Inconsistency/Concord Failure/Noun-Pronoun Disagreement

The writer will feel it to be a great job accomplished when a good piece of writing is completed.






One of the attributes of good writing is correctness of usage and grammar including consistency.

More often than not, the first few sentences will give an indication of good writing or otherwise.

Below is the subheading of a news item in a popular national English daily:-

If it ain't broke, don't fix it, and so the comedy troupe again uses the same formula for their latest romatic comedy.

In such a short passage, you can see the irregularity highlighted in the subject: the word 'troupe' is treated as a singular noun with the use of a singular verb 'uses' but later as a plural noun with the use of the plural pronoun 'their'.

Such inconsistency (already touched upon in my earlier post Asymetrical sentence) is often seen in newspapers. If it is not due to poor command of English, editorial vigilance is the only solution.

Newspapers need to leave no stones unturned to achieve the required improvements lest the public especially students be misled into following such uses.