Vague Pronouns

In the sentence, "When Maria saw her dog, she was happy," which word is the pronoun?

• Maria

• saw

• she

• happy

Answer explanation

A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. In this sentence, 'she' is the pronoun that refers back to the noun 'Maria'.

True or False: The noun that a pronoun refers to is called the antecedent.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

This is the definition of an antecedent. For a pronoun to be clear, its antecedent must be easy to identify.

Select the sentence that contains a vague pronoun because it could refer to more than one person.

• After Jake finished the race, he was tired.

• Layla told her mom that she needed a ride.

• The cat, which was gray, sat on the mat.

• My friends are coming over later.

Answer explanation

The pronoun 'she' is vague because it's unclear if Layla needs a ride or if her mom needs a ride. The other sentences have clear pronoun references.

In the sentence, "On the sign, it says the park closes at dusk," which pronoun is vague because it has no clear antecedent?

• it

• the

• dusk

• sign

Answer explanation

The pronoun 'it' is used vaguely here because there is no specific noun in the sentence that 'it' refers to. A clearer sentence would be 'The sign says the park closes at dusk.'

In the sentence, "They say you should always do your homework," why is the pronoun 'they' considered vague?

• It refers to 'you'.

• It refers to 'homework'.

• It doesn't refer to any specific person or group.

• It should be 'he' or 'she'.

Answer explanation

The pronoun 'they' is used here as a generic, undefined group. This is a common form of vague pronoun reference.

True or False: In the sentence, "My brother was late for school, which made my mom upset," the pronoun 'which' clearly refers only to 'my brother'.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

The pronoun 'which' is vague because it refers to the entire idea of 'my brother being late for school,' not just to 'my brother.' This is called a broad reference.

Complete the sentence to fix the unclear pronoun reference: After the bird landed near the worm, _____ quickly ate it.

• it

• he

• the bird

• that one

Answer explanation

Using 'it' would be vague because 'it' could refer to either the bird or the worm. Replacing the pronoun with the specific noun 'the bird' makes the meaning clear.

Identify which sentence uses a demonstrative pronoun ('this,' 'that,' 'these,' 'those') vaguely.

• Please hand me that book.

• I can't believe we won the game. This is amazing!

• These cookies are delicious.

• I will take those shoes, please.

Answer explanation

The word 'This' is vague because it refers to the general idea of winning, not a specific noun. The other sentences use demonstrative pronouns clearly by pairing them with nouns ('that book', 'These cookies', 'those shoes').

Complete the sentence to make the pronoun's antecedent clear: "My aunt lives in a big city. She loves all the museums and parks. _____ is far away from my town."

• It

• That

• She

• The city

Answer explanation

The antecedent 'city' is too far away from the last sentence, so using 'It' would be unclear. Repeating the noun 'The city' clarifies what is far away.

True or False: Revising "Take the soda can out of the bag and recycle it" to "Recycle the soda can after you take it out of the bag" fixes the vague pronoun.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

This revision does not fix the vague pronoun. In both sentences, 'it' could refer to the soda can or the bag, creating confusion.