“I have, like, huge enclosed cages all around in the backyard everywhere, so everyone has, like, their own space.” - Paris Hilton, describing her collection of animals
This quote contains a redundancy, an error in pronoun/antecedent agreement, and two instances of superfluous colloquialisms.
Paris describes the location of her cages as “all around” and “everywhere.” These terms [...]
“Her organization got a Nobel Peace Prize nomination a couple of years ago for the work they did in Afghanistan. She goes on speaking tours and gives lectures. I’m quite proud of her. We have the sort of relationship I’ve always wanted. I’m the stupid guy who tells jokes, and then she contributes the give-back-to-society [...]
Michael Douglas cannot figure out how to read his email messages so he has it sent to his secretary, and she faxes it to him.
This sentence contains an error in pronoun/antecedent agreement. The singular pronoun “it” refers to the plural antecedent “email messages.” To correct the error, change the number of either the pronoun [...]
Madame Tussauds New York has added a wax figure of Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt to their museum’s display of the likenesses of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.
This sentence contains an error in pronoun/antecedent agreement. The antecedent of the plural pronoun “their” is the singular “Madame Tussauds New York.”
While companies and organizations are composed of groups of [...]
A group of photographers camped outside Nicole Kidman’s home sent their respects to the actress by giving her flowers and singing to her on her birthday. Returning the warm sentiments, a case of beer was sent out to them by Nicole.
The first sentence contains an error in pronoun/antecedent agreement. The second sentence contains a dangling [...]
A Namibian official announced that Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, and their children have left Africa. Their destination remains an enigma to reporters seeking to follow the family wherever they may go.
The second sentence contains an error in pronoun/antecedent agreement. The antecedent “family” is a collective noun that is singular in this context because the [...]
In an interview with Matt Lauer, Britney Spears explained that neither the tabloids nor motherhood have taken their toll on her good spirits.
This sentence contains two errors: one in subject/verb agreement and one in pronoun/antecedent agreement. When correlative conjunctions, such as “neither” and “nor,” are used in a sentence, the subject closer to the verb [...]
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, who are in a salary dispute with the owners of the LA Forum, are planning to picket Madonna’s concert in Los Angeles this weekend.
This sentence contains two types of errors in agreement: subject/verb agreement and pronoun/antecedent agreement.
The antecedent, “the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees,” is an [...]
An antecedent is the noun, compound noun, or pronoun to which a pronoun refers. The referent pronoun and its antecedent must agree in person, number, and gender.
To check for pronoun/antecedent agreement, first find the referent pronoun. Then figure out to which word the pronoun refers; this is the antecedent. Finally, confirm [...]
