{"id":3312,"date":"2022-02-16T00:36:02","date_gmt":"2022-02-16T00:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.testgeek.com\/blog\/?p=3312"},"modified":"2022-02-16T00:36:03","modified_gmt":"2022-02-16T00:36:03","slug":"sat-writing-pronouns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.testgeek.com\/blog\/sat-writing-pronouns\/","title":{"rendered":"SAT Writing: Pronouns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

These days, pronouns are kind of a hot topic. We hear a lot about personal pronouns and their relation to gender identity, but on the SAT, pronouns are simply placeholders for nouns, and nothing more. They help with the flow of our language and make it much more pleasant to read and speak. You wouldn\u2019t say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bilbo is the best! I love reading about Bilbo\u2019s adventures because Bilbo is my favorite hobbit. Bilbo is way better than Frodo. Frodo is a weak little baby and Frodo is nothing without Sam.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bilbo doesn\u2019t even feel like a real name anymore we said it so much. The whole point of pronouns is to add some flow and language variety to make the writing more complex and conversational rather than weird cavemen speak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bilbo is the best! I love reading about his<\/u> adventures because he\u2019s<\/u> my favorite hobbit. Bilbo is way better than Frodo. Frodo is a weak little baby, and he\u2019s<\/u> nothing without Sam.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These pronoun example sentences not only express a very valid opinion, but they also flow way better than our first sentence and make it more pleasant to read or speak. Variance in language is important if you want to be a top-notch writer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Frodo is lucky he has Bilbo’s genes, or there’s no way he would have made it up Mount Doom. <—Look at all those pronouns used correctly to refer back to Frodo rather than saying his name every time. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

How to Use Pronouns Correctly on SAT Writing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The key to using pronouns correctly on the SAT is to make sure they match their noun\u2019s gender and number. For example, if your noun is plural your pronoun must also be plural. Easy enough, but let\u2019s look at an example using regular nouns rather than proper nouns to make sure we fully get the basics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pancakes <\/u>are delicious if you put syrup on it<\/u>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this sentence, pancakes<\/em> is plural, but it<\/em> implies singularity, so it sounds a little off.  Easy to fix though, you can change it<\/em> to them<\/em> to make your pronoun match with its plural noun, the pancakes. There is more than one pancake, so it<\/em> gets upgraded to them.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ensuring your pronouns match in gender is where it gets more complicated. Luckily, the SAT seems to be moving away from testing for misgendered pronouns on the test because of growing awareness for gender identity as a choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kickstart Your SAT Prep with Test Geek’s Free SAT Study Guide<\/a> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the biggest issues with the English language is the lack of an official gender-neutral pronoun when referring to a single person. While most people will use \u201cthey\u201d, it is technically grammatically incorrect because \u201cthey\u201d is actually plural. However, with times-a-changing, we predict the SAT will move away from testing this particular pronoun rule in this context. You may still see questions testing gender agreement in pronouns, but it won\u2019t be ambiguous when it comes to the correct gender of the noun in question. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leslie<\/u> is a strong, independent woman<\/u>; she<\/u> deserves her place in City Hall.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The addition of \u201cwoman\u201d in this sentence gives us context clues that the pronoun should be \u201cshe\u201d. You wouldn\u2019t use \u201cthey\u201d instead, because it is established that Leslie is a woman, and we are only talking about one woman right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leslie and Anne<\/u> are best friends, they\u2019ve<\/u> been through so much together.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that we\u2019ve added an extra lady to talk about, \u201cthey\u201d is an appropriate pronoun. There is more than one person, so the correct pronoun must be plural.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also has to be clear about which noun the pronoun is replacing, or your sentence will lack critical clarity. If you\u2019re talking about more than one person and you have a bunch of pronouns following their introduction, how do we know which pronoun goes with which noun? Sometimes extra clarity is necessary when messing around with pronouns on the SAT so the reader knows which pronoun replaces which noun and the meaning of the sentence is clear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winston<\/u> and Ferguson<\/u> are adorable, I can tell he<\/u> loves him<\/u> so much.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not clear which he or him goes with Winston and which goes with Ferguson, so this sentence would be incorrect due to lack of clarity. You must make sure it\u2019s clear which \u201che\u201d you\u2019re referring to while using pronouns on the SAT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember, the SAT loves clear, concise writing<\/strong>, so do your best to simplify your sentences as much as possible, while still being grammatically correct<\/strong> (no matter what Kevin Malone tells you).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Simple, sure, but definitely not grammatically correct. Kevin would do poorly on his SAT with this strategy. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Types of Pronouns<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are a few different types of pronouns you can use, let\u2019s break them down here with some example sentences:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Possessive pronouns<\/strong> \u2013 Express ownership. (i.e., yours, mine, hers, his, ours, theirs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This car is ours.<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personal pronouns<\/strong> \u2013 used to refer to people (i.e., you, she, he, I, we, it, they)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Josh<\/u> says hi, he<\/u> couldn\u2019t make it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relative pronouns \u2013 <\/strong>Used to connect a dependent clause to an independent clause.  (i.e., who, whom, which, that, what)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amanda bought a new hat<\/u>, which<\/u> is way too small.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intensive pronouns<\/strong> \u2013 add emphasis by referring back to the subject. (i.e., Yourself, herself, himself, itself, ourselves, myself)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dinner was made by the head chef<\/u>, himself<\/u>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indefinite pronouns – <\/strong>doesn\u2019t specifically identify the subject. (i.e., some, somebody, anyone, anywhere, nothing, everybody)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does anybody<\/u> have an extra pencil?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Demonstrative pronouns<\/strong> \u2013 used to point to specific things. (i.e., this, these, that, those)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That <\/u>is the ugliest skirt I have ever seen.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interrogative pronouns<\/strong> \u2013 Used to ask questions. (i.e., who, what, which, whose, whom)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who<\/u> wants to go to the park?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Studies show if you smile at your test before you take it, you’ll do better. Smile at those pronouns on the SAT, and you’ll do great. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Common Pronoun Mistakes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By avoiding these super common pronoun mistakes on the SAT, you\u2019re going to ace the writing section, no problem!<\/p>\n\n\n\n