B - 2
PRONOUN USE
In a previous module, we have seen how choosing the appropriate pronoun can be very important in our writing. We have reviewed the categories of subject, object, and possessive pronouns and how they can be used to take the place of nouns in sentences. For reference, see the following chart:
|
Pronoun Type |
Subject Pronouns |
Object Pronouns |
Possessive Pronouns |
|
|
Function |
Do the action |
Receive the action |
Show ownership |
|
|
Before nouns |
After verbs |
|||
|
Singular |
I sing a song. You He She It |
The teacher likes me. you. him. her. it. |
This is my house. your his her its |
This house is mine. yours. his. hers. its. |
|
Plural |
We sing a song. You They |
The teacher likes us. you. them. |
This is our house.
|
This house is ours. yours. theirs. |
The second part of our work with pronouns now involves looking at three special situations, which are common sources of pronoun errors in student papers, mainly because they differ somewhat from the way we use pronouns in our speech.
I. Using the Pronoun You
EXAMPLE 1
INCORRECT: Soccer is the best sport because you can really get into it.
At first glance, none of the pronouns underlined seems to be incorrect. You is subject pronoun and has been used correctly as the subject of the action get into it. The pronoun it is also used correctly as taking the place of the noun soccer.
Nevertheless, the pronoun you has not been used appropriately in this sentence.
Who is you? In other words, who can “really get into soccer”? Is this referring to the writer of the sentence?
Is it referring to the reader? Is it referring to anyone or most people? If we could ask the writer of this sentence, she or he would probably agree that the sentence refers to anyone or most people. However, we cannot tell this from the way the sentence is written.
In this case, the writer was not talking directly to the reader as in: “only you (the reader) can get into soccer.” Therefore, the use of the pronoun you in this sentence is vague and unclear to the reader.
We can correct this misuse of the pronoun you in our writing in two ways:
A) We may substitute you for I when we refer personally to ourselves as writers.
CORRECT: soccer is the best sport because I can really get into it.
B) If we are expressing a more general meaning, referring to anyone or most
people, we can substitute the pronoun you for the indefinite pronoun one.
CORRECT: Soccer is the best sport because one can really get into it.
The reason why the pronoun you is seldom used in college writing is that in this type of writing, we very seldom address our reader directly as we may do in a personal letter directed to a friend or relative. We don’t do this because we are writing for a very general audience, ranging from our teachers and classmates to any other person who wishes to see our composition. We don’t have just one specific person or reader in mind that we can address as you.
Still, this misuse of the pronoun you occurs frequently in student writing for two main reasons. The first reason is that we sometimes use the pronoun you in our speech to mean anybody or most people. We then assume that just because this use of the pronoun you may be clear to our listeners when we speak, it is also clear to our readers when we write. As we have seen before, using you to mean anybody or most people is inappropriate and unclear in college writing.
The second reason for the misuse of you is that college students sometimes have the mistaken idea that using the pronoun I and referring to themselves personally in writing is incorrect or inappropriate. However, let us be certain that this is not inappropriate. On the contrary, writing personally or using the pronoun I makes our writing more attractive and clearer to our readers.
II. Pronoun Shift
Another special rule we should not overlook when using pronouns involves using the same pronoun consistently in our writing. Shifting our choice of pronouns in a sentence without any valid reason can cause the following error:
EXAMPLE 2
INCORRECT: What a privilege one can feel when he gives his life to Jesus so He
takes your sins away and gives you everlasting life.
The inconsistent use of pronouns in this sentence is inappropriate. The sudden shift from one to he to you can be very confusing to the reader, particularly when there is no reason for this shift. In this sentence, the subject who feels privileged to give his life to Jesus and let Jesus take his sins away is the same person throughout the sentence, not three different people. Therefore, only one pronoun, not three different ones (one, he, you) should be used to refer to this person.
There are two ways of correcting this error of pronoun use:
(General meaning – anyone or most people -: Use indefinite pronoun one)
CORRECT: What a privilege one can feel when one gives one’s life to Jesus so
He takes one’s sins away and gives one everlasting life.
(Referring to writer personally-: Use first person I, me and my)
CORRECT: What a privilege I can feel when I give my life to Jesus so He takes
my sins away and gives me everlasting life.
III. Use of the Pronoun It
EXAMPLE 3
INCORRECT: I don’t like smoking because is bad for my health.
In this sentence, there is a pronoun missing. Two ideas are present, the fact that I don’t like smoking and the reason: “smoking is bad for my health.” However, the way this sentence is written, this second part does not have a subject. What is bad for my health? We need a subject pronoun to refer to the noun smoking. Therefore, we must insert the pronoun it at this point to refer back to the noun smoking.
CORRECT: I don’t like smoking because it is bad for my health.
We must then remember that when we join two ideas together in a sentence, the second idea must also have a subject. When this subject is already mentioned in the first part of the sentence, we can use the pronoun it to refer back to it.
EXAMPLE 4
INCORRECT: Is necessary to go to school.
In this sentence, we have only one idea. what is necessary? To go to school is necessary. Therefore, to go to school is the subject of this sentence. However, if we look at the sentence closely, we see that instead of having the subject to go to school at the beginning, in this case the order has changed and the subject to go to school comes at the end. When this happens, we must insert the pronoun it at the beginning, where the subject normally goes.
CORRECT: It is necessary to go to school.
The reason for this is simple: In English, we cannot start a sentence with a verb like is unless the sentence is a question. “Is necessary to go to school” is not a question but a statement. Therefore, we must insert the pronoun it at the beginning, where the subject would have normally been placed.
The same occurs with statements such as:
It is important to listen to our teachers.
It is not hot today.
It is raining hard.
It is a privilege to live with someone like my godmother.
In these statements, the pronoun it does not take the place of any other noun.
It simply introduces these statements, following the English rule that says a verb cannot begin a sentence expect in questions.
|
SUMMARY 1. The pronoun you should not be used in college writing. Instead, we substitute you for I if the statement refers only to the writer, or for one if the statement refers in general to anyone or most people. 2. We should use pronouns consistently in our sentences and paragraphs. We should not shift pronouns when we are still referring to the same person or object. 3. The pronoun it must be used to take the place of the first subject when we join more than one idea in a sentence. It must also be used at the beginning of other statements to follow the rule that English sentences cannot begin with a verb unless they are questions.
|
Practice what you’ve learned. Decide which pronoun best completes the blank.
Bubble in the letter of your choice on your answer sheet.
1. I picked up the phone and _____________ was one of my friends.
A. you
B. it
C. no pronoun needed
2. I have been told by my mother that life isn’t easy. ____________ have to take life as it
A. You
B. I
C. no pronoun needed
comes day by day.
3. I still think___________ is crazy to take 15 credits in one semester and work full time.
A. no pronoun needed
B. we
C. it
4. I hate registration time because when we need help, there is no one to help
_________.
A . you
B. us
C. no pronoun needed
5. When I thought about my future, ___________definitely changed my mind
A. I
B. one
C. you
about coming to school.
6. For me, __________ is wonderful to see you again.
A. I
B. no pronoun needed
C. it
7. I come to college because___________ is important for me.
A. he
B. it
C. no pronoun needed
8. Most of my friends say____________ is good to be the only child.
A. no pronoun needed
B. one
C. it
9. If one wants fewer accidents on the highways, __________ should never drink and
A. you
B. we
C. one
drive.
10. I hate to move to a new school because at first, __________ won’t have anyone
A. I
B. we
C. you
to talk to.
Read the following student paragraph paying close attention to the areas underlined, which may contain errors of pronoun usage. Then bubble in the correct choice on your answer sheet.
My beautiful, custom-made, wild cherry guitar has been my most important possession for the past five years. Is still clear in my mind the day I bought it for
11. A. It is
B. We
C. no error
nine hundred dollars and my parents commented that it was too expensive. Since that day on, I have gotten my money’s worth out of my guitar. When you feel down and
12. A. I
B. one
C. no error
you need to express your frustrations, there’s nothing better for me than to play my
13. A. we 14. A. my
B. I B. one
C. no error C. no error
guitar. Composing tunes and playing harmonics with my guitar makes me feel alive.
You feel in a different world, in control of myself. This is more than you can
15. A. one 16. A. yourself 17. A. one
B. no error B. oneself B. us
C. I C. no error C. no error
ever expect from most possessions, including an expensive TV or high-tech computer.
This is why I love my guitar and consider it my most valuable possession.
In the space provided below, rewrite the following student paragraph correcting all pronoun errors. This paragraph contains no other errors except pronoun errors; therefore, do not make any other changes.
The most important event of my life was when I moved from Chicago to Miami and became a private investigator. I always wanted to be an investigator although is not easy. You have to be sharp, quick minded, and able to pay attention to details. You also have to be willing to spend a lot of odd hours at your job, sometimes doing very boring tasks, such as looking up addresses and names. In addition, we have to deal with a lot of
frustration when we don’t come up with any clear-cut conclusions in the period of time we re given. Is really crazy when I have to give up after doing so much research on a case. This is why this job has taught me so much about myself and people in general. Is a
tough profession and my life has completely changed since I chose it. This is why I think is certainly one of the most important events in my life.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
INDEX
If score on this module is 16 or lower, additional work in the following texts or handouts is recommended.
Texts: Evergreen by Fawcett ad Sandberg.
Sentence Skills by langan.
Revised by Keiko Ishibashi
8/02/01