11 | Pronoun Reference
11|Pronoun Reference
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The main use of pronouns is to refer in a brief, convenient form to some antecedent that has already been named. A pronoun usually has a noun or another pronoun as its antecedent. Often the antecedent is the subject or object of the same clause in which the pronoun appears.
Josie hit the ball after its first bounce.
Smashing into Greg, the ball knocked off his glasses.
The antecedent also can appear in a different clause or even a different sentence from the pronoun.
Josie hit the ball when it bounced back to her.
The ball smashed into Greg. It knocked off his glasses.
A pronoun as well as a noun can be an antecedent.
My dog hid in the closet when she had her puppies. [Dog is the antecedent of she; she is the antecedent of her.]
11aName the pronoun’s antecedent: don’t just imply it.
An antecedent is the word to which a pronoun refers (see 1b).
When editing, be sure you have identified clearly the antecedent of each pronoun. A writer who leaves a key idea unsaid is likely to confuse readers.
To clarify what noun or pronoun they refers to, the writer must supply an antecedent for they.
For more on choosing that or which, see 28e.
Guidelines for Multilingual Writers
How Do I Use Relative Pronouns Correctly?
Be sure to use relative pronouns (who, whose, which, that) correctly in sentences with adjective clauses. Use who, not which, for a person. Select that to introduce necessary information that defines or specifies; reserve which for additional, but not defining, information.
Do not omit the relative pronoun when it is the subject within the adjective clause.
In speech and informal writing, you can imply (not state) a relative pronoun when it is the object of a verb or preposition within the adjective clause. In formal writing, you should use the relative pronoun.
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FORMAL Jamal forgot to return the book that I gave him. [That is the object of gave.] INFORMAL Jamal forgot to return the book I gave him. [The relative pronoun that is implied.] FORMAL This is the box in which we found the jewelry. [Which is the object of the preposition in.] INFORMAL This is the box we found the jewelry in. [The relative pronoun which is implied.] NOTE: When the relative pronoun is omitted, the preposition moves to the end of the sentence but must not be left out.
Whose is the only possessive form of a relative pronoun. It is used with persons, animals, and things.
NOTE: When in doubt about a pronoun, you can rephrase the sentence: I bought a chair with wobbly legs.
Watch out for possessive nouns. They won’t work as antecedents.
11bGive the pronoun it, this, that, or which a clear antecedent.
An antecedent is the word to which a pronoun refers (see 1b).
Vagueness arises, thick as fog, whenever it, this, that, or which points to something a writer assumes is said but indeed isn’t. Often the best way out of the fog is to substitute a specific noun or expression for the pronoun.
11cMake the pronoun’s antecedent clear.
Confusion strikes if a pronoun points in two or more directions. When more than one antecedent is possible, the reader wonders which the writer means.
| CONFUSING | Hanwei shouted to Kenny to take off his burning sweater. |
Whose sweater does his mean—Kenny’s or Hanwei’s? Simply changing a pronoun won’t clear up the confusion. The writer needs to revise enough to move the two possible antecedents out of each other’s way.
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| CLEAR | “Kenny!” shouted Hanwei.“Your sweater’s on fire! Take it off!” |
| CLEAR | Flames were shooting from Kenny’s sweater. Hanwei shouted to Kenny to take it off. |
| CLEAR | Hanwei realized that his sweater was on fire and shouted to Kenny for help. |
11dPlace the pronoun close to its antecedent to keep the relationship clear.
Watch out for distractions that slip in between noun and pronoun. If your sentence contains two or more nouns that look like antecedents to a pronoun, your readers may become bewildered.
| CONFUSING | Harper steered his dinghy alongside the cabin cruiser that the drug smugglers had left anchored under an overhanging willow in the tiny harbor and eased it to a stop. |
What did Harper ease to a stop? By the time readers reach the end of the sentence, they are likely to have forgotten. To avoid confusion, keep the pronoun and its antecedent reasonably close together.
| CLEAR | Harper steered his dinghy into the tiny harbor and eased it to a stop alongside the cabin cruiser that the drug smugglers had left anchored under an overhanging willow. |
Never force your readers to stop and think, “What does that pronoun stand for?” You, the writer, have to do this thinking for them.
EXERCISE 11-1 Making Pronoun Reference Clear
Revise each sentence or group of sentences so that any pronoun needing an antecedent clearly points to one. Example:
I could see the moon and the faint shadow of the tree as it began to rise.
Katrina spent the summer in Paris and traveled throughout Europe, which broadened her awareness of cultural differences.
Most managers want employees to work as many hours as possible. They never consider the work they need to do at home.
I worked twelve hours a day and never got enough sleep, but it was worth it.
Kevin asked Mike to meet him for lunch but forgot that he had class at that time.
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Bill’s prank frightened Josh and made him wonder why he had done it.
Korean students study up to twenty subjects a year, including algebra, calculus, and engineering. Because they are required, they must study them year after year.
Pedro Martinez signed a baseball for Chad.
When the bottle hit the windshield, it shattered.
My friends believe they are more mature than many of their peers because of the discipline enforced at their school. However, it can also lead to problems.