Possessive Pronouns
Suzanne Peek
Professor Peek
English 50
16 February 2010
Preposterous Pronouns Stewart Pidd Hates English contains the following information about pronouns: Pronouns function as replacement words for noun phrases and nouns. Three common types of pronouns that give writers trouble are indefinite, possessive, and personal. Pronouns have different functions: Pronouns that do not refer to an object or a particular person are indefinite pronouns; possessive pronouns show possession; personal pronouns replace an object or a specific person. Pronouns can prevent unneeded repetition. An antecedent is the noun that comes before or after the pronoun(s) that reference it (Pollitt and Baker 74-81). Faulty pronoun agreement is a common writing error. In “Go Big or Go Home,” Jimmy Dent fails to make his pronouns agree with their antecedents. Dent makes a pronoun/antecedent agreement error. He writes, “I was out front working on my old motorcycle and said, ‘Hey, Stewie, when a skater dude goes to Ludville Pipe they need to go big or go home”’ (1). The singular antecedent “skater dude” does not agree with the plural pronoun “they.” To fix the sentence, Dent needs to replace the singular antecedent “skater dude” with a plural noun. The revised sentence will read, “I was out front working on my old motorcycle and said, ‘Hey, Stewie, when skater dudes go to Ludville Pipe, they need to go big or go home.’” Dent makes a pronoun/antecedent agreement error with an indefinite pronoun. He writes, ‘“Stewart Pidd!’ I yelled, through the rusty spokes of my front rim, ‘Nobody wants to put their relatives in a home’” (2). The singular antecedent “nobody” does not agree with the plural possessive pronoun “their.” To fix the sentence, Dent needs to replace the singular indefinite pronoun “nobody” with a plural noun, such as “sons-in-law.” The revised sentence will read, ‘“Stewart Pidd!’ I yelled, through the rusty spokes of my front rim, ‘No sons-in-law want to put
Professor Peek
English 50
16 February 2010
Preposterous Pronouns Stewart Pidd Hates English contains the following information about pronouns: Pronouns function as replacement words for noun phrases and nouns. Three common types of pronouns that give writers trouble are indefinite, possessive, and personal. Pronouns have different functions: Pronouns that do not refer to an object or a particular person are indefinite pronouns; possessive pronouns show possession; personal pronouns replace an object or a specific person. Pronouns can prevent unneeded repetition. An antecedent is the noun that comes before or after the pronoun(s) that reference it (Pollitt and Baker 74-81). Faulty pronoun agreement is a common writing error. In “Go Big or Go Home,” Jimmy Dent fails to make his pronouns agree with their antecedents. Dent makes a pronoun/antecedent agreement error. He writes, “I was out front working on my old motorcycle and said, ‘Hey, Stewie, when a skater dude goes to Ludville Pipe they need to go big or go home”’ (1). The singular antecedent “skater dude” does not agree with the plural pronoun “they.” To fix the sentence, Dent needs to replace the singular antecedent “skater dude” with a plural noun. The revised sentence will read, “I was out front working on my old motorcycle and said, ‘Hey, Stewie, when skater dudes go to Ludville Pipe, they need to go big or go home.’” Dent makes a pronoun/antecedent agreement error with an indefinite pronoun. He writes, ‘“Stewart Pidd!’ I yelled, through the rusty spokes of my front rim, ‘Nobody wants to put their relatives in a home’” (2). The singular antecedent “nobody” does not agree with the plural possessive pronoun “their.” To fix the sentence, Dent needs to replace the singular indefinite pronoun “nobody” with a plural noun, such as “sons-in-law.” The revised sentence will read, ‘“Stewart Pidd!’ I yelled, through the rusty spokes of my front rim, ‘No sons-in-law want to put
Cited: Browne, Thomas. Attackthetext.com. Web 11 Feb. 2010. Dent, Jimmy “Go Big or Go Home.” 29 Feb. 2009. Print. Pollitt, Gary, and Craig Baker. Stewart Pidd Hates English Oceanside. Ca: Attack Text Publishing, 2010. Print.