TEW ch. 15 Flashcards
Agreement
If the subject of a sentence is singular, such as the student, then the verb must be singular as well, as in The student has an online class this semester. If the subject is plural, such as the students, the verb must be plural, as in The students have an online class this semester. If you are replacing a noun with a pronoun, both must also match in number, person, and gender, as in Thomas bought his mother a present. When the gender is unknown, then a gender-inclusive pronoun (them, they, their) should be used.
Delayed subject construction
The subject is delayed. Because the sentence begins with a prepositional phrase, the noun(s) may seem to form the subject, which is actually later in the sentence. After the long drive to the city, finding a place to park was our first goal.
Compound subject
joined by the conjunction and usually requires a plural verb form.
Thanh and his friend are visiting Ottawa.
Occasionally, a compound subject expresses a single idea.
Pronoun-antecedent agreement
Most problems in pronoun–antecedent agreement apply to personal pronouns, such as she, he, they, and them, as well as to the possessive form of pronouns, his, hers, and their. A pronoun must agree with its antecedent or preceding noun in number. If you have difficulty finding the antecedent, see which noun in the sentence can be substituted for the pronoun.
Pronoun reference
the relationship between pronoun and antecedent must always be clear
No reference (missing antecedent)
This error occurs when the pronoun has no apparent noun antecedent. Consider this sentence:
Following the prime minister’s speech, he took several questions from reporters. this is right: After the prime minister spoke, he took several questions from reporters.
Remote reference
A reader should not be expected to connect a pronoun to a noun when they are separated by more than one sentence. If the pronoun and its antecedent are far from each other in a sentence or paragraph, repeating the noun is often the best way to fix the problem.
Ambiguous (squinting) reference
This error occurs when the pronoun seems to refer to two or more nouns, either of which could be the antecedent.
When Peter gave his driver’s licence to Paul, he was surprised to see that it had expired.
Broad reference (vague reference)
A reference is broad or vague when the pronoun (often this, that, or which) refers to a group of words, an idea, or a concept rather than to one specific noun. If the antecedent appears to be an idea rather than a specific noun, add a noun that sums up the idea to the part of the sentence where the error occurs
Interrogative pronouns
(who, whom, which, what) always ask questions. When choosing between the relative pronouns who or whom, you first need to establish their function. The function of the interrogative pronoun in a sentence determines whether who (subject) or whom (object) is used.
