In a sentence like After Andrew intercepted the ball, he kicked it as hard as he could, the pronouns he and it substitute for the nouns Andrew and ball. The word a pronoun refers to is called its antecedent.

Ambiguous reference

Ambiguous pronoun reference occurs when a pronoun could refer to two possible antecedents.

What broke—the pitcher or the table? Who won the lottery—Tom or James? The revisions eliminate the ambiguity.

Implied reference

A pronoun should refer to a specific antecedent, not to a word that is implied but not present in the sentence.

The pronoun them referred to Ann’s braids (implied by the term braiding), but the word braids did not appear in the sentence.

Modifiers, such as possessives, cannot serve as antecedents. A modifier may strongly imply the noun that a pronoun might logically refer to, but it is not itself that noun.

Using the possessive form of an author’s name to introduce a source leads to a problem later in this sentence: The pronoun she cannot refer logically to a possessive modifier (Jamaica Kincaid’s). The revision substitutes the noun Jamaica Kincaid for the pronoun she, thereby eliminating the problem. (For more on writing with sources in MLA style, see MLA-3.)

Broad reference of this, that, which, and it

For clarity, the pronouns this, that, which, and it should ordinarily refer to specific antecedents rather than to whole ideas or sentences. When a pronoun’s reference is needlessly broad, either replace the pronoun with a noun or supply an antecedent to which the pronoun clearly refers.

The writer substituted the noun ads for the pronoun this, which referred broadly to the idea expressed in the preceding sentence.

The writer added an antecedent ( fact) that the pronoun that clearly refers to.

Indefinite use of they, it, and you

Do not use the pronoun they to refer indefinitely to persons who have not been specifically mentioned. They should always refer to a specific antecedent.

The word it should not be used indefinitely in constructions such as It is said on television…or In the article, it says that…

The pronoun you is appropriate only when the writer is addressing the reader directly: Once you have kneaded the dough, let it rise in a warm place. Except in informal contexts, however, you should not be used to mean “anyone in general.” Use a noun instead.