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S-6 Pronoun Review

Multiple Choice

Select the answer that contains no problem with pronoun reference, pronoun-antecedent

agreement, or pronoun case.

1.

a. The teenagers should be ashamed of their behavior, which is unlikely.

b. The teenagers know they should apologize for his or her behavior.

c. We teenagers did not realize that our behavior offended you.

ANS: c

REF: The correct answer is c.

In The Norton Field Guide to Writing, see S-6.

<http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/bullock2_readings_handbo

ok_ebook/welcome.asp?page=24>

In The Little Seagull Handbook, see S-6.

<http://wwnorton.com/college/english/write/LSH/full/s-6-pronouns.html>

2.

a. Larry and Bob have both locked their keys in their cars.

b. I haven’t known Bob for long; I have more faith in Larry than in he.

c. Larry told Bob that his days were numbered.

ANS: a

REF: The correct answer is a.






3.

a. In the weather report, it says, “Snow is falling heavily all over New England.”

b. Someone was hoping they could go skiing.

c. Have you seen his skiing? It’s far superior to mine.

ANS: c







4.

a. The baby would not stop crying. This annoyed the babysitter.

b. A babysitter today charges more than they did ten years ago.

c. The little girl did not stop crying until she and the babysitter went to the park.

ANS c







5.

a. The gourmet shop was charging eleven dollars, which was way over our budget, for a

quart of soup.

b. Everyone decided to try their hand at cooking soup from scratch.

c. Whom do you think made the best soup?

ANS: a







6.

a. The museum’s Monet holdings are impressive. It will put on a special exhibit this

summer.

b. In the Times, it says that Monet produced many works on paper, not just oil paintings.

c. Who knew that Claude was Monet’s middle name, not his first name?

ANS: c







7.

a. “Management tries to exploit we nurses,” read the placard.

b. One nurse had been working thirteen-hour shifts every Saturday for three years; it

was she who mobilized her coworkers to strike.

c. Ms. Goodman, the nurse, and my mother spoke in private. She said I should get out of

bed.

ANS: b

REF: The correct answer is b.






8.

a. An actor should keep thoughts about politics to themselves.

b. Modern acting was influenced by the director Stanislavsky, who emphasized the

actor’s identification with his or her role.

c. Dustin Hoffman played the title role in the 1967 movie The Graduate. Could anyone

else have played it better than him?

ANS: b







9.

a. Whom is the Stanley Cup named after?

b. Every hockey player wants to see if their talent will land them the Stanley Cup, the

oldest trophy awarded to North American professional athletes.

c. To who was the first Stanley Cup awarded in the 1893-1894 hockey season?

ANS: a







10.

a. Did Andorra or Palau receive its membership in the United Nations before 2000?

b. The United Nations has always been a controversial organization, which is inevitable.

c. Whom besides U Thant and Kofi Annan has been secretary-general of the United

Nations?

ANS: a







S-6a Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Multiple Choice

Each of the following sentences may have an inappropriate pronoun. Select the

instruction that tells how to treat the sentence so that all of the pronouns make sense and

agree with their antecedents in gender and in number.

1. The essay test asks each sixth-grader in the school district to explain why he does or

does not identify with the hero of an assigned novel.

a. Leave as is.

b. Change he does or does not to they do or do not.

c. Change he does or does not to he or she does or does not.

ANS: c


In The Norton Field Guide to Writing, see S-6a.



In The Little Seagull Handbook, see S-6a.

<http://wwnorton.com/college/english/write/LSH/full/s-6a.html>

2. Everyone at the boys’ camp on this side of the lake and at the girls’ camp across the

lake must demonstrate that he can swim the width of the lake.

a. Leave as is.

b. Change he can swim to they can swim.

c. Change Everyone to All the campers; change he can swim to they can swim.

ANS: c







3. Wendy Wasserstein’s play Uncommon Women and Others traces a group of women

friends who attend a single-sex college and stay in touch after graduation. Each friend has

her own strengths and weaknesses.

a. Leave as is.

b. Change her own strengths and weaknesses to their own strengths and weaknesses.

c. Change her own strengths and weaknesses to his or her own strengths and

weaknesses.

ANS: a







4. Martha Graham and George Balanchine had his own ideas about choreography.

a. Leave as is.

b. Change his to her.

c. Change his to their.

ANS: c







5. Neither the clowns nor the animal trainer showed their fear of the lions.

a. Leave as is.

b. Reverse the compound subject, putting the animal trainer first and the clowns second.

c. Change their fear to his or her fear.

ANS: b







6. I want to find a personal trainer who will help me build strength. Ideally, he won’t

tease me about mixing up left and right.

a. Leave as is.

b. Change he to he or she.

c. Change he to they.

ANS: b







7. A nurse must demonstrate her competence and her compassion.

a. Leave as is.

b. Change her competence and her compassion to their competence and their

compassion.

c. Remove both instances of her.

ANS: c







8. Most of the campers passed his swimming test this summer.

a. Leave as is.

b. Change his swimming test to their swimming tests.

c. Change his swimming test to his or her swimming test.

ANS: b







9. I remember when neither my father nor my mother had her own passport; instead, we

all had a family passport.

a. Leave as is.

b. Change had her own passport to had their own passports.

c. Change neither my father nor my mother had her own passport to neither my father

nor my mother had an individual passport.

ANS: c







10. After the celebration, the team left for their dorms or the library.

a. Leave as is.

b. Change their dorms or the library to its dorms or the library.

c. Change the team to the players; change their dorms or the library to his or her dorms

or the library.

ANS: a







S-6b Pronoun Reference

Multiple Choice

Some of the following sentences contain problems with pronoun reference. Select the

answer that has no such problems. If the original sentence is correct, select c. No change.

1. The newspaper’s editors should feel guilty about their stance on pollution, but it is

probably not going to happen.

a. The newspaper’s editors should feel guilty about their stance on pollution, but they

probably won’t.

b. The newspapers editors should feel guilty about their stance on pollution, which

probably won’t happen.

c. No change

ANS: a


In The Norton Field Guide to Writing, see S-6b.



In The Little Seagull Handbook, see S-6b.

<http://wwnorton.com/college/english/write/LSH/full/s-6b.html>

2. Most economists agree that building a nest egg for retirement is possible if we set aside

some money every week.

a. Most economists agree that building a nest egg for retirement is possible if he or she

sets aside some money every week.

b. Most economists agree that building a nest egg for retirement is possible for people

who set aside some money every week.

c. No change

ANS: b







3. The boss became an object of ridicule because of his outrageous behavior.

a. The boss’s outrageous behavior made him an object of ridicule.

b. Ridiculing the boss’s outrageous behavior is what he deserved.

c. No change

ANS: c







4. A real-estate developer wants to build residences and offices on some vacant land in

our town. The community objects to this.

a. A real-estate developer wants to build residences and offices on some vacant land in

our town. The community objects to this use of the land.

b. A real-estate developer wants to build residences and offices on some vacant land in

our town, which the community objects to.

c. No change.

ANS: a







5. In many states, they don’t require motorcyclists to wear helmets.

a. In many states, they haven’t passed a law requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets.

b. Many states don’t require motorcyclists to wear helmets.

c. No change

ANS: b







6. Someone who was on the bus left behind their books and lunch.

a. Someone who was on the bus left behind her books and lunch.

b. Someone who was on the bus left behind his or her books and lunch.

c. No change

ANS: b







7. The radio announcer said, “Because of last night’s storm, the high school’s classes will

start at 11:00 a.m., but you will be dismissed at the normal time.”

a. The radio announcer said, “Because of last night’s storm, the high school’s classes will

start at 11:00 a.m., but students will be dismissed at the normal time.”

b. The radio announcer said, “Because of last night’s storm, the high school’s classes will

start at 11:00 a.m., but it will be dismissed at the normal time.”

c. No change

ANS: a







8. They say that the governor rescinded his job offer to a local politician.

a. In the news summary, it says that the governor rescinded his job offer to a local

politician.

b. The news summary reports that the governor rescinded his job offer to a local

politician.

c. No change

ANS: b







9. John told the critic, “A magnanimous review will make me famous.”

a. John told the critic that he would be famous if the review were magnanimous.

b. John said to the critic that a magnanimous review would make him famous.

c. No change

ANS: c







10. Some historians speak about the collapse of earlier, sophisticated cultures, and they

resonate with today’s audiences.

a. Some historians speak about the collapse of earlier, sophisticated cultures, a topic that

resonates with today’s audiences.

b. Some historians speak about sophisticated cultures in the past having collapsed, which

resonates with today’s audiences.

c. No change

ANS: a







S-6c Pronoun Case

Multiple Choice

Select the pronoun that belongs on the blank.

1. After reading Fitzgerald for several weeks, Abigail and ___ went back to

Hemingway.

a. I

b. me

ANS: a


In The Norton Field Guide to Writing, see S-6c.



In The Little Seagull Handbook, see S-6c.

<http://wwnorton.com/college/english/write/LSH/full/s-6c.html>

2. Abigail likes Fitzgerald better than Hemingway, but both authors challenge her and

____.

a. I

b. me

ANS: b







3. You can expect _____ literature majors to admire Fitzgerald and Hemingway.

a. we

b. us

ANS: b







4. Hemingway’s first wife was Elizabeth Hadley Richardson. Hemingway and _____

divorced in 1927.

a. she

b. her

ANS: a







5. Do you think the succinct style Hemingway made famous resulted from _____ never

going to college?

a. him

b. his

ANS: b







6. Although I like Fitzgerald, I like Hemingway more than _____.

a. he

b. him

ANS: b







7. Speaking of Hemingway and Fitzgerald, if two writers deserved the Nobel Prize, it was

_____.

a. they

b. them

ANS: a







8. Besides Hadley, _____ else did Hemingway marry?

a. who

b. whom

ANS: b







9. Is it possible to figure out _____ was the best wife for Hemingway?

a. who

b. whom

ANS: a







10. _____ knew Hemingway well knew not only the writer but also the skier, hunter, and

deep-sea fisherman.

a. Whoever

b. Whomever

ANS: a







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