 Asalaamu alaikum, welcome to virtual university. In the earlier lessons we have been exploring ways of writing more effective sentences. In today's lesson we will look at pronouns, pronouns, their agreement, their reference and their point of view which are essential for good writing. Let us begin, you will see a number of sentences, see if you can locate the mistake in each sentence. This is we are beginning in a different way, I am not giving you the rules, you have to look at the sentences and you locate the mistake. Number 1, each of my students required 4 to 5 chances to pass their driving test. Number 2, if there are stains on any hotel sheets they should be removed at once. Number 3, people go to the neighborhood restaurant because you get low prized meals all day. Look at those sentences, I hope you were able to locate a mistake, there is a mistake in each one of them and the mistake is the pronoun mistake. Now you know what a pronoun is, a pronoun is a word that is used instead of a noun or a noun phrase. Sentence number 1, each of my students required 4 to 5 chances to pass his driving test. Now each, the word each is singular, it requires a singular pronoun and the pronoun that should have been there is his. Each of my students required 4 to 5 chances to pass not there but his driving test. Number 2, if there are any stains on any hotel sheets their sheets should be removed at once. Now the way the sentence was originally, it was not very clear which is to be removed the stains or the sheets and by using the pronoun they could refer to either one, they could refer to the stains or they could refer to the sheets. So you replace they with the phrase the sheets and that makes the meaning of the sentence clear. Let me read that sentence again, if there are stains on any hotel sheets the sheets should be removed at once. Number 3, people go to the neighborhood restaurant because they can get low priced meals. Now the word people requires a third person pronoun and the pronoun is they, not you. You is second person. Sentences that begin in the third person should not suddenly shift their point of view to the second person which was you. Now the sentence was earlier, people go to the neighborhood restaurant because you can get low priced meals. Now that was not correct. People should have the word they. Now in today's lesson you will learn how to avoid the three most frequent kinds of pronoun mistakes and these mistakes are pronoun mistakes of pronoun agreement, pronoun reference and pronoun point of view. Now when we talk about pronoun agreement by that by agreement we mean agreement shows the relationship between nouns and pronouns and their verbs and between and it also shows the relationship between nouns and their corresponding pronouns. Agreement specifies that a singular noun or a singular pronoun uses a singular verb and a plural noun or pronoun takes a plural verb. A singular pronoun refers to a singular noun and a plural pronoun refers to a plural noun. A pronoun must agree in number with the word it refers to. Now this word is sometimes referred to or called the pronouns antecedent. You have come across this word before antecedent is what comes before ante a ante. Remember in your early vocabulary lessons we said that any word that has a ante e not a ante i that is ante meaning against this is ante meaning coming before antecedent any word that comes before. Now look at this example the students have spent many hours studying for their examination over there the antecedent of the word there is students. Now I hope the meaning of the word antecedent is clear something that comes before what is it that comes before their their examinations it is students. So the antecedent of there is students. In the second example the book use of lent me is missing its cover. Now in this sentence it is a singular pronoun and it refers to the word book which is a singular pronoun and the antecedent of it is the pronoun book look at another example. If your friends do not get here soon they will miss the train. Now over there the word they is a plural pronoun and it refers to a plural noun which is friends. Now there is a list of indefinite pronouns pronouns which do not specifically refer to something the word each either neither one anyone everyone someone no one anybody everybody somebody nobody anything everything something nothing these are indefinite pronouns and these remember they are always singular whenever you find these pronouns you must know that they are in the singular example look at the way these pronouns indefinite pronouns are used each of the wild horses raised for its freedom its refers its antecedent is wild horses right and it is a singular pronoun number two neither of my sons ever feels like cleaning his bedroom and notice the word neither it is a singular indefinite pronoun although the word sons is in the plural but the word pronoun neither is there neither of my sons so you have to use the pronoun his with it neither of my sons ever feel ever feels like cleaning his room number three no one in the class wanted to read his or her paper aloud and we have got the indefinite pronoun no one since you have got no one so you will have to use the pronoun his or her not there most people say no one in the classroom wanted to read their paper aloud no there is wrong it has to be his or her number four no students in the class wanted to read their papers aloud right no students student in the class no students in the class wanted to read their papers aloud let us move on to practice and this is the first practice now in each of these sentences you write the pronoun that is needed and the word that the pronoun refers to I will do the first one for you take the first example neither of the babies has had his or their polio shot yet not shot means injection over here we use the word injection but poop shot is also used means the same thing neither of the babies has had now over there since the word the pronoun neither has been used the pronoun that is needed is his the word it refers to is neither so the correct choice over there would be neither of the babies has had his polio shot yet number two many high schools now require their students there or its students to take a computer course now what pronoun is required over there you have to choose from the word there and its which one is required and what word is it referring to the pronoun needed is there many high schools now require their students to take a computer course and the word there refers to schools that's the antecedent number three each of the girls invited her their mother to the party which word which pronoun would you choose her or there the pronoun needed is her each of the girls invited her mother and the word that it refers to is each number four nobody can join the club unless he she he or she or they are invited now you know the sentence begins with the indefinite pronoun nobody so the pronoun or the pronouns and verb needed are he or she the word the pronoun and verb needed the word the pronoun refer to the pronoun refers to is nobody so the correct choice would be nobody can join the club unless he or she is invited number five everything in the office has its or their own place which pronoun would you choose the pronoun to be chosen is its everything in the office has its own place the word its refers to everything that comes earlier now over here you have to choose the pronoun and the words are given in the brackets each of the actresses who auditioned believes should be chosen for the main role now would you choose she or they and the correct word would be she because we are referring to the word she is refers to the word each number seven if anybody is interested in a part time job at the library he or she or they should let the chief librarian know and the correct pronoun would be he or she not they because the earlier indefinite pronoun anybody is singular number eight either medicine is fine but it or they must be taken regularly what pronoun would you use to go with the word either the pronoun is it either medicine is fine but it must be taken regularly number nine somebody in the ladies lounge stole my dark glasses and I would love to get back at her or them which one is the appropriate pronoun is it her or is it them you should choose her because it's refers to somebody and it has to be her because we are talking about a ladies lounge number ten neither of my uncles has ever smoked in his life or in their life and it has to be his because his refers to refers back to the indefinite pronoun neither now that was pronoun agreement we are moving on to the second part and that is pronoun reference just as a pronoun must agree in number with its antecedent it is also necessary for effective communication that a pronoun should refer clearly to the word it stands for if the meaning of a pronoun is uncertain the sentence will be confusing this agreement between a noun and a pronoun is related to number person and gender and it is called reference notice that it is an agreement between a noun and its pronoun and it is related to three things number person and gender and this is called reference example Rabia told Nafisa that she had got an a in her term paper Rabia told Nafisa that she had got an a in her term paper now from that sentence it is not clear who got the a was it Rabia or was it Nafisa Rabia told Nafisa and the word her and the word she the two pronouns that have been used over there could refer to either one it could they could refer to Rabia or Nafisa so the use of the word she and her is not correct take the next example Javaria told Leila she will be unable to keep her job Javaria told Leila she will be unable to keep her job now notice again it is the word the pronoun she and the pronoun her they are not making clear that who it will be unable to keep her job look at the third example personal and management have reached tentative agreement on its contract now who is its contract is its referring to personal or is it referring to management now I hope you can see that the use of a small word like he or she or her or its can create confusion so when you write sentences be sure that you use the correct pronoun look at another example each student is encouraged to submit their work on time now we you have just seen enough examples and you know what is wrong number five there is another example there was no question after the lecture which was regrettable now what was regrettable was it the lecture or the lack of question the use of the word which does not clarify be careful with the use of the pronouns which and this they must clarify they must refer to one thing or situation there was no question after the lecture which was regrettable which was regrettable the question or the lecture another example both of Basit's parents are doctors but it does not interest Basit now what does not interest Basit the pronoun it does not refer to anything in the sentence now you have seen six examples and in these examples the mistake was the wrong use of the pronoun now notice how the communication how communication is enhanced in these very sentences you can rewrite them in a different way in a way that will make the meaning clear now the first example for the first example you can write you can write that sentence in two ways first you can write Rabia told in the FISA you got an A on your term paper clear it is Rabia telling the FISA you got an A on your term paper or you can write this that Rabia told in the FISA I got an A on my term paper now in both these corrections you noticed that it was the use of the pronoun the wrong use of the pronoun that created the ambiguity the confusion look at number two Javaria you can the second sentence about Javaria not being able to keep her job number two Javaria will be unable to keep her job according to what she told Leila very simple you have rewritten that sentence but it makes it very clear who would be unable to keep her job number three personal and management have reached tentative agreement on personals contract no confusion you could either use personal or management but here it is personals and the confusion is no longer there look at the fourth example each student is encouraged to submit his or her work on time earlier on you had the word there which was inappropriate so you rewrite that sentence as each student is encouraged to submit his or her work on time and for number five there were no questions after the lecture full stop not having questions was regrettable you have rephrased the sentence the first part clarifies that there were no questions and it was not having questions that was regrettable and the last example both of Basit's parents are doctors but medicine doesn't interest Basit in the example that you had earlier it said it doesn't interest Basit now it wasn't very clear and when you use the word medicine that clarified that Basit is not interested in medicine let us have another practice and here words are given you and they are in brackets and you have to choose the correct word from those word or words from those that are given in the brackets take the first sentence as Riaz told his father about being arrested began to cry now who began to cry is it Riaz or is it he the correct choice would be Riaz began to cry because if you say he began to cry he would again make the sentence ambiguous you don't know is it Riaz was crying or is it his father was crying so the choice of Riaz would be better number two students complain that they don't keep the library tidy or is it the maintenance staff don't keep the library tidy it has to be the maintenance staff because that makes the sentence very clear number three Mahanur tore off the wrapping paper from the present and then through and then through it or the paper in the rubbish bin what would you choose the correct choice would be the paper Mahanur tore off the wrapping paper from the present and through it through the paper in the rubbish bin because if you use the word if you choose the word it that wouldn't be clear what did she what did Mahanur throw in the rubbish bin did she throw the present or did she throw the wrapping paper number four many poor people shop at the Sunday Bazaar because they give a 5% discount or is it the vendors that give a 5% discount the use of the pronoun they would be ambiguous and if you choose the vendors that would be a better choice because that makes it very clear who is giving the discount number five many people enjoy hiking and camping but I am not interested in them or those activities the correct choice would be those activities because the way the sentence stands many people enjoy hiking and camping but I am not interested in them them would mean people but why should you be interested in right. So the correct choice would be I am not interested in those activities now that was the second mistake the second common mistake that students make and that was of reference we look at the third pronoun mistake and that is point of view now pronouns that refer to the person who is speaking is called a first person pronoun and examples are I me our right and a pronoun that refers to someone being spoken to such as the word you is the second person pronoun and a pronoun that refers to another person or thing such as he she it now these are third person pronouns and you will see personal these are called personal pronouns and you can see them on your screen they are grouped in first second and third person right now when you write your pronoun point of view must stay the same now that means that you should not unnecessarily shift from one point of view to another and you look at the following examples and you will notice that in all of these examples there is an unnecessary shift look at the first example the worst thing about my not writing letters is that you never get any back now what is wrong over there you will notice that the writer begins with the first person pronoun my the first thing about my not writing letters and then shifts within the same sentence he shifts the pronoun point of view he shifts from the first person to the second person you which is wrong the worst thing about my not writing letters is that you never get any back number two though we like most of our neighbors there are a few you cannot get along with now over here the writer begins with the first person pronoun our we our though we like most of our neighbors they are both first person pronouns but then shifts to the second pro person pronoun you now these sentences they can be improved by eliminating the shifts in person in the first sentence the first the worst thing about my not writing letters is that I never get back I never get any back right it's the same pronoun point of view look at the second one though we like most of our neighbors there are a few we cannot get along with not you it's the same pronoun point of view in the second we and we right now let us practice eliminating shifts in person here are a few examples see if you can improve them by shifting the point the pronoun point of view the first one what I like best about holidays is that you don't have to set an alarm notice it begins with the first person I and then it shifts to the second person you you can improve this by writing what I like best about holidays is that I don't have to set an alarm number two the laborers have to take a break at eleven whether we want to or not whether we want to or not again shift in point of view it began with and it ends with how would you correct it the laborers have to have a break at eleven whether they want to or not and in the third one whenever students are under a great deal of stress we often go into depression whenever students are under a great deal of stress we often go into depression now over here what is wrong you can correct this eliminate the shift by writing whenever students are under a great deal of stress they often go into depression it is there number four if you plan to do well on this course one should plan on attending every lesson notice it is you and one from the second to the first the shift is from the second person to the first person it should be one and you can rewrite this as if you plan to do well on this course you should plan on attending every lesson keep to the same point of view number five when I first began to work as a nurse I was surprised at how rude some patients were to you notice again it is the shift from the first to the second it should be when I first began to work as a nurse I was surprised at how some how rude some patients were to me now we shall test if you have understood pronouns pronoun agreement pronoun reference and pronoun point of view and this test is in three parts the first one there is a pronoun mistake and you rewrite these sentences take the first one neither friend wants to work in family business what would you use over there his or there remember neither is an indefinite pronoun and it is singular the second pronoun must agree with it in number which one would you have I am sure you chose his number two if anyone does not want his their pudding I'll eat it if anyone doesn't want his or her pudding I'll eat it number three when I when I was stopped for speeding he said I had been going beyond the speed limit how would you correct this when I was stopped for who is he the second pronoun he you have to clarify and instead of using he you should use the phrase the police officer when I was stopped for speeding the police officer said etc etc etc all right look at the next one I won't go to a brawlhawks concert tonight because there is no way you could get a ticket now the sentence begins with I and then it says you there is a shift so how would you correct it you should say I won't go to a brawlhawks concert tonight because there is no way I could get a ticket now this is the second half the second part of your test now each there is this part contains longer passages and each of the passages contains two pronounced mistakes you find the mistake and rewrite the correct version of the passage read the passage but she told use of that he needed a new car but she went on to stay went on to say I still like my old Suzuki but the car spends more time in the workshop than on the road use of agreed that anybody who had to pay for so many repairs to their car should buy a new one now you look for the two pronoun mistakes the mistake in the first sentence is he you have to clarify who is he so you remember you can rewrite it this way but she told use of comma open inverted commas I need a new car right etc or you can say then go on and the second mistake is in the last sentence use of agreed that anybody who had to pay for so many repairs to his car should buy a new one right look at the second passage again there are two mistakes in this passage the restaurant down the road isn't making a profit these days is there a pronoun mistake over there no look at the next one during an inspection last month they found rats and cockroaches in the kitchen now who is they so that is the first pronoun mistake they found rats and cockroaches in the kitchen the bad publicity cause the restaurant to close down for a week which was damaging to the restaurant's business so we spotted one mistake one pronoun mistake and that was in the second sentence the word the pronoun they and there is another one the second one is the pronoun which because both these pronouns they and which do not make it clear who or what they are referring to in the in the first mistake you can correct this by writing during an inspection last month the health officials now who is they they has to be the health officials so instead of using the word they the phrase the health officials found rats and cockroaches in the kitchen and in the last sentence the bad publicity cause the restaurant to close down for a week which was damaging to the rest now what is which it would be better if you used this closing was damaging to the restaurant's business look at the third example each of the sisters is a successful artist in their own field amana does oil paintings but she that she sells at the crow eaters gallery camellia makes jewelry which one sells by herself from her home two mistakes in that passage there is one in the first sentence each of the sisters is a successful artist in her own field there is no pronoun mistake in the second and in the third one camellia makes jewelry which she sells by herself from her home you cannot have one over there and in the fourth sentence in the fourth sample an angry looking man stood outside the bank shouting that they had stolen his money passes by walked around him quickly walked around him quickly because you did not know what he might do in the first sentence it is the pronoun they what is or who is they referring to they has nothing in the sentence to refer to so you have to make it clear shouting that you can rewrite that sentence correct that sentence by writing an angry looking man stood outside the bank shouting that the bank employees had stolen his money passes by walked around him quickly because they did not know what he might do because you you want to you are referring to passes by and that is in the plural so you have to use the word the pronoun they because they that is the passers by passes by did not know what he might do and in the last part look at this passage read it quickly over here this passage is made up of four sentences and there is a pronoun mistake in each sentence four sentences and each sentence has a pronoun mistake read it quickly when auntie musaret and uncle reyes arrived we all jumped up from the dinner table and rushed to the door shouting their greetings I am sorry we are late said uncle reyes but but musaret insists on said uncle reyes but musaret insists on driving at 40 miles an hour no matter how late you are but you were late in coming home from work and also in leaving Islamabad and it is all your fault auntie musaret answered the worst thing for me is living with such a fussy man is you always have to wait for him to finish selecting his wardrobe washing his car and combing his hair just right continued auntie now in that if you look at that passage in the first sentence the pronoun there is wrong right in in the first sentence the the pronoun there is wrong because it said their greetings it should be our greetings we all jumped right we we is a first person pronoun so there is a shift in from to the third person point of view it should be there their ther is wrong it should be our greetings we all shouted our greetings not their sentence number 2 how late no matter how late you are now you is the wrong pronoun it should be how late we are and in sentence number 3 but you were late in coming home from work and also in leaving Islamabad and it is and it is all your fault it is wrong why because it does not refer to anything in the sentence you you could have used the word the phrase and the lateness and the lateness is all your fault and in the last sentence the worst thing for me is living with such a funny such a fussy man is you always have to wait for me it is not you such a fussy man is you always have to wait for him that is wrong it should be I the first person I have to wait for him a quick lesson review what we have done today answer all these questions by telling by writing the correct word in the blank words such as each everyone and something are what kind of pronouns they are singular pronouns it tells you each everyone something number 2 words such as I you and they are personal pronouns number 3 dash person person pronoun is one that refers to the person being spoken to and the word is second number 4 is this a correct or false statement a pronoun may be singular even if it is antecedent is plural that is wrong it is false and the fifth one a writer should not needlessly change from first person to the second person is that a correct statement or a false statement and it is a correct statement right in today's lesson you looked at some more sentence errors and these were all pronoun errors and you learnt how to improve your written expression by focusing on pronouns their agreement and their point of view all good writers keep in mind these aspects of language and avoid these errors and you should also try to avoid making such errors so that is all for today Allah Hafiz see you next time.