change to personal pronouns

Question

change the underlined words words to personal pronouns.

(it, she, he, they, we, our)

1. the policeman caught the traffic offender.

2. the fishermen caught fish with their nets.

3. my classmates presented a short play in class.

4. the frogs jumped into the pond.

Answer 1

Hi Ghe,

Great question on personal pronouns.

The key here is to identify if the nouns underlined above are singular or plural. Once you've been able to determine if the noun is singular or plural, determine if the pronoun itself (he, she, they, it, we etc.) should be singular or plural.

1. Answer: He/She/They caught the traffic offender. This one is hard. Why? Because the word policeman refers to a single person. Policeman is gender-neutral (a man, woman, or nonbinary person) may be a policeman. If the person identifies as a man, "he" is proper. If the person identifies as a woman, "she" is proper. And if the person is nonbinary, "they" is proper.
2. Answer: They caught fish with their nets. Here, "fishermen" is plural. We are talking about more than one fisherman. Therefore, "they" is proper.
3. Answer: They presented a short play in class. Here, "classmates" is plural. We are talking about more than one of classmate. Therefore, "they" is proper.
4. Answer: They jumped into the pond. Here, "frogs" is plural. We are talking about more than one frog. Thus, "they" is proper.

Let me know if you have any questions!