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SAT (Fall 2023)
Course: SAT (Fall 2023) > Unit 11
Lesson 3: Writing: Grammar- Writing: Setting Up Ideas — Video Lesson
- Setting up ideas | Quick guide
- Writing: Strong Support — Video lesson
- Strong support | Quick guide
- Writing: Relevant Information — Video lesson
- Relevant information | Quick guide
- Writing: Sequencing sentences — Video lesson
- Sequencing sentences | Quick guide
- Writing: Transition Words — Video lesson
- Transition words and phrases | Quick guide
- Writing: Transition Sentences — Video Lesson
- Transition sentences | Quick guide
- Writing: Introductions — Video lesson
- Writing: Conclusions — Video lesson
- Introductions and conclusions | Quick guide
- Writing: Interpreting Graphs and Data — Video lesson
- Interpreting graphs and data | Quick guide
- Writing: Precision — Video Lesson
- Precise word choice | Quick guide
- Writing: Concision — Video lesson
- Concision | Quick guide
- Writing: Formal and Informal Language — Video Lesson
- Writing: Formal vs. casual language — Example
- Formal vs. casual language | Quick guide
- Writing: Syntax — Example
- Writing: Sentence Fragments — Video Lesson
- Writing: Sentence Boundaries — Example 1
- Writing: Sentence boundaries — Example 2
- Sentence fragments | Quick guide
- Writing: Subordination and coordination — Example
- Writing: Combining Sentences — Video Lesson
- Linking clauses | Quick guide
- Writing: Parallel Structure — Video lesson
- Writing: Parallel structure — Example
- Parallel structure | Quick guide
- Writing: Modifier Placement — Video Lesson
- Writing: Modifier placement — Example
- Modifier placement | Quick guide
- Writing: Verb Tense and Mood — Video Lesson
- Writing: Shift in verb tense and mood — Example
- Verb tense and mood | Quick guide
- Writing: Pronoun Clarity — Video Lesson
- Writing: Pronoun clarity — Example
- Pronoun clarity | Quick guide
- Writing: Pronoun Agreement — Video Lesson
- Writing: Pronoun-antecedent agreement — Example
- Pronoun-antecedent agreement | Quick guide
- Writing: Possessive determiners — Example 1
- Writing: Possessive determiners — Example 2
- Writing: It’s/Its Confusion — Video Lesson
- Confusion with "its" and "their" | Quick guide
- Writing: Subject-Verb Agreement — Video Lesson
- Writing: Subject-verb agreement — Example
- Subject-verb agreement | Quick guide
- Writing: Noun Agreement — Video Lesson
- Writing: Noun agreement — Basic example
- Noun agreement | Quick guide
- Writing: Frequently Confused Words — Video Lesson
- Writing: Frequently confused words — Example
- Frequently confused words | Quick guide
- Writing: Conventional Expressions — Video Lesson
- Writing: Conventional expression — Example
- Conventional expressions | Quick guide
- Writing: Logical Comparison — Video Lesson
- Writing: Logical comparison — Example
- Logical comparison | Quick guide
- Writing: End-of-sentence punctuation — Example 1
- Writing: End-of-sentence punctuation — Example 2
- Writing: Commas — Video Lesson
- Commas | Quick guide
- Writing: Semicolons — Video Lesson
- Semicolons | Quick guide
- Writing: Colons — Video lesson
- Colons | Quick guide
- Writing: Possessive Pronouns — Example
- Writing: Possessive Nouns — Video Lesson
- Making nouns possessive | Quick guide
- Writing: Items in a series — Example
- Writing: Punctuating Lists — Video Lesson
- Lists and punctuation | Quick guide
- Writing: Nonrestrictive and parenthetical elements — Example
- Writing: Nonessential Elements — Video Lesson
- Nonessential elements | Quick guide
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Writing: Possessive Pronouns — Example
Watch David work through an SAT Writing: Possessive Pronouns question.
Want to join the conversation?
- I don't understand how you can tell from the sentence that Ilana and Phyllis owned a spaceship together as opposed to Phyllis owning a spaceship, losing her keys and her friend Ilana helping her look for them. In other words: isn't "Ilana and Phyllis couldn't find the keys to her(Phyllis')spaceship, which Phyllis insisted she had hung on a peg in the workshop." Just as correct as:
"Ilana and Phyllis couldn't find the keys to their spaceship, which Phyllis insisted she had hung on a peg in the workshop."? In the video this is immediately ruled out but I really don't get why her isn't an equally valid option.
If you would change the gender it might be easier to understand what I mean:
"Ilana and Phillip couldn't find the keys to his spaceship, which Phillip insisted he had hung on a peg in the workshop."(3 votes)- Maybe it's because we can't find out who is "her" refering to(11 votes)
- Is the statement Ilana and Phyllis couldn't find the keys to there spaceship, which Phyllis insisted she had hung on a peg in the workshop, incorrect as the which refers to the spaceship rather than the keys as that is what we learned in Writing: Modifier placement ?(0 votes)
- First, that is the wrong type of there/their/they're. The correct form is their because "their" is referring to the spaceship belonging to the two people. Second, yes that is wrong because that sentence means that the spaceship is being hung on the peg instead of the keys being hung. The sentence should be written like this; Llana and Phyllis couldn't find their spaceship's keys, which Phyllis insisted that she hung on a peg in the workshop.(4 votes)
Video transcript
- [Instructor] Ilana and
Phyllis couldn't find the keys to their spaceship, which Phyllis insisted she had hung on a peg in the workshop. All right, so they're is underlined. This is a possessive pronouns question. So let's go through the options. No change, their, T-H-E-I-R, her, or T-H-E-R-E. Right out of the gate, I'm
gonna say eh, on no change. Let me tell you why. They're is a very common error for they're, their, there confusion. Sure, there is they in this referring to Ilana and Phyllis, but T-H-E-Y-'-R-E is a
contraction of they are, and we know that we're talking about the spaceship that belongs
to Ilana and Phyllis. So we know that this
is not the right word, T-H-E-Y-'-R-E, they
are spaceship, no good. So let's cross that off. Their, T-H-E-I-R, that's
the possessive form. That looks great to me,
but let's keep moving. Her, her is tempting because maybe the spaceship belongs to one of them. However, that's less correct than they're, because it creates a
pronoun clarity error. Which person does it belong to? Does it belong to Ilana or
does it belong to Phyllis? We don't know that and we can't know that from the sentence so we're
gonna have to eliminate it. Although I understand why it's tempting. Finally, T-H-E-R-E,
well this is an adverb. The spaceship was there in the workshop. So it doesn't work. What we're looking for
is a possessive pronoun. That pronoun that
behaves like an adjective that says this spaceship
belongs to Ilana and Phyllis. So it's not gonna be there. So that leaves us with
option B, T-H-E-I-R, because it applies to
both Ilana and Phyllis. It belongs to them, it is theirs, it is their spaceship.