Fix Vague Pronouns

Start with Clear or Unclear Pronoun? so students learn to draw arrows to antecedents. Then use Fix Vague Pronouns for full rewrites.

Rewrite 6 items with vague pronouns so each is clear, like When Maya called Rosa, she was crying. A pronoun is vague when a reader cannot tell which word it refers to, so every pronoun needs one clear antecedent. The directions on the page read: Find the vague pronoun in each item. Use the other words in the item to decide what it means. Rewrite the sentence with the vague pronoun on the lines so the meaning is clear. An answer key is included.

Yes, both. We made it for 6th Grade pronouns, and the page works the same whether it lands on a kitchen table or a center rotation. At home, most families go through it together and talk the answers out loud, and that talking is where most of the learning happens with vague pronouns. In class it runs well as independent work while you pull a small group. Print one copy or thirty, whichever the day needs.

A pronoun is vague when it could refer to two or more words, or to no word at all. In Ms. Rao told Elena that she had won the poetry contest, she could mean Ms. Rao or Elena.

Replace the pronoun with the noun it means, or reword the sentence. Grandpa lifted the box onto the shelf, and then it fell becomes and then the box fell.

It is vague when this points to a whole idea instead of one word. Fix Vague Pronouns rewrites Mia missed the bus, and this made her late as Mia was late because she missed the bus.