Pronouns

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A pronoun replaces a noun. We call the word being replaced by the pronoun the antecedent. In the following sentence, keys is the antecedent (the noun that is being replaced), and them is the pronoun that replaces keys.• Jenny lost her keys. Seth helped look for

them.

In the example above, them replaces an object. Therefore, it is an object pronoun.

Object Pronouns: these pronouns replace objects• Me• You• Him• Her• It• Us• Them

Sometimes, a pronoun replaces a subject instead of an object. These pronouns are called subject pronouns. In the following example, Seth is the antecedent, and he is the subject pronoun that replaces it.• Seth couldn’t find the keys. He looked all over

the house.

Subject Pronouns: these pronouns replace subjects• I• You• He or She• It• We• they

A third type of pronoun is a possessive pronoun. These pronouns replace possessive nouns. In the following example, Jenny’s is the antecedent, and her is the possessive pronoun that replaces it.• Jenny’s keys may turn up. Her keys go missing

all the time.

• Possessive Pronouns: these pronouns replace possessive nouns and show ownership

• My, mine• Your, yours• His• Her, hers• Its• Ours• Their, theirs

Misplaced Modifiers

A modifier is a word or phrase that adds detail or description to a sentence. In the example sentences below, the modifiers are underlined.

• I walked in and out of dozens of stores yesterday, searching for the perfect purse.

• Shopping with Lisa today, I found a great purse.

• While modifiers add detail and interest to sentences, they must be used carefully so that the reader understands the details being added. Writers generally make two major modifier mistakes: dangling modifiers and misplaced modifiers.

A dangling modifier occurs when the subject of the modifier is unclear. Most dangling modifiers occur at the beginning of sentences, but they can also occur at the end.• Incorrect: Having looked through the whole

music store, the CD I wanted just wasn’t there.From the way this sentence is written, it actually looks like the CD has been looking through the whole music store. Even though readers can probably guess that it is the writer.

Possible Revision

• Having looked through the whole music store, I realized that the CD I wanted just wasn’t there.

Misplaced modifiers occur when the subject of the modifier is unclear because the modifier is poorly placed. The reader may be unsure of what word the modifier is describing. The reader may even think the misplaced modifer is describing. The reader may even think the misplaced modifier is describing a different word than intended. Consider the sentence below.• Incorrect: The jacket was just too small in the

store.

• The placement of the modifier in the store implies that the jacket was too small in the store. If the writer wants to convey that the jacket suddenly changed sizes when worn in other locations, then the modifier’s placement in the sentence is correct. If the modifier is intended to specify that the author is talking about the jacket in the store, then this modifier should be moved.

Possible Revision• The jacket in the store was just too small.

Words & Idioms Commonly Misused

• Some questions on the ACT will test your ability to recognize diction and idiomatic errors. A diction error is the use of a word in an appropriate context. An idiomatic error is the incorrect use of a commonly accepted expression.

Here is a list of words and idioms that are commonly misused.

• Affect, Effect• Among, Between• Amount, Number• As good as, or better

than• Compare to, Compare

with• Each other, one another

• Lay, lie• Like, as• Different from• Hopefully• Not only…but also• Regard…as• Fewer, less• That, which

• Transitional devices are like bridges between parts of your paper. They are cues that help the reader to interpret ideas a paper develops. Transitional devices are words or phrases that help carry a thought from one sentence to another, from one idea to another, or from one paragraph to another. And finally, transitional devices link sentences and paragraphs together smoothly so that there are no abrupt jumps or breaks between ideas.

Here is a list of some common transitional devices.To add: and, again, and then, besides, equallyTo compare: but, yet, on the other hand, whereTo prove: because, since, obviously, evidentlyTo show exception: yet, still, despite, of courseTo show time: immediately, soon, finally, thenTo repeat: in brief, as I have noted, as I have saidTo emphasize: definitely, extremely, obviously To show sequence: first, second, third, and so forth

• To give an example: for example, for instance• To summarize or conclude: in brief, to

conclude, in conclusion, therefore, thus

Now on to our class assignment