Antecedents of pronouns and Dangling construction

Antecedents of pronouns

•         It is a word that comes before a pronoun to which the pronoun refers. Following are definitions of antecedent as well as a review about the types of pronoun, information about the functions of an antecedent in a sentence, and examples of how to use in a sentence.

•         If the antecedent is singular then the pronoun is singular

•         If the subjects are joined by an “and” then the pronoun needs to be plural:

•         “Bob and Paul took their books.

•         If the subjects are joined by “or” or “nor”, then have the pronoun agree with the subject that is closer, or closest, to the pronoun.

•         Either the singers or the actor messed up his performance.

•         If the pronoun is referring to one thing or a unit, like a team or a jury, then the pronoun needs to be singular.

•         The jury has reached its verdict.

•         Measles is not as widespread as it once was.

•         The singular indefinite pronouns need a singular pronoun: one, no one, some one, everyone, anyone, nobody, anybody, somebody, everybody, nothing, anything, something, everything, each, either, neither.

•         Everything here has its own box.

•         The plural indefinite pronouns: several, both, few, and many, need to have a plural pronoun

─     Several are there because of their looks.

•         Indefinite pronoun that is being modified by a prepositional phrase, then the object of the phrase will determine the agreement between the pronoun and its antecedent. These special indefinite pronouns are: some, most, all, any, or none.

─     Most of the flour fell out of its canister”

•         Flour is uncountable

─     Many of the gems have lost their shine If the object.

•         Gems is countable

Dangling construction

•         Modifiers are words, phrases, or clauses that add description. In clear, logical sentences, It is often found right next to—either in front of or behind—the target words they logically describe.

•         Dangling modifiers are errors. Their poor construction confuses readers.

     Example:

•         Hungry, the leftover pizza was devoured.

•         Hungry is a single-word adjective. Notice that there is no one in the sentence for this modifier to describe.

•         Fixing a dangling modifier will require more than rearranging the words in the sentence. something new is often need to be added so that the modifier finally has a target word to describe:

•         Hungry, we devoured the leftover pizza.