Vague Pronouns

Select the pronoun in the following sentence: 'David read his book on the bus.'

• David

• read

• his

• bus

Answer explanation

The word 'his' is a possessive pronoun that shows ownership and replaces the noun 'David's'. The other words are a noun, a verb, and a noun.

In the sentence, 'The puppy wagged its tail when it saw the mail carrier,' what is the antecedent for the pronoun 'it'?

• tail

• puppy

• mail carrier

• wagged

Answer explanation

The antecedent is the noun that the pronoun replaces. In this case, 'it' refers back to 'the puppy'.

True or False: A pronoun is considered 'vague' when it is unclear which noun it is referring to.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

This statement correctly defines a vague pronoun. Clarity in writing requires that every pronoun refers to a single, obvious antecedent.

Identify the sentence that contains a vague pronoun.

• Maria told Jen that she got an A on the test.

• Maria was happy because she got an A on the test.

• After Jen took the test, she felt confident.

• The test was hard, but Maria passed it.

Answer explanation

The pronoun 'she' is vague because it could refer to either Maria or Jen. The other sentences have clear antecedents for their pronouns.

In the sentence, 'The coaches talked to the players, but they seemed upset,' which word is the vague pronoun?

• coaches

• players

• they

• but

Answer explanation

The pronoun 'they' is vague because it is unclear if 'they' refers to the coaches or the players. A clear sentence would specify who was upset.

True or False: The sentence 'On the news, it said that our school won the championship' is perfectly clear.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

The pronoun 'it' is vague because it has no antecedent. It is unclear what 'it' refers to. A better sentence would be 'The news reporter said that our school won...'

Which sentence uses the pronoun 'this' in a vague way, referring to a whole idea instead of a specific noun?

• I like this new video game.

• My brother forgot his lunch and missed his bus. This made his morning very difficult.

• Please hand me this book.

• This is my favorite song on the album.

Answer explanation

The pronoun 'this' is used vaguely to refer to the entire situation. To be clearer, it should be revised to something like 'This series of events...'

Complete the sentence to best clarify the vague pronoun: Before Ben gave his dad the phone, he charged it.

• he

• Ben

• his dad

• it

Answer explanation

Replacing 'he' with the specific noun 'Ben' removes the ambiguity of who charged the phone. Using 'he' would be unclear.

Complete the sentence to avoid using a pronoun with a missing antecedent: In the movie, _______ travel to the future to fix a problem.

• they

• it

• the main characters

• you

Answer explanation

Using 'they' is vague because we don't know who 'they' are. Specifying 'the main characters' provides a clear subject for the sentence.

True or False: The sentence 'The dog, which was chasing a squirrel, ran under the porch' has a clear pronoun reference.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

The relative pronoun 'which' is placed directly after the noun it modifies, 'The dog,' making the reference clear and unambiguous.