Deck 23: Pronoun Reference and Point of View

Question 1

What is an antecedent?

A) the word that comes before the subject of a sentence
B) the word that a pronoun refers to
C) the phrase that contains adjectives
D) the part of the sentence that comes after the subject

Answer 1

the word that a pronoun refers to

Question 2

Which one of the following sentences has a missing or unclear antecedent?

A) Every winter Danella and Rebecca take skiing lessons, but Rebecca broke her leg this year.
B) The teacher told the student that the student should go to college.
C) They say that it is better to keep one's mouth shut than to open it and sound like a fool.
D) The local radio station announced the winner.

Answer 2

They say that it is better to keep one's mouth shut than to open it and sound like a fool.

Question 3

Which one of the following sentences has a missing or unclear antecedent?

A) Kathy wanted to tell Alyssa and Sally, but she couldn't keep a secret.
B) Older people are always telling me to think about the consequences.
C) I saw both stunts on television, but the second stunt was too hard to perform.
D) Miranda left her report and lunch on the counter, but her lunch is now missing.

Answer 3

Kathy wanted to tell Alyssa and Sally, but she couldn't keep a secret.

Question 4

Which one of the following sentences has a missing or unclear antecedent?

A) Enrique and Jaime wanted to ask Juanita out, but he was too afraid.
B) A recent report strongly suggested that people need more minerals in their diets.
C) Both the cat and the dog need a bath, but the cat will have to wait.
D) The cans and the bottles should be recycled, but the cans need to be crushed first.

Question 5

Which one of the following sentences has a missing or unclear antecedent?

A) Either the strawberries or the raspberries would go well with the chocolate, but I suggest you use the strawberries.
B) The government says that the disturbance wasn't caused by UFOs.
C) Nigel and Tim are forever competing against one another, and Nigel usually wins.
D) In the magazine, they say that lime green is the hottest new color.

Question 6

What is point of view?

A) Point of view is the writer's attitude about the subject matter.
B) Point of view is the reader's perception of the writer's intended meaning.
C) Point of view refers to whether a statement is made in the first, second, or third person.
D) Point of view refers to the background of the writer.

Question 7

Which one of the following sentences has a shift in point of view?

A) People should eat at least two servings of fruits a day because you need fruits to maintain good health.
B) I talked with the nurse so that I could have some peace of mind.
C) You should have an emergency kit on hand since you never know when an emergency might happen.
D) When a writer has writer's block, he or she should try some prewriting techniques.

Question 8

Which one of the following sentences has a shift in point of view?

A) The more a student studies, the more likely he or she is to pass.
B) I tried a new hairstyle since I needed some change in my life.
C) If an artist is inspired, then you have a better chance of being successful.
D) A person should avoid too much sun if he or she doesn't want skin cancer.

Question 9

Which one of the following pronouns would best complete the sentence below?
Students should become good at taking notes since this is a skill that __________ need to be successful.

A) you
B) I
C) we
D) they

Question 10

Which one of the following pronoun sets would best complete the sentence below?
I took a refresher course in CPR since __________ never know when __________ skill might be needed.

A) I, my
B) he, his
C) you, your
D) they, their

Question 11

What is an unclear antecedent?

Question 12

What is a shifting point of view?

Question 13

Identify the pronoun problems with the following sentence.
They say that I should pay my bills at least seven days before they are due because you never know how slowly the mail may run.

Question 14

Rewrite the sentence in Question 3 to correct the pronoun problems.

Question 15

What two words warn you that an antecedent may be missing?

Question 16

Underline the errors in the following paragraph. Then correct the errors by rewriting the paragraph.

-Brian, and Ethan took a class on personal finance because you needed to know how to take care of your personal finances. He was especially interested in learning how to balance his checkbook since he kept bouncing checks and could never get the balance correct. Since it suggest that you should start your retirement plan early, all three wanted to know how to invest his money. James, Brian, and Ethan even learned how to pay his bills online. Even though all three learned a great deal from the course, he learned the most since he can now balance his checkbooks.