A pronoun is a substitute for a noun to avoid redundancy. It serves as a reference to nouns previously mentioned in a sentence. It includes he, she, who, someone, etc. Despite being a well-known part of speech, it can be misused in a sentence. As a professional, understanding the rules of exceptions would guide you in their appropriate usage and avoid common errors.
- The basic rule of pronouns states that a singular pronoun is always followed by a singular verb and a plural pronoun by a plural verb.
- Always put the other person first. It is incorrect to write ‘Me and my sister are going to the market’ rather than ‘My sister and I are going to the market’.
- An apostrophe is used with pronouns only for contraction purposes, not to show possession. For example, ‘it’s’ means ‘it is’ or ‘it has’. Therefore, when used in a sentence, it should be ‘We have reached its peak’, not ‘We have reached it’s peak’.
- A singular verb always follows ‘either of’, ‘neither of’, and ‘each of’, irrespective of the noun in the sentence. This is because the three pronouns refer to only one subject. For instance, it is wrong to write, ‘Each of us are writing a story’. The correct thing is ‘Each of us is writing a story’.
- Never use ‘they’ and ‘their’ with a singular pronoun. For instance, ‘Somebody laughed, and they should be punished’. ‘Somebody’ refers to a single person, while ‘they’ indicates plural. There is no concord between the two pronouns. Breaking this rule could make your writing unclear.
A professional writer adheres strictly to these exceptions to ensure error-free writing. However, if you do not want to go through this rigorous process, Sabi Writers provides a lasting solution. With a team of professional writers and editors only a call away, Sabi Writers will provide you with error-free work.