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SAT
Course: SAT > 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: Pronoun clarity — Example
Watch David work through an SAT Writing: Pronoun Clarity question.
Want to join the conversation?
- Because "it" is singular, wouldn't it be better to select answer choice B as "the wood" is also singular? Choosing D is changing the number of "it," right?(13 votes)
- As David explained, both the boat and pier could be damaged. So using "it" is actually wrong from the beginning. It doesn't specify any object, so the sentence ends up being vague.(14 votes)
- As David explained, both the boat and pier could be damaged. So using "it" is actually wrong from the beginning. It doesn't specify any object, so the sentence ends up being vague.(1 vote)
Video transcript
- [Instructor] In our
haste, Jorge and I slammed our fishing boat straight
into the pier, but somehow, it showed no trace of damage. - Okay, so this part is underlined it tells me that possibly there
is something funky going on with this chunk of the sentence. Let's review the options,
see what that is. So option A, no change. Option B, the wood showed
no trace of damage. Option C, neither showed
no trace of damage. Option D, neither showed
any trace of damage. Cool, interesting, what this tells me is that we're talkin' about it. This is a pronoun clarity question. Let me show you why. Both fishing boat and pier
could be the antecedent for it. So right now as it stands, the
sentence is a little unclear. Which to me suggests we can knock out no change straight away. Option B, the wood showed
no trace of damage. I'm not sure about that
one, because a fishing boat and a pier could both be made of wood, but let's kind of hold on to that for now. Neither showed no trace of damage. Well I can eliminate that one because it contains an ungrammatical double negative right, neither, no. So even if it were correct
on any other merits, this would disqualify it. And finally D, neither
showed any trace of damage. Okay, that one sounds pretty good, but let's go back and see
if it's more clear than B. Because this one refers, neither refers to pier and fishing boat. Whereas wood is still kind of ambiguous. You know I don't know from the context of the sentence whether or not the pier is made of word or the
boat, I'm just gonna go with the thing that makes the most sense and choose D neither
showed any trace of damage. You're looking for the answer choice that brings the most clarity to the sentence in its revision. The wood is attempting one,
because it makes a kind of sense but it doesn't make enough sense. Neither makes more sense than the wood.