College Composition

College Composition Study Guide

Pronouns and antecedents: The noun that a pronoun replaces is called the antecedent. The pronoun must agree with its antecedent. If the antecedent is plural, the pronoun must be plural as well. • The customer bought his newspaper. • The customers bought their newspapers. Writers sometimes make mistakes in agreement when trying to avoid gender-specific language. • Each person should buy their own newspaper. This is incorrect. Each is singular and their is plural. The correct way to write this sentence is: • Each person should buy his or her own newspaper. Indefinite references: It should be clear which word is the antecedent to the pronoun. • Theo visited his father before he left on his trip. Who is taking the trip? Theo or his father? Simply rewriting the sentence can make it clearer. • Before Theo left on his trip, he visited his father. One pronoun replaces one noun in the sentence. Sentences in which the pronoun could refer to several words can be confusing to the reader. • His trip will be informative, fun, and unusual, which is why he is excited. In this sentence, which could refer to several words. Rewriting the sentence will make it clearer. • He is excited about his trip because it will be informative, fun, and unusual. Expletive constructions: Expletive constructions occur when a writer begins a sentence with there are or this means. Essentially, these constructions add unnecessary words to the sentence. Good writing avoids the use of extra words. • There were two people in town who spoke French fluently. • Two people in town spoke French fluently. The second sentence is clearer and more direct than the first sentence.

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