannot %e found in the same
sentence. 9ague pronoun references are ver( similar to dangling modifiers.
Mssn# Antece%ents
ncorrect: n the <udicial %ranch of government' the( should %e selected for their impartialit(.
)orrection: *hen ,udges are appointed the <udicial %ranch of government' the( should %e
selected for their impartialit(.
ncorrect: Advertising is when the( tr( to make us want products and services we do not
necessaril( need.
)orrection: Advertisers succeed when the( tr( to make us want products and services we do not
necessaril( need.
'a#ueness an% (an#ln# Mo%fers
ncorrect: Preparing for dinner' it took almost an entire hour to scru% the pots from last night!s
kitchen disaster.
)orrection: Preparing for dinner' we took almost an entire hour to scru% the pots from last night!s
kitchen disaster.
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Pronoun 'a#ueness an% (an#ln# Mo%fers
ncorrect: Preparing for dinner' it took almost an entire hour to scru% the pots from last night!s
kitchen disaster.
)orrection: Preparing for dinner' we took almost an entire hour to scru% the pots from last night!s
kitchen disaster.
Pronoun 'a#ueness n )uote% Sources: n >uotations' sometimes pronoun vagueness occurs
when the original antecedent is not part of (our >uote. n these cases' for the sake of clarit( onl('
(ou are expected to identif( the antecedent in %rackets next to the relevant pronoun $as (ou
would an appositive noun&' or replace the pronoun altogether with its antecedent in %rackets:
"xamples:
n the introduction to his %iograph( of <ames <o(ce' Richard "llmann states that he followed the
controversial modernist author?s own 4prescription of total candor' with the knowledge that his
@<o(ce?sA life' like Rousseau?s' can %ear others? scrutin( as it %ore his own.# "llmann goes onto
state that' %( revising his definitive %iograph( of <ames <o(ce' he felt his 4affection for @<o(ceA
renewed.5
n the first example' the second occurrence of the pronoun 4his5 $4it %ore his own5& does not
re>uire clarification' since its antecedent is now understood %( virtue of the precedent set earlier
in the sentence.
"xamples of Pronoun Reference "rrors
*hen 8ad( )aruthers smashed the traditional %ottle of champagne against the hull of the giant
tanker' she slipped down the runwa(' gained speed' rocketed into the water with a gigantic spra('
and continued unchecked toward Prince!s sland.
f a pitcher wins 2B games' will their value to the team increaseC
Doth sa%el and Dar%ara loved her children.
A new student checking out a large num%er of %ooks in the Erossmont )ollege li%rar( might not
reali=e how man( full text sources the( can access in the on1line data%ases
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