When pronouns like it, this, that, and which are referred to a concept that implied or word rather than a certain following noun. Students begin by completing sentences on the worksheet by changing words in brackets into subject pronouns. Exercise on vague or unclear pronoun reference in the following pairs of sentences, one sentence is correct, and the other sentence contains a vague or ambiguous pronoun reference. Vague and ambiguous pronoun reference by hannah jackson. The vague pronoun does not specify as the working type of a pronoun. Practicing an obscure or vague pronoun reference in the following sentence. Example the second study was designed to enrol 2000 more participants than the first study. Sally told mary that that mary had won the door prize. This quiz also contains a section where students determine whether words are plural or possessive.
Pronoun agreement circle the pronoun that agrees in number with its antecedent the noun to which it refers. The term ambiguity is used to describe a word, a phrase or a sentence with a multiple meanings. Translations of ambiguous hindi pronouns to possible bengali. Subject and object pronouns a subject pronoun is used in the subject of a sentence. A pronoun is a word used to stand for or take the place of a noun a pronoun should refer clearly to one, clear, unmistakable noun coming before the pronoun. Darth vader told luke skywalker, that he was his father. Harry was always late for class, and this drove his teacher crazy. Test your knowledge of ambiguous pronouns by completing this quiz and worksheet. Pronunciation of ambiguous with 3 audio pronunciations, 36 synonyms, 5 meanings, 2 antonyms, 14 translations, 11 sentences and more for ambiguous.
These are pairs of short texts with an ambiguous pronoun and a special word in square brackets that switches its referent. Vague pronoun reference worksheet promotiontablecovers. When we refer to agreement, we are referring to number, person, and gender. As a result, the reader cannot know for sure whether kara sold the disk or the cabinet. In this subject and object pronouns worksheet, students complete and write sentences with subject and object pronouns. Such errors, called faulty or vague pronoun reference, can confuse readers and obscure the intended meaning. Vague and ambiguous pronouns contribute largely to immature writing among middle and high school students. Displaying all worksheets related to ambiguous pronoun.
In that study, adult listeners watched a narrator telling a. Itis easier to catch a faulty reference of pronouns if you read your rough draft aloud. In most cases, the noun or other pronoun appears somewhere else in the same sentence or nearby in the same paragraph. Chelsey always followed her heart when it came to her education. Some of the worksheets for this concept are better writing avoiding vague and ambiguous pronoun references, exercise on vague or unclear pronoun reference with answer, vague pronouns, unclear pronoun reference, pronoun antecedent agreement ambiguous reference, pronouns and point of view work, work for clear pronoun reference, rewrite. A pronouns antecedent is the word to which the pronoun refers. Forcoherence, a pronoun should be placed as close as possible to its antecedent. Ambiguous pronoun reference a pronoun with multiple, possible antecedents. Then answer the questions, and check your answers at the end. Ixl identify vague pronoun references year 11 english pronoun reference pdf document. Sixteen adults and 16 fourtosevenyearolds listened to sentences with either an unambiguous re.
Pronoun antecedent worksheet teachers pay teachers. The correct pronoun is her, which refers back to the singular each. Luckily, her heart led her straight to the perfect background for gmat and gre teaching. Rather, it causes confusion and errors in a written text. The joke works precisely because you first interpret it one way without any difficulty, and then the punchline insists on interpreting it differently. Vague pronouns connors writing center dimond library 329. Better writing practice fixing ambiguous pronoun references. For adults, behavioural data, responses and reaction.
Todays were going to talk about how to identify and fix ambiguous pronouns. Displaying top 8 worksheets found for ambigious pronoun. This sentence tries to hide the ambiguous pronoun she by separating it from the nouns. The correct pronoun is her, which refers back to the singular each 1. The word a pronoun refers to is called its antecedent. An ambiguous pronoun antecedent occurs when a pronoun has two or more possible antecedents. You can answer the practice questions before, during or after you. Pronoun case and perspective quiz 1 heres a pronoun quiz where students identify the case and perspective of pronouns and match letters to the terms. It is not yet clear how the drug raprime affects the body. These pages are perfect for assessment, reinforcement, practice, homework, remediation, and morning work.
The rule a pronoun must refer to a single noun, which acts as its antecedent. Roy had scolded little sylvia, she regretted her rudeness. In this paper, we propose rules for disambiguating ambiguous hindi pronouns which. Grammar and writing practice book unit 4 week 1 day 4 63. Harry was always late for class, which drove his teacher crazy. Chelsey cooley is a manhattan prep instructor based in seattle, washington. Some of the worksheets for this concept are better writing avoiding vague and ambiguous pronoun references, exercise on vague or unclear pronoun reference with answer, vague pronoun reference and pronoun antecedent, name pronoun case and perspective with fairies, pronoun reference exercise 5, grammar personal pronouns i you he she it. These types of pronouns are widely used in written language. A pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun. Referent preference questionnairebefore conducting the eyetracking study, we established the baseline for choosing a referent for sdps in an offline paperandpencil questionnaire. Name subject and object pronouns directions write the letter of each pronoun next to the correct category.
Clear pronoun reference worksheet answers squarespace. How do adults and children process referentially ambiguous. If a pronoun reference is ambiguous, reword the sentence. Pronoun antecedent agreement is a concept my students really struggle with. Activities approximately 1 hour read the information, complete the activities that follow, and be prepared to discuss your answers when you meet with a tutor. Vague pronoun reference a pronoun without a specific antecedent. Making pronoun references clear memorial university. Displaying top 8 worksheets found for ambiguous pronoun.
I avoid sentences in which there are two possible antecedents for a pronoun. Identification of pronouns and antecedents it is assumed that students h. Various swimming exercises are included in this pamphlet. Ambiguous pronoun reference correction how to fix ambiguous pronoun reference 1. Improve your language arts knowledge with free questions in identify vague pronoun references and thousands of other language arts skills. Make sure that the pronoun refers to a specific rather than to an implicit antecedent to prevent confusion.
Goodrich smith and hudson kam found that adult listeners interpretation of ambiguous pronouns is affected by the presence of coreferential localizing gestures, a cue that is completely outside the speech signal, but one which carries information about the speakers intended message. Processing of referentially ambiguous pronouns by adults experiment 1. Pronouns are words that replace nouns in a sentence. This mini unit will train students to identify, eliminate, and replace these vague pronoun references. City school pronoun antecedent contract b print answer key pdf take now. Childrens use of gesture in ambiguous pronoun interpretation. A pronoun s reference will be unclear if it is ambiguous, implied, vague or indefinite. A pronoun must refer to a single noun, which acts as its antecedent. Feb 12, 2020 the pronoun them referred to anns braids implied by the term braiding, but the word braids did not appear in the sentence.
For example, aharsi did not take part in the event because aharsi can not run fast. Exercise on vague or unclear pronoun reference csun. Be sure that each pronoun in your sentences has an expressed antecedent, a noun for. Through exploration of online media, it is your job to discover what a pronoun is, learn the different types, and apply what youve learned in writing. Diana hacker and nancy sommers, rules for writers, 7th ed. In normal practice, pronouns are used in sentences to avoid repetition of the same noun again and again. A pronoun is a word that stands in place of a noun or another pronoun. Ambiguous reference an ambiguous reference occurs when the pronoun could refer to two. The case of a word indicates that it is either the subject or the object.
All the activities 3 in the dla must be completed in their entirety before meeting with a tutor and receiving. Although pronouns are often quicker and easier to pronounce than full noun phases, making speaking more efficient, they can also introduce a degree of ambiguity to our language, potentially making comprehension more difficult. Better writing avoiding vague and ambiguous pronoun. If the sentence was truly ambiguous, then it wouldnt be a joke. The pronoun it does not have a clear noun antecedent. A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun in a sentence he, she, them, it. An ambiguous pronoun is a pronoun like they or itthat could technically refer to more than one different thing. When the students have finished, check the answers with the class. Pronoun reference 2 demonstrative pronouns demonstrative pronouns this, that, thes e, thos eare legitimate parts of the english language. The pronoun it can refer either to the noun gun or to the implied object, the bullet. If there is any possibilityof doubt, revise the sentence to remove the ambiguity.
Does the suspect dislike both the officer and the judge, or does the judge dislike the officer as much as. Pronouns 1 grammar practice orksheets exercise 3 subject and object pronouns decide if each sentence needs a subject or object pronoun. Revise the following sentences by eliminating the ambiguous pronoun reference. Pronoun examples and worksheets pdf practice worksheet. Following each practice subtest, the correct responses are provided along with an. But be sure that w hen y ou dr aw trees y ou dr aw them of the origin al sentence, not the par aphr ase. Pronoun antecedent agreement exercises 75 main group. The noun which a pronoun substitutes for or refers to. Vague pronoun reference vague pronoun reference occurs in two situations. There are two types of ambiguity syntactic and semantic ambiguities. When you use a persons name and a pronoun in a compound subject, be sure to use a subject pronoun. An ambiguous pronoun is a pronoun like they or itthat could technically refer to more than one different thing 2. When you own a sentence where the pronounas antecedent isnt clear, your reader will probably be confused about the sentenceas intended meaning. Ambiguous antecedents whenever there is the possibility that the antecedent of a pronoun may not be immediately and absolutely clear, repeat the appropriate noun, or express your idea differently.
A pronouns reference will be unclear if it is ambiguous. The packet includes a complete lesson, practice examples, 2 worksheets, and answer keys. Heres a quick summary, before we dive deeper into the topic. Identifying uses of pronouns is one of the wsd tasks. J ohn went to the side of the ri ver w e use par aphr ases to disambiguate. The pronoun reference is faulty here because the pronoun it has two antecedents. The man claimed that he was the owner of the rare vase. Understanding pronouns a pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. According to the gmat, ambiguous pronouns arent always wrong. Its worth noting that while the sentence is grammatically ambiguous in the use of the pronoun, its meaning is not ambiguous. Martins, 2012 ambiguous pronoun reference if a pronoun. Because the pelletb is primarily a language aptitude test, one must already possess solid language skills to perform well on the test. Making pronoun references clear memorial university of.
The meaning of pronoun is for a noun which implies that a pronoun can be used instead of a noun. Vague pronoun reference and pronounantecedent disagreement. Their meaning is instead determined anew each time they are used. Pronouns like he and she, common in everyday speech, do not consistently map onto any referent. Making pronoun references clear pronouns substitute for nouns. An antecedent is the noun to which the pronoun refers. If the pronoun doesnt agree with its antecedent, the sentence. Harry was always late for class, a habit which drove his teacher crazy.
This series of printable worksheets will help students identify and replace vague uses of pronouns. The last time i wrote about pronoun ambiguity on the gmat, we explored a couple of big ideas. There are a few exercises that can be helpful in maximizing performance if solid language skills are already in place. Jul 25, 2018 when a sentence has two possible antecedents, the sentence ought to be revised to get rid of the ambiguous pronoun. Ambiguous information can occur at any given point in a sentence. Our mission is to provide a free, worldclass education to anyone, anywhere. In the following example, does the pronoun it refer to the first study or to the second study. Sentence problem john put a bullet in his gun and shot it. This is because they can make the readers misinterpret the context of the text.
This noun is called the pronoun s antecedent unfortunately, it is very easy to create a sentence that uses a pronoun without a clear, unmistakable noun antecedent. Harry was always late for class, and it drove his teacher crazy. Displaying top 8 worksheets found for vague pronoun references. The noun is referred to as the antecedent of the pronoun and the pronoun must agree with the noun that the pronoun replaces. Pronoun worksheets and activities ereading worksheets. The pronoun him is ambiguous here, as the reader cannot say for certain whether the him is referring to kenny or pete.
But you must use them with care because, in some constructions, the antecedents of these pronouns can be vague. Word sense disambiguation can be done using statistical and rule based approaches. Pdf how do adults and children process referentially. Sally told mary that that she had won the door prize. Better writing avoiding vague and ambiguous pronoun references.
Singular subject pronouns are, you, he, she, and it. Pronoun case and perspective lesson this lesson is for students who already have a basic knowledge of pronouns. In this case, a mi adds emphasis, drawing attention to the fact that tea is what i like as contrasted with what juan likes. Vaguepronounexerci unauthorized distribution prohibited. Do not use a pronoun in such a way that it might refer to either of two antecedents. Exercise on vague or unclear pronoun reference with answer.
1405 1425 987 704 1445 452 179 1377 648 19 1243 1304 1006 1508 235 43 824 1354 1523 1536