IXL | Identify all of the possible antecedents

The pronoun in bold is vague. Select all of its possible antecedents.

The desk lamp is plugged into the same outlet as the television, but it isn't working.

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question

The pronoun in bold is vague. Select all of its possible antecedents.

The new employees wanted to introduce their spouses to their managers at the holiday party, but they were running late.

key idea

When writing, make sure to avoid vague pronoun references. A vague pronoun reference occurs when a pronoun could refer to more than one possible antecedent.

When Lisa and Kim finally landed, she breathed a sigh of relief.

The pronoun she could refer to either Lisa or Kim, so the meaning of the sentence is unclear.

Vague pronoun references can be corrected in one of two ways:

1. Replace the pronoun with its correct antecedent:

When Lisa and Kim finally landed, Lisa breathed a sigh of relief.

2. Rewrite the sentence:

Lisa breathed a sigh of relief when she and Kim finally landed.

solution

Look at the text.

The new employees wanted to introduce their spouses to their managers at the holiday party, but they were running late.

The text contains a vague pronoun reference. The pronoun they could refer to the new employees, their spouses, or their managers.

$Confetti$

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DD.7Identify vague pronoun references

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