"She sang for the benefit of those whom she thought might be
interested." The explanatory parenthesis "she thought" comes between
the pronominal subject and its verb might be interested. Omit the
explanatory clause and the case of the pronoun becomes clear. "She
sang for the benefit of those who might be interested."
Agreement with Antecedent
A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in gender, person, and
number. The gender and person usually take care of themselves, but the
number of pronouns is a serious obstacle to correct speech.
_________________________________________________________________
134
"One tells the quality of their minds when they try to talk well"--
George Eliot, in Middlemarch. The pronouns their and they should be
singular.
"Everybody has something to say which they think is worthy of being
heard." Everybody refers to persons singly, and not collectively. They
think should be he thinks, he being the proper pronoun to employ when
the gender is not indicated.
"Every nation has laws and customs of their own." The use of the word
every necessitates a pronoun in the singular, hence their should be
its.
"Every one is accountable for their own acts.
Pages:
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140