Pronoun Errors

Pronouns take the place of nouns in sentences. In order to avoid a grammar error,
the pronoun has to agree with the noun that it is replacing. Some examples of bad
grammar that occur due to noun/pronoun agreement errors include:
 Anna and Pat are married; he has been together for 20 years. "Anna and
Pat" are plural, while "he" is singular. The sentence should read, "Anna and Pat are
married; they have been together for 20 years."
 I fed all of her fish, then cleaned its tank. In this sentence, "its" takes the place
of the plural phrase "all of her fish." It should use a plural pronoun, as in, "I fed all of her
fish, then cleaned their tank."
 When the girls on the team got to the hotel, they dropped off her
luggage. "Girls on the team" and "they" confirm that this sentence has a plural subject,
so the singular "her" in "her luggage" is wrong. The sentence should read, "When the
girls on the team got to the hotel, they dropped off their luggage."
To double check this challenging aspect of English grammar, take a look at our article
on pronoun agreement.

Double Negatives
Double negatives are a classic example of poor grammar. Some examples include:
 I can't hardly believe what she said. "Can't" and "hardly" are both negative
constructions. The proper form is either, "I can't believe what she said" or, "I can hardly
believe what she said."
 I don't want no pudding. Technically speaking, since two negatives cancel each
other out, saying, "I don't want no pudding" means that you do want pudding. Instead,
the sentence should read, "I don't want pudding" or, "I don't want any pudding."
 I won't do nothing. In English, saying "I won't do nothing" is synonymous with "I
will do something." To express a negative, the sentence should read "I will do nothing."
Not every language handles double negatives the same way. Happily, English
consistently treats double negatives as a positive. Review our list of double negative
rules and tips for more.
 Sentence Fragments
A sentence requires at least a subject and a verb, and sometimes an object. If it fails to
do so, then it is a sentence fragment. Sentence fragments are bad grammar, and some
examples of sentence fragments include the following:

 Because I ate dinner. This is a sentence fragment because it doesn't express a

complete thought. What happened because you ate dinner?
 I accidentally. You accidentally what? Lacking a verb and an object, the reader
simply doesn't understand what the sentence is meant to say.
 Jumped high. This is a sentence fragment because the reader does not know
who jumped high.
For more help in making your sentences complete, review our article on correcting
sentence fragments.