TACHS Language : Identifying Pronoun Errors
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Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Case
Select from the given options the one that includes a usage error. If all of the options are correct, select "no mistakes."
I have no clear idea who I am speaking to.
No mistakes
Listen, I'm reaching the limits of my patience.
Excuse me, could you say that again?
I have no clear idea who I am speaking to.
The correct choice features a very common error of pronoun case, which leads the sentence to incorrectly conclude with a preposition. Rather than using the subjective-case "who" in saying "who I am speaking to," it is correct to use the objective-case "whom." Sentences should never, in academic writing, end with a preposition.
Example Question #1 : Tachs: Language
Select from the given options the one that includes a usage error. If all of the options are correct, select "no mistakes."
If you cross the street carelessly, you never know what might happen.
No mistakes
Kent was extremely sad; he had been thinking about cross the street an unhealthy amount
It is very important to look both ways when one crosses the street because you never know when a car might come.
It is very important to look both ways when one crosses the street because you never know when a car might come.
The correct answer features inconsistent pronoun usage. Since the sentence first uses the pronoun "one," the sentence must remain consistent in its usage of that pronoun. It is incorrect to follow "one" (when used as a pronoun) with "you." The correct version of the sentence reads, "It is very important to look both ways when one crosses the street because one never knows when a car might come." This question interrogates the principle of consistent pronoun usage. None of the other options included any grammatical errors.
Example Question #1 : Identifying Pronoun Errors
Select from the given options the one that includes a usage error. If all of the options are correct, select "no mistakes."
I was fairly certain that the handbag was mine, but she insisted it was her's.
Could I really argue with her?
No mistakes
She seemed so doggedly insistent.
I was fairly certain that the handbag was mine, but she insisted it was her's.
The possessive pronouns "hers," "his," "yours," "its," "ours," and "theirs" are never used with apostrophes. None of the other given options contained any grammatical errors.
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