LESSON 23 PRONOUNS (PETERSON’S TOEFL SUCCESS)

(PETERSON’S TOEFL SUCCESS)

LESSON 23

PRONOUNS

Pronoun errors in written expression involve several types of pronouns: √ Personal pronouns (he, she, it, they, and so on) √ Reflexive pronouns (himself, herself, itself, themselves, and so on) √ Relative pronouns (adjective-clause markers) (who, whose, which, that, and so on) √ Demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these, those) For the purposes of this lesson, possessive adjectives (his house, their bicycles) are considered personal pronouns, and demonstrative adjectives (that book, those horses) are considered demonstrative pronouns. The greatest number of errors involve personal pronouns. ERRORS IN PRONOUN/NOUN AGREEMENT A pronoun must agree with the noun to which it refers (the pronoun’s referent). Most agreement errors with personal pronouns, reflexive pronouns, and demonstrative pronouns consist of a singular pronoun referring to a plural noun or a plural pronoun referring to a singular noun. Agreement errors with relative pronouns usually involve the use of who to refer to things or which to refer to persons. (Note: The relative pronoun that can be used in certain sentences to refer to both persons and things.) Another error involves the use of this or these in place of that and those. (This and these are used to refer to things that are perceived as close in time or space; that and those are used to refer to things that are perceived as distant in time or space.) Sample Items Jackrabbits have (A) powerful rear legs (B) that enable it (C) to leap long distances (D). The correct answer is (C). The pronoun referring to the plural noun Jackrabbits must be plural. The best way (A) for children to learn science (B) is for them to perform (C) experiments himself (D). The correct answer is (D). The referent is plural (children), so the reflexive pronouns must also be plural (themselves) to agree with it. The Canadian Shield is a huge (A) , rocky region who (B) curves around (C) Hudson Bay like (D) a giant horseshoe. The correct answer is (B). The referent for the pronoun who is region. To agree with the referent, the relative pronoun that must be used. The pronoun who can refer only to a person. Trademarks enable (A) a company to distinguish its (B) products from these (C) of another (D) company. The correct answer is (C). The demonstrative these cannot be used to refer to the products of another company. The demonstrative those should be used instead. ERRORS IN PRONOUN FORM These errors involve personal pronouns. A subject form such as he might be used in place of an object form such as him, or a possessive pronoun such as hers might be used in place of a possessive adjective such as her. This type of pronoun error is usually easy to spot. Sample Item Herman Melville gathered (A) material for him (B) novels, including Moby Dick, during his (C) years at sea (D). The correct answer is (B). The possessive form his, not the object form him, is required. INCORRECT TYPE OF PRONOUN In some sentences, the wrong type of pronoun is used. For example, a reflexive pronoun might be used when a personal pronoun is needed, or a personal pronoun used when a relative pronoun is required. Sample Items As larvae, barnacles are (A) free-swimming, but as adults (B) they attach them (C) to stones, docks, and hulls of ships (D). The correct answer is (C). The reflexive pronoun is required because the subject and object are the same entity: they attach themselves. A barometer is a (A) device it is (B) used to measure (C) atmospheric pressure (D). The correct answer is (B). A personal pronoun (it) cannot be used to connect an adjective clause to the rest of the sentence. A relative pronoun (which or that) must be used instead. INCORRECT INCLUSION OF PRONOUNS Some errors involve the unnecessary use of pronouns. Often, this type of error occurs when a personal pronoun is used as a subject in a sentence that already has a noun subject. It may also involve a personal pronoun used unnecessarily in a relative clause. In a few items, a relative pronoun is used unnecessarily. Sample Items Block Island in (A) Long Island Sound it is B surrounded (C) by cold, dangerous (D) waters. The correct answer is (B). The subject of the sentence is Block Island; the personal pronoun it is an unnecessary repetition of the subject. Dutch elm disease, which it is (A) caused (B) by a fungus, can destroy (C) a tree within (D) four weeks. The correct answer is (A). The relative pronoun which is the true subject of the relative clause; the personal pronoun it is not needed. Certain types (A) of turtles that may (B) live as long as (C) 100 years (D). The correct answer is (B). The relative pronoun that is unnecessary in this sentence because there is only one verb (may live). A sentence that contains a relative clause must have a verb in each clause. EXERCISE 23.1 Focus: Identifying and correcting pronoun agreement Directions: If the underlined form is correct, mark the sentence C. If the underlined form is incorrect, mark the sentence X and write a correction for the underlined form in the blank after the sentence. Then circle the referent (the noun to which the pronoun refers). _______ 1 Unlike other marsupial animals, the opossum does not transport their babies in a pouch. ________________________________________________________________________ _______ 2 A talus is an accumulation of rock fragments found at the base of a cliff or on a slope beneath them. ________________________________________________________________________ _______ 3 Investment banking is concerned with the sale of government bonds, and they also deals with corporate stocks and bonds. ________________________________________________________________________ _______ 4 Compared to the fossil record of animals, that of plants is relatively skimpy. ________________________________________________________________________ _______ 5 The emerald gets their beautiful green color from titanium and chromium impurities in the stone. ________________________________________________________________________ _______ 6 The viola is larger and heavier than the violin, and she has a darker, somewhat nasal tone. ________________________________________________________________________ _______ 7 Storms on the planet Saturn may be larger than the planet Earth itself. ________________________________________________________________________ _______ 8 The molecules of a liquid are held together tighter than that of a gas. ________________________________________________________________________ _______ 9 Ducks make nests out of leaves and its own feathers. ________________________________________________________________________ EXERCISE 23.2 Focus: Identifying and correcting errors involving incorrect types and forms of pronouns Directions: If the underlined form is correct, mark the sentence C. If the underlined form is incorrect, mark the sentence X and write a correction for the underlined form in the blank after the sentence. _______ 1 Artist Margaret Leng Tan combined dance and piano-playing in her performances. _______ 2 Years of breeding domestic rabbits has given their softer, finer fur than wild rabbits. _______ 3 New England poet Edwin A. Robinson moved to New York City in 1896 and devoted himself to his writing. _______ 4 There are between 100 and 400 billion stars in ours galaxy, the Milky Way. _______ 5 The atoms of a crystal always arrange them into a specific array, called a lattice. _______ 6 Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly were basically tap dancers, but their both added some ballet movements to their dance steps. _______ 7 Attorney Clarence Darrow was known for him defense of unpopular persons and causes. _______ 8 Savannah, Georgia, has preserved to a remarkable degree it historic houses and famous gardens. EXERCISE 23.2 Focus: Identifying errors involving pronoun problems (Note: One or two items in this exercise do NOT focus on pronoun errors. These are marked in the answer key with an asterisk.) Directions: Decide which of the four underlined words or phrases—(A), (B), (C), or (D)—would not be considered correct and circle that expression. 1 A beaver (A) uses its strong front teeth (B) to cut down trees and peel off (C) its (D) bark. 2 “Sprung” wood floors, used in top quality (A) basketball courts and (B) dance studios, they are (C) the safest surfaces for indoor exercise (D). 3 Ants cannot see red light, so it is (A) possible to observe themselves (B) in an artificial nest without (C) disturbing their (D) activities. 4 The glaciers in Olympia National Park are unusual (A) because they (B) are found at altitudes lower than these (C) at which (D) glaciers are usually found. 5 In his (A) novels, Sinclair Lewis drew (B) critical portraits of Americans who (C) thought of them (D) as model citizens. 6 Elizabeth Peabody, founder (A) of the first American kindergarten, she helped (B) gain acceptance (C) of that institution as a (D) regular part of public education. 7 Almost (A) bacteria have (B) strong cell walls much (C) like those (D) of plants. 8 Bees collect (A) pollen, which (B) furnishes (C) protein for its (D) diet. 9 A small business often limits their (A) operations to (B) a single neighbourhood (C) or a group of neighboring communities (D). 10 A caricature is a picture in which (A) the subject’s distinctive (B) features they are (C) deliberately exaggerated (D). 11 The principles (A) used in air conditioning are basically (B) the same as those (C) used by the human body to cool himself (D). 12 In that (A) age of computers, it is (B) difficult to imagine how tedious the work of (C) bookkeepers and clerks must have been (D) in the past.

ANSWER KEY