Pronouns must agree in number with their antecedents. A plural noun requires a plural pronoun.
Your keywords should be placed in two main places on your website. Firstly, it should be placed in areas visible to your visitors such as within your articles or in headings. Secondly, it should also be included within the HTML coding of your website such as in Meta description tags.
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Can somebody kindly point out where the error is? I'm not very sure what does Ed mean with regards to the 'agree in number' thingy.
Thanks
In the first sentence you use the phrase "your keywords" (plural).
In the next two sentences you use the singular "it" when referring to the keywords. If you change the "it" in the second and third sentences to "they" then they will match the plural "your keywords" phrase in the first sentence.
You are talking about keywords (plural) at first, but you are using the singular pronoun "it" to refer back to them. Instead, the pronoun needs to match:
Keywords should be placed. . . They should be placed. . . (not "It should be placed" because "keywords" is plural).
Or
A keyword is typically placed. . . It should be placed. . .
Your keywords should be placed in two main places on your website. Firstly, it should be placed in areas visible to your visitors such as within your articles or in headings. Secondly, it should also be included within the HTML coding of your website such as in Meta description tags.
You have started with a plural by using "keywords". You have then moved to a singular pronuon by using "It" in the next two sentences. Either use a singular "keyword" in the first sentence, or adjust the last two sentences to say "keywords" rather than it.
Kind regards,
Hayley
PS: Noone can say the CC community is not helpful - in the time it took for me to reply, two others replied with the same answer!
Last edited by HayleyWriter on Mon Jan 18, 2010 7:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Your keywords should be placed in two main places on your website. Firstly, it should be placed . . . "
You start by talking about "keywords" (plural), then switch to "it" (singular). You need to say, "they need to be placed . . ."
The "agree in number thingy" refers to singular vs. plural. If you use a plural noun (keywords), the pronoun you use for that noun also has to be plural (they). This is often an issue with sentences like "If your student is late handing in homework, you should lower their grade." The problem here is that "their" (plural) is used when the antecedent (the noun that precedes the pronoun) is singular (student). Make sense?
P.S. Make that three replies for me!
Last edited by 4rumid on Mon Jan 18, 2010 7:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Hahaha the CC community is indeed great!
Thanks for all of your inputs.
I always had this wrong thinking that one describes an inanimate object 'it' and only use 'they' for a living thing!
Wonder how that came about...
