Vague Pronouns
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Questions and Answers

Which verb agrees with this subject? My hair .............................. long.

  • is (correct)
  • are
  • has
  • were

Which of the following statements exemplifies the use of a vague pronoun?

  • They said it would rain tomorrow. The sky is cloudy. (correct)
  • The cat chased the mouse all around the house.
  • My parents know what I meant .
  • She loves ice cream and mom does too.

Which vague pronoun could correctly fill in the blank: '.................................. was perfect.'?

  • Both
  • Everything (correct)
  • All of them
  • several sports

The women who went to the meeting ..................... bored

<p>were (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Is the sentence 'Remove the scarf from the bag and wash it' vague or not?

<p>Vague (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Replace the words in parentheses with a personal pronoun. Remember that a pronoun must agree with its antecedent.

*The first packaged cakes mix were sold. (Packaged cakes mix) made baking easy.

<p>They (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Circle the verb that agrees with the subject. The bowl of flowers (make / makes) a beautiful centerpiece.

<p>makes (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The books about dogs (tell / tells) how to build a dog house.

<p>tell (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

change this sentence from being vague to unvague : "Remove the wrappers from the boxes, and then discard them.

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Identify the antecedents in the following sentence: The children giggled as they watched the clowns.

<p>children (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Flashcards

Subject-verb agreement

Singular subjects need singular verbs; plural subjects need plural verbs

Vague pronoun

A pronoun whose antecedent is unclear or ambiguous

What is a vague pronoun?

A pronoun that doesn't clearly refer to a specific noun

Personal Pronoun

A pronoun that replaces a noun and agrees in number. (He, She, It, They, etc.)

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Antecedent

A noun or pronoun that a pronoun refers back to.

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Antecedent of a Pronoun

The noun that a pronoun replaces

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Fixing Vague Pronouns

Rewrite the sentence to specify which noun the pronoun is referring to.

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What is a vague statement?

A statement that is unclear due to lack of specificity.

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Pronoun Agreement

Use a pronoun when it's clear what name the pronoun is replacing.

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Gramatical alignment and consistency.

Terms and definitions must align with the subjects.

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Study Notes

Subject-Verb Agreement

  • The verb "is" agrees with the subject "hair" in the sentence "My hair is long."
  • The subject "hair" is singular, so the verb must also be singular.

Vague Pronouns

  • Example of Vague Pronoun: "It was perfect." This sentence contains a vague pronoun because it is unclear what "it" refers to.
  • The vague pronoun "It" could correctly fill in the blank in the sentence "It was perfect." because it is unclear what "it" is referring to.
  • "The women who went to the meeting were bored." The subject is "women" and it is plural, so "were" is used.

Pronoun Agreement

  • The pronoun "it" should replace the words in parentheses. "The first packaged cakes mix were sold. It made baking easy."
  • Replacing "it" with "they" makes the pronoun agree with its antecedent. "The first packaged cakes mix were sold. They made baking easy."
  • "The bowl of flowers makes a beautiful centerpiece." The noun phrase "bowl of flowers" is singular and requires the singular verb "makes."
  • The noun phrase "books about dogs" is plural, so the verb "tell" should be used in the sentence. "The books about dogs tell how to build a dog house. "

Identifying Vague Pronouns

  • The sentence "Remove the scarf from the bag and wash it" is vague because it is unclear what "it" refers to. "It" could refer to the scarf or the bag.

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Description

This quiz focuses on identifying statements that use vague pronouns, which can obscure the intended meaning of sentences. Test your knowledge on how to discern clear communication in writing by recognizing these linguistic pitfalls.

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