Shifts

Pronoun & Antecedent

Agreement
Pronoun Reference & Case

ENG101_SP15

Eliminate distracting shifts

These distract or confuse readers
Point of view
Verb tense
Mood or voice
Indirect to direct questions/quotations

Make the POV consistent in person

& number
First person emphasizes writer
Good for informal letters and writing based on
personal experience
Second person emphasizes reader
Good for giving advice or explaining how to do
something
Third person emphasizes subject
Best for formal academic and professional writing

Make the POV consistent in person

& number
One week, our class met in a junkyard to practice rescuing
a victim trapped in a wrecked car. We learned to
dismantle the car with the essential tools. You were
graded on your speed and your skill in extricating the
victim.
One week, our class met in a junkyard to practice rescuing
a victim trapped in a wrecked car. We learned to
dismantle the car with the essential tools. You were
graded on your speed and your skill in extricating the
victim.

Maintain consistent verb tenses

Consistent verb tenses clearly establish time of the
actions being described
Which sentence is incorrect?
A. She caught the ball and then throws it to the catcher for
the out.
B. She caught the ball and then threw it to the catcher for
the out
C. She catches the ball and then throws it to the catcher
for the out.
A. She caught the ball and then throws it to the catcher for
the out.

Maintain consistent verb tenses

When writing about literature or current research, use
present tense
A. Research showed that the Great Pyramids were built
before wooly mammoths became extinct.
B. Research shows that the Great Pyramids were built
before wooly mammoths became extinct.
B.

Make verbs consistent in mood &

voice
Three moods in English
Indicative is used for facts, opinions, questions
Imperative is used for orders or advice
Subjunctive is used to express wishes or conditions
contrary to fact
A.The officers advised us against allowing anyone into our
homes without proper identification.They also suggested that
we alert neighbors to our vacation schedules.

B.The officers advised us against allowing anyone into our

homes without proper identification. Also, alert neighbors to
our vacation schedules.
A.

Avoid sudden shifts from indirect or

direct questions or quotations
Indirect question: Alex asked whether the potatoes
were ready and whether he could cut them for the
salad.
Direct question: Are the potatoes ready and can I cut
them for the salad?

Avoid sudden shifts from indirect or

direct questions or quotations
Which of the following is incorrect?
A. My instructor asked whether I was prepared for the
course and have I bought myself a laptop.
B. My instructor asked whether I was prepared for the
course and whether I had bought myself a laptop
C. My instructor asked, Are you prepared for the course,
and have you bought yourself a laptop?
A. My instructor asked whether I was prepared for the
course and have I bought myself a laptop.

Avoid sudden shifts from indirect or

direct questions or quotations
A. Mother said that she would be late for dinner and asked
me not to leave for choir practice until Dad came home.
B. Mother said that she would be late for dinner and please
do not leave for choir practice until Dad comes home.
A. Mother said that she would be late for dinner and asked
me not to leave for choir practice until Dad came home.

Newsletter Revising

Underline all verbs to ensure that none of the

verbs shift

Ensure that there arent any shifts from a

statement to a question or vice versa

Newsletter Revising
2.Turn down the heat when are you more likely to
wake up at night when you are hot or cold? The
body prefers to be in a colder milder climate to
sleep. Experts recommend bedroom
temperatures to be 65 70 degrees.
3. Exercise every day This will greatly improve your
ability to sleep at night. However be careful not to
exercise too close to bed time as it can have a
negative effect on sleep.

Newsletter Revising
2.Turn down the heat when are you more likely to
wake up at night when you are hot or cold? The
body prefers to be in a colder milder climate to
sleep. Experts recommend bedroom
temperatures to be 65 70 degrees.
3. Exercise every day This will greatly improve your
ability to sleep at night. However be careful not to
exercise too close to bed time as it can have a
negative effect on sleep.

Newsletter Revising
2.Turn down the heat People are more likely to
wake up at night when they are hot.The body
prefers to be in a colder milder climate to sleep.
Experts recommend bedroom temperatures to
be 65 70 degrees.
3. Exercise every day This will greatly improve an
individuals ability to sleep at night. However one
must be careful not to exercise too close to bed
time as it can have a negative effect on sleep.

Pronouns

Pronoun & Antecedent Agreement

What is a pronoun?
Substitutes a noun
He, she, it, her, him, they, we, us, them

What is an antecedent?
Noun or pronoun that a pronoun refers to
Isabela gave her dog its bath.
Zack gave his sister her doll.

Pronoun & Antecedent Agreement

Do not use plural pronouns to refer to singular
antecedents
Runners must train rigorously if he or she wants to
excel.
A medical student must study hard if they want to
succeed.
The recruiter may tell the truth, but there is much
that they choose not to tell.

Pronoun & Antecedent Agreement

The pronoun almost always refers to the noun
closest to it.
It was pitch dark and my cat was still outdoors. I
grabbed my flashlight to begin the search and
listened for its purr.
What is purring?
The flashlight
It was pitch dark and my cat was still outdoors. I
grabbed my flashlight to begin the search and
listened for Magics purr.

Pronoun & Antecedent Agreement

The pronoun almost always refers to the noun
closest to it.
While driving it at 200 mph around the North Pole,
Santa swerved to avoid hitting an elf and landed his
sleigh in a snowdrift.
What is it?
We dont know until the end of the sentence.
While driving his sleigh at 200 mph around the
North Pole, Santa swerved to avoid hitting an elf
and landed in a snowdrift.

Pronoun & Antecedent Agreement

The pronoun almost always refers to the noun
closest to it.
Ive been to Canada, and I like them because they are
very kind to Americans.
Who are they?
Ive been to Canada, and I like the Canadians
because they are very kind to Americans.

Pronoun & Antecedent Agreement

Compound subjects joined by and always take a
plural referent.
Jones and Smith made their presentation.
With compound subjects joined by or/nor, the
referent pronoun agrees with the antecedent
closer to the pronoun.
Neither the director nor the actors did their jobs.
Neither the actors nor the director did his or her job.

Pronoun & Antecedent Agreement

Collective nouns (group, jury, crowd, team, etc.)
may be singular or plural, depending on meaning
The jury read its verdict.
The jury is acting as one unit.
The jury members gave their opinions.
The jury members are acting as twelve individuals.

Pronoun & Antecedent Agreement

Indefinite pronouns are singular (anybody, anyone,
anything, each, either, everybody, everyone,
everything, neither, nobody, no one, nothing,
somebody, someone, something)
When someone has been drinking, they are likely to
speed.
When someone has been drinking, he or she is
likely to speed.
When drivers have been drinking, they are likely to
speed.
A driver who has been drinking is likely to speed.

Pronoun & Antecedent Agreement

People are who/whose
Things are which/that
She is a person that likes pie.
She is a person who likes pie.
There is the dog who ate my pie.
There is the dog that ate my pie.

Newsletter Revisions

Highlight all pronouns. Circle each pronouns

antecedent. Check to ensure that they align in
singularity and plurality. If an antecedent can not
be found, create one.

Newsletter Revisions

With the belief of a flawed human body comes the

destiny of suffering and cancer.This approach to health
takes on a defensive rather than an offensive stance. If
you believe that more pink solves our countries cancer
epidemic you choose to participate in this flawed
thinking. Here lies the problem with pink it
represents all things incorrect with allopathic western
medicine and the theory that you will get cancer, no
action can change it so find it early keep your fingers
crossed and hope for the best.The majority of money
outside of marketing and huge salaries for their top
personnel (I bet their checks are even pink) goes to
early detection of cancer with mammograms and
treatment with drugs and surgery.

Newsletter Revisions

With the belief of a flawed human body comes the

destiny of suffering and cancer.This approach to health
takes on a defensive rather than an offensive stance. If
one believes that more pink solves this countries
cancer epidemic one chooses to participate in this
flawed thinking. Here lies the problem with pink it
represents all things incorrect with allopathic western
medicine and the theory that everyone will get cancer,
no action can change it so find it early keep his or
her fingers crossed and hope for the best.The majority
of money outside of marketing and huge salaries for
the companys top personnel (Dr. Alex bets the top
personels checks are even pink) goes to early
detection of cancer with mammograms and
treatment with drugs and surgery.

For Thursday...

Narrative analysis due

Submit rubric, final copy, prewriting (in class and

discussion notes), plan (outline), rough draft, peer
review

Continue to work on newsletter revisions (due

2/24)