Implied pronoun reference

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

Example sentence with editing. Original sentence: After braiding Ann's hair, Sue decorated them with brightly colored ribbons. Revised sentence: After braiding Ann's hair, Sue decorated the braids with brightly colored ribbons. Explanation: The word 'them' has been replaced by 'the braids.'

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 the pronoun might logically refer to, but it is not itself that noun.

Example sentence with editing. Original sentence: In Mary Gordon's The Shadow Man, she writes about her father's mysterious and startling past. Revised sentence: In The Shadow Man, Mary Gordon writes about her father's mysterious and startling past.

Example sentence with editing. Original sentence: In Mary Gordon's The Shadow Man, she writes about her father's mysterious and startling past. Revised sentence: In her book The Shadow Man, Mary Gordon writes about her father's mysterious and startling past.

The pronoun she cannot refer logically to the possessive modifier Mary Gordon’s. The revisions substitute the noun Mary Gordon for the pronoun she, thereby eliminating the problem.

Exercise: Pronoun reference 1

Exercise: Pronoun reference 2

Exercise: Pronoun reference 3

Exercise: Pronoun reference 4

antecedent The noun or pronoun to which a pronoun refers.

modifier A word, phrase, or clause that describes or qualifies the meaning of another word, phrase, or clause.