ONE OF THE FIRST MODERN DETECTIVES IN LITERATURE WAS/WERECREATED BY...
7.
One of the first modern detectives in literature was/were
created by Edgar Allan Poe.
GETTING PRONOUNS RIGHT
Pronouns are words that take the place of a noun or another pro-
noun. The nouns represented by pronouns are called antecedents.
Just as subjects and verbs must agree in number, pronouns and
antecedents need to agree in number. If the antecedent is singu-
lar, the pronoun is singular; if the antecedent is plural, the pro-
noun is plural. In the following examples, pronouns are italicized
and the antecedents are underlined:
The teachers received their
benefits.
Maggie wants to bring her
digital camera on the trip.
Sometimes pronoun agreement is tricky. Review these guide-
lines so you can identify common pronoun errors in the TOEFL
exam:
■
Indefinite pronouns (pronouns that don’t refer to a
specific person) like each, either, neither, anybody, anyone,
everybody, everyone, no one, nobody, one, somebody,
and
someone
always require singular pronouns.
Each of the boys wore his
favorite costume.
Neither of the tenants could find her
copy of the lease.
■
If two singular nouns or pronouns are joined by and,
use
a plural pronoun.
When Grandma and Grandpa visit,
they
always bring
presents.
■
If two singular nouns or pronouns are joined by or,
use a
singular pronoun.
Remember to give Sophie or Jane
her
application.
■
If a singular and a plural noun or pronoun are joined by
or,
the pronoun agrees with the closest noun or pronoun
it represents.
The coach or players will explain their
game strategy.
The players or the coach will explain his
game strategy.
Troublesome Pronouns
Its/It’s
Its
means “belonging to it.”
The dog wagged its tail.
It’s
is a contraction for “it is.”
It’s time to go. (It is time to
go.)
Your/You are
Your
means “belonging to
Your phone is ringing.
you.”
You are
is a contraction for
You’re right about that. (You
“you are.”
are right . . . )
Their/They’re/There
Their
means “belonging to
Their plane is ready for
them.”
take-off.
They’re
is a contraction for
They’re going to miss the
“they are.”
plane. (They are going . . . )
There
is an adverb describing There goes the plane!
where an action takes place.
Whose/Who’s
Whose
means “belonging
Whose sweater is this?
to whom.”
Who’s
is a contraction for
Who’s coming to dinner?
“who is” or “who has.”
(Who is coming to dinner?)
Who/That/Which
Who
refers to people.
The man who fixes my car
has retired.
That
refers to things.
This is the car that I told you
about.
Which
introduces clauses
The band, which started out
that are not essential to the
in Boston, is now famous in
information in the sentence, Europe and Japan.
unless they refer to people.
Maya, who plays in the
In that case, use who.
band, lives upstairs.
Practice
Circle the correct pronoun in each sentence. Find the answers
on page 82.