Introduction
“We have lawyers collating those Pink Sheets, and will handle it at the appropriate time,” declares a leading politician-cum-lawyer. This sentence is a showcase of Error of Concord. Specifically, it is a violation of pronoun-antecedent concord.
Explanation
The antecedent in question is “Sheets” which is plural. An antecedent is a noun that a pronoun refers to. Contextually, the pronoun that refers to “Sheets” is “it” which is singular. Therefore, the sentence is fractured by faulty concord between a singular pronoun and a plural antecedent.
Correction
The following are ways we may correct the faulty sentence:
● We have lawyers collating those PINK SHEETS, and they will handle THEM at the appropriate time. (Plural pronoun in CONCORD with plural antecedent)
● We have lawyers collating those PINK SHEETS, and they will handle the PINK SHEETS at the appropriate time. (Repetition of “PINK SHEETS” to avoid the Error of Concord)
NOTE
It is possible for the “it” to rerfer to an item or notion outside the linguistic context. However, in that situation, the structure should avoid any chance of ambiguity. For instance, the structure should not contain any other antecedent that could possibly refer to the “it.” The situation under review could be akin to what we call “Notional Concord.” In that situation, the “it” refers to a notion “outside the linguistic context.”
In line with the above explanation, I humbly suggest that the faulty sentence could have been reviewed as follows:
● “We will handle it. We have lawyers collating the Pink Sheets.”
Now the compound sentence has been separated as two simple sentences. In the first sentence, the “it” clearly refers to “an item outside the linguistic context.” Also, nothing in that sentence stands the chance of being the antecedent of the “it.” The phrase “Pink Sheets” which could be a source of ambiguity has been sent to the second sentence where it enjoys “immunity from ambiguity.” Hahahaha!
Conclusion
It is instructive to state that this type of “Concordial Error” is difficult to avoid. We must, therefore, be careful when dealing with pronouns and their antecedents.
Allahis the Best Linguist.
By Abubakar Mohammed Marzuq Azindoo,
Lecturer, University of Applied Management, Germany – Ghana Campus, McCarthy Hill, Accra.
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