What Mistakes You Can Fix with a Pronoun Checker
A pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun and is helpful in avoiding unnecessary repetition in writing. While most people feel like they have a pretty good grasp on the use of pronouns it can be more complicated than you might expect and a pronoun finder can prove useful when it comes time to edit your paper or other text. So what exactly does our app to correct pronouns do? The main functions of our pronoun checker online writing tool include:
Identify different types of pronouns
Many people don’t realize there are 8 different types of pronouns in English grammar. After identifying all pronoun mistakes the tool makes ecommendations on how to correct the errors found.
Detect mistakes in pronoun use
The pronoun detector identifies any errors in the use of pronouns in your text. This includes such things as whether the pronoun being used is appropriate for the point of view or if the pronoun agrees with its antecedent.
Identify and correct other types of errors
These errors include punctuation mistakes, run on sentences, fragments, wrong verb tense and many others. It also checks for spelling mistakes and word usage errors, determines whether you are writing in active or passive voice and identifies the tone you are writing in.
Types of Pronouns Our Pronoun Tester Can Check
Many people are surprised to learn that there are actually 8 types of pronouns in English grammar. Pronouns are basically stand-ins for nouns so that we don’t keep repeating the same noun over and over. The noun the pronoun refers to is known as the antecedent.
Personal Pronouns Checker
Personal pronouns are short words that refer to people or things and will fall into one of three categories:
- First peson: The person speaking (I, me, my, we, us)
- Second person: The person spoken to (you, your, yourself)
- Third person: Person or thing spoken about (he, she, her, him, it, they)
Some of the issues encountered with personal pronouns that the first and second person checker can detect are using the wrong pronoun for the point of view. The third person checker identifies the point of view and whether or not the appropriate pronoun is being used.
Possessive Pronouns Checker
Possessive pronouns are pronouns that show possession or ownership of an object. Some examples of possessive pronouns are mine, yours, ours, its, hers, his and theirs. One mistake people make with possessive pronouns is using “it’s” instead of “its”. It’s with an apostrophe s is a contraction for “it is”. Its without an apostrophe is a possessive pronoun. Another common problem is confusing possessive pronouns with possessive adjectives. Possessive pronouns are meant to replace nouns while possessive adjectives describe nouns:
Example: “That house is mine.” (possessive pronoun)
Example: “That is my book.” (possessive adjective)
Interrogative Pronoun Checker Online
Interrogative pronouns are used to replace nouns when there is a question being asked. The most commonly used interrogative pronouns are what, which, who, whom and whose. Sometimes the suffix “-ever” is added to make an interrogative pronoun such as whatever, whoever and whichever. The following are a few examples of interrogative pronouns in use:
- Who is going to pay the bill?
- What is your favorite color?
- Which came first?
A common mistake with interrogative pronouns is using who instead of whom. Our who or whom checker will tell you which one is appropriate in your sentence.
Grammar Check Indefinite Pronoun Use
Indefinite pronouns are used when a person or thing doesn’t need to be specifically identified or is unknown. Some indefinite pronouns are any, anybody, anything, all, both, each, most, nobody and some. There are a number of others as well. Some examples of indefinite pronouns in use are:
- Everyone was at the party.
- All of the students passed the test.
There can be issues with some indefinite pronouns as the same word can also be used as an adjective:
- Many decided to go to the party. (indefinite pronoun)
- Many people are protesting the price hike. (adjective)
Identify Demonstrative Pronoun with Our Checker
Demonstrative pronouns are used in place of nouns and point to something specific in a sentence. The most common demonstrative pronouns are this, that, these and those. This and that are singular and these and those are plural. Occasionally none, neither and such can be demonstrative pronouns. Here are some examples of demonstrative pronouns in sentences:
- These are pretty.
- Those are very expensive.
An occasional problem our checker can help with is distinguishing between demonstrative pronouns and adjectives:
- These (adjective) eggs are broken but those (pronoun) are not.
Intensive Pronouns How to Find Them in a Sentence
Intensive pronouns intensify/ emphasize nouns and pronouns in a sentence. They are usually found immediately following the noun/pronoun they are emphasizing and typically will end in “-self” or “-selves” such as myself, herself, himself, themselves, yourself and itself. Here are some examples of intensive pronouns in use:
- The mayor himself cut the ribbon.
- I, myself raised the funds.
You can recognize intensive pronouns because the noun (antecedent) they emphasize will be the subject of the sentence. They are not essential to the sentences meaning and removing them won’t change the meaning of the sentence.
How to Fix Reflexive Pronoun Use
Reflexive pronouns are quite similar to intensive pronouns. They are used to show that the subject of the sentence (antecedent) is receiving the action of the verb and when the subject and object are the same. Reflexive pronouns end in “-self” and “-selves” and are the same words as intensive pronouns but used in a slightly different way. The following are some examples of reflexive pronouns:
- I burnt myself on the iron.
- He blames himself for the problem.
Unlike intensive pronouns, reflexive pronouns can’t be removed from the sentence or the sentence won’t make any sense.
Relative Pronoun Finder
Pronouns used to connect clarifying information to nouns or pronouns in a sentence are called relative pronouns. Relative pronouns include who, that, which, whom, whoever, whose, whichever, whomever and whatever. The following are some examples:
- Did you receive the letter that came today?
- His car, which is brand new, broke down.
A frequent problem that our pronoun finder can help with is determining when to use who or whom:
- Who is used when referring to a subject: “Who sang this song?”
- Whom is used when referring to an object: “To whom was the letter delivered?”
Common Types of Pronoun Errors and How Our Pronoun Detector Can Help
There are many different errors related to pronouns that can occur while writing but some happen more often than others. Some of the most common pronoun mistakes include:
Pronoun reference isn’t clear
Pronouns require a clear antecedent but sometimes a sentence may appear to have two possible antecedents. Example: “After the bicycle rider collided with the pedestrian, he had to go to the hospital.” It isn’t clear whether the bike rider or the pedestrian had to go to the hospital. Our tool will point out when the antecedent is unclear.
Vague pronouns
He pronouns it, this, that and which can cause a vague pronoun reference when referring to something mentioned in an earlier sentence. Example: “When the manager realized there was too much overtime he changed the work schedule. It caused problems on Monday.” What caused problems, the overtime or the schedule? The pronoun “it” is vague.
Pronoun-antecedent agreement
This is one of the most common of all pronoun mistakes, usually when going from singular to plural. Example: “A soldier must always maintain their equipment.” This is incorrect as “A soldier” is singular and “their” is plural. Our pronoun agreement error finder is outstanding at detecting these types of pronoun mistakes. Example: “I hate it when you get food stuck in your teeth.” In this example the point of view shifts from first person to second person. This is exactly the type of error people overlook that our pronoun shift helper will detect and correct.
Using a reflexive pronoun in place of a personal pronoun
Example: “Both my wife and myself were happier after moving to the new apartment.” The reflexive pronoun “myself” should be replaced with the personal pronoun “I”. Our pronoun identifier is practically a must have tool for anybody who is unsure how to identify pronouns and the various ways they might be used incorrectly. Many people won’t even recognize some of the pronoun mistakes they make, let alone have any idea how to fix it but our pronoun corrector will take care of that for you. It detects any pronoun errors in your text and makes recommendations on how to correct these mistakes.
Benefits of Using Our Pronoun Detector
There are many benefits to be gained when you use our pronoun detector when editing your written content. These include:
- Identify and correct multiple types of errors at one time: our writing tool is great for detecting and correcting pronoun errors but it also identifies and corrects many other grammar mistakes such as errors in punctuation, run on sentences, fragments and verb tense problems and more. Word usage and the tone you are writing in are identified and in addition it serves a spelling checker.
- Saves time: proofreading and editing for pronoun mistakes and other errors can take hours. Our writing tool will accomplish the task in a minute or less
- Works with any text: academic papers, blog posts, articles, letters, memos and any other type of text can be analyzed with our sentence checker tool.
- Free: our pronoun detector is free so it fits any budget
Using the pronoun identifier is also quite easy. You need only complete the following steps:
- Enter the text to be analyzed. Copy and paste your text into the provided field
- Start text analysis. Click the button to begin the analyzing process
- Receive your text analysis: You will receive a report identifying pronoun errors and other mistakes along with suggestions on how to correct the errors
- Make the recommended corrections
Try our pronoun finder to correct all your pronoun-related issues and take your written content from good to great!
