SAT Question: Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Ben e-mailed me about today's SAT Question of the Day:

Hi Snarky! In today's SAT question, the sentence makes sense to me just the way it is. But that's not the right answer. Can you explain it? Thanks!

Sure, Ben! Here's the question:

Part or all of the following sentence is underlined; beneath the sentence are five ways of phrasing the underlined material. Select the option that produces the best sentence. If you think the original phrasing produces a better sentence than any of the alternatives, select choice A.  

Enrico Caruso sang opera in Italy before traveling to the United States, then he gave his first performance at the Metropolitan Opera in November 1903.

A) then
B) when
C) and which
D) in that
E) where

This sentence is made up of two clauses separated by a comma. Before the comma, we have an independent clause that could stand on its own as a sentence. Enrico Caruso sang opera in Italy before traveling to the United States.

After the comma, we have a dependent clause that has both a noun and a verb but could not stand on its own as a sentence. [Note, however, that if you eliminate the word 'then', the sentence becomes an independent clause.]

There are two ways to connect an independent clause to a dependent clause. Both ways require a comma right after the independent clause. (Remember, commas separate words, phrases or clauses.)

Immediately after the comma, we could use a subordinate conjunction, which is a word or short phrase that joins clauses. (There are over two dozen possibilities, including if, for, after, as, before, because, while, since, until and even though.)

Alternatively, right after the comma we could use a relative pronoun. A relative pronoun must agree with the antecedent, which is the noun that comes immediately before the comma.

In this sentence, the antecedent is 'the United States,' so immediately after the comma, we need a relative pronoun that can refer to 'the United States.' The best choice is 'where' because it refers to places.

Correction:

• Enrico Caruso sang opera in Italy before traveling to the United States, where he gave his first performance at the Metropolitan Opera in November 1903.

Object of a Preposition: All of Us, Together Now

Matthew writes:

Hey Snarky! Yesterday my teacher said 'All of us teachers are working together on a plan.' Is that correct or awkward grammar? Shouldn't he have said 'All of we teachers'?

Your teacher is positively diabolical. Not only is his sentence structure flawless, but he gave me a reason bring up one of the most dastardly of all grammar chestnuts: the object of a preposition.

Your teacher's sentence is tricky for a few reasons. For starters, the subject is not a single word but a phrase, 'All of us teachers,' which happens to include the word us. We are accustomed to seeing us as a personal pronoun functioning as the object of a sentence, but here it is the object of a preposition, which is part of the subject of the sentence. Confused?

Here's the rule: A noun or pronoun that follows a preposition and completes its meaning is the object of the preposition.

Let's look at 'All of us teachers'. Since the phrase includes a preposition, 'of', the noun that follows it turns into an object—but only of that phrase, not of the entire sentence. In this case, the object of the preposition is 'us teachers'.

Your teacher could have said We teachers are working together on a plan. Then we could have avoided this lesson altogether.

Quick rules:

• The noun or pronoun following a preposition is the object of that preposition.
• A prepositional phrase can be the subject of a sentence or the object of a sentence.
• The subject of a sentence doesn't have to be a single word; in fact, it's often a phrase.
• The object of a preposition is not necessarily the object of the sentence.

Photo: NBCUniversalStore.com.

Taking it Old School: Learn about Pronouns with Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla

Isn't technology just fantastic? Through the magic of YouTube, kids can still learn about pronouns with the help of a dear old friend, Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla, who first appeared on Grammar Rock in 1977.

I vs. Me: Try it Without Your Friends

Brian says:

Snarky, please settle this. I printed out this page from Yahoo! Answers to show my group in tech class, and we ended up arguing about grammar. Should the question begin with 'me and my friends' or 'my friends and I'?

Let's look at the headline:

Me And My Friends Are Going To Make A Facebook/YouTube Online Show!?

Yikes! Have we become so accustomed to this phrasing that we can no longer hear how downright awful it sounds?

Where does the questioner go wrong? Most people will use the correct pronoun when replacing a simple subject or object. The trouble occurs when we have compound nouns linked with 'and' or 'or.' Luckily, abusing pronouns is an easy habit to break.

Try this:

1. Break the compound noun into two simple nouns.
   Me and my friends >> Me and My friends.
2. Run through the sentence using one noun at a time.
   Me am going to make an online show. My friends are going to make an online show. 
   Uh-oh, something is wrong with the first sentence. 
3. Replace the problem pronoun with another possibility.
   I am going to make an online show. That works!
   
4. Then reinstate the conjunction 'and' or 'or.'
   My friends and I are going to make an online show.

Correction: My Friends And I Are Going to Make a Facebook/YouTube Online Show! 

More examples:  

• The principal yelled at me. The principal yelled at my friends. >> The principal yelled at my friends and me. 
• I need help. Jeff needs help. >> Jeff and I need help.
  
• The tutor helped me. The tutor helped Jeff. >> The tutor helped Jeff and me.
  

Pronouns: Mad Men Goof, Too.

Even fabulous TV stars make grammatical errors. Except for talent and fame and money, they're just like you and me! In this Q&A with Mad Men's Vincent Kartheiser, the actor makes a common grammatical goof when using a object pronoun instead of a subject pronoun. So many people do this, but it's actually one of the easiest mistakes to catch and self-correct once you get the hang of it.

Vincent says (fifth question down):

I think me and [Elisabeth] have more of a history doing drama together...

Where does Vincent go wrong? He should have said "Elisabeth and I."

Quick rule:

• Replace a subject with a subject pronoun. Whether the subject is singular or plural does not matter. 

Try this:

1. To find the correct pronoun, eliminate the second person. Now run through the sentence again. It doesn't make sense to say, "I think me have more of a history doing drama together...." Of course you would say, "I think I have more of a history doing drama together...  
2. Then add the second person back into the sentence.  

Correction: 

• I think Elisabeth and I have more of a history doing drama together...

Pronouns: The 30-Second Workout

From workoutschedule.org, a girl seeks fitness advice for herself and her sister. Unfortunately, she doesn't know the difference between a subject pronoun and an object pronoun and winds up sounding like a dumbbell.

For the first month me and her are going to be doing the following 4 days a week...

Where did she go wrong? The writer uses the object pronouns, me and her, when she should be using the subject pronouns, she and I.

Quick rule:

• Replace subjects with subject pronouns and objects with object pronouns. 
• If you don't know the difference, run through the sentence twice, each time using one of the singular pronouns. It should be obvious which pronouns work and which don't. For example, you would never say "Her is going to be doing the following four days a week." And you would never say "Me is going to be doing the following four days a week." If you would choose 'she' and 'I' when you use singular pronouns, then you'd choose 'She and I,' both subject pronouns, together.

Correction: For the first month, she and I are going to be doing the following, four days a week...

Grammar Nazis: Spoof of Inglourious Basterds

Must-watch Video: The Grammar Nazis take aim at everything from double negatives to dangling participles in this awesome parody of Inglourious Basterds. Enjoy.

Talking About a Company? Think About 'It.'

The folks at the popular tech blog Gizmodo goofed with this headline whose pronoun doesn't agree with the antecedent.  

Apple Hates Ads...Unless They're the Ones Selling Them.

Where did Gizmodo go wrong? This subject of this headline is Apple: 'Apple Hates Ads...' Apple is the antecedent of the pronoun 'they're.' An antecedent comes before the pronoun that replaces it. Apple is singular, so the pronoun must also be singular. The editor should have used 'it's' instead of 'they're.'

Quick rule: People are constantly referring to companies and organizations as 'they' and 'them,' but it's a lazy habit. Use 'it' instead.

Correction:

• Apple Hates Ads...Unless It's the One Selling Them
• Apple Execs Hate Ads...Unless They're the Ones Selling Them