The Man with the Broken Jaw

Instant Quiz

Can you improve the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.

The mayor is a personal friend of mine.

____________________________________________________________

Here – courtesy of my friend Jenna – is an example of an indefinite pronoun reference.

The good news is that you don’t have to bother with the grammar gobbledygook. All you need to know is that he, she, and it are some of the trickiest words in the English language. (Strange but true!)

In today’s example, there are two men. Which one is having the surgery?

Here’s how I would fix the problem: The man is accused of breaking a State Trooper’s jaw, which will require surgery.

Take extra care with he, she, and it. Make sure your sentence is clear about who’s who. (And if you want to show off by talking about an “indefinite pronoun reference,” I’m not going to stop you!)

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Instant Quiz ANSWER

All friends are personal! It’s an unnecessary word.

The mayor is a friend of mine.  CORRECT

What Your English Teacher Didn’t Tell You is available in paperback and Kindle formats from Amazon.com and other online booksellers.
“A useful resource for both students and professionals” – Jena L. Hawk, Ph.D., Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

“Personable and readable…Jean knows her subject forwards and backwards.” – Adair Lara, author of Hold Me Close, Let Me Go