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Usage - Pronoun Reference

A pronoun is a word used to stand for (or take the place of) a
noun.

A pronoun should refer

clearly to one, clear, unmistakable noun coming
before the pronoun.  This noun is
called the pronoun’s antecedent.

Unfortunately, it is very easy to create a sentence that uses a pronoun WITHOUT a clear, unmistakable noun
antecedent.

Example:

The pronoun it
does not have a clear noun antecedent.

As a result, the reader cannot know for sure whether Mabel sold the disk or the cabinet.  The pronoun
reference is faulty here because the pronoun it has two antecedents.

Such errors, called FAULTY or VAGUE  PRONOUN REFERENCE, can confuse readers and obscure the
intended meaning.

There are three major pronoun reference errors.

Error #1:  TOO MANY ANTECEDENTS

A pronoun should have only one antecedent.  That antecedent should be clear and unmistakable.

Look at this sentence:

Anyone who reads this sentence would not know which item was to be fixed.

Does it refer to the radio or the car?  The answer is unclear.

In the above example, faulty pronoun reference occurs because the pronoun it has two possible noun
antecedents.

To fix the sentence, substitute a noun for the pronoun.

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Here is another example
of faulty pronoun reference caused by more than one noun antecedent:

The pronoun reference is

unclear:  Who will get the bonus - the supervisors or the workers? 
They could
refer to either group.

In this example, the best

way to fix the pronoun reference problem is to rephrase the sentence.

Error #2:  HIDDEN ANTECEDENTS

Faulty pronoun reference errors also occur when

the pronoun's antecedent functions as an adjective rather
than a
noun.

In such cases, the true antecedent is

"hidden" or obscured from the reader because it has been subordinated
to another noun.

The reader of this sentence might think that the dish

was being eaten because dish appears to be the
antecedent for the
pronoun it.

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Obviously, people do not eat dishes.  What
this writer means to say is, "We were tired of eating candy."

However, candy cannot be the

antecedent for it because candy, situated in front
of the noun dish, is acting
like an adjective.  Only
nouns can be antecedents.

Here is another example

of faulty pronoun reference caused by a hidden antecedent:

Obviously,
she refers to Mary since a house would NOT be
able to answer a phone.

However,
Mary's modifies house - Mary's is a hidden antecedent and,
thus, is not clear.

Still
another way to repair this error is to rephrase the sentence.

Error #3: NO ANTECEDENT AT ALL

Another kind of faulty / vague pronoun reference

problem occurs when writers use a pronoun without giving
the pronoun any
antecedent at all.

Example:

In
this example, the pronoun they has NO noun antecedent to which it
can refer. 

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Here
is another example of a pronoun without any antecedent at all.

In
this example, the pronoun it has no antecedent to which it can
refer.

The
reader knows that Mrs. Smith is "wealthy," but it cannot
refer to wealthy because wealthy is not a 
noun.

There
are at least two ways to repair this error.

       
With
a noun (wealth) in the place of the pronoun (it), no antecedent is
needed.

Now
the pronoun it has a clear noun antecedent: money.

Here
is another example of a pronoun without any antecedent.

It,
which appears at the very beginning of the sentence, has no noun antecedent at
all.  In addition, the
construction It says in the paper is
unnecessarily wordy.

We
can repair this error by writing a more DIRECT version of "It says in the
paper."

Example:

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Another
way  to repair the "It says in the paper" error is to rephrase
this part of the sentence.

Example:

Both
methods of repairing this faulty/vague pronoun error eliminate the pronoun and,
thus, eliminate the need
for an antecedent.

Below,
another example shows how this error in pronoun reference occurs when a pronoun
is used to stand
for (refer to) a whole group of words INSTEAD OF one
clear noun antecedent.

The
word which has no single, clear antecedent.

Instead,
it refers to the entire clause - "I did not attend the rally."

However,
a pronoun must always refer to a single, clear, unmistakable NOUN
ANTECEDENT.

We
can repair this error in at least two ways.

Here
is another example of faulty pronoun reference where a pronoun is asked to refer
to a whole group of
words instead of a clear, single noun antecedent.

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The
problem here is This.  Its antecedent is the entire
preceding sentence.

The
reader cannot be sure whether Howard is very angry because:

1. Meg telephoned,
2. Meg telephoned yesterday, or
3. Meg had not attended the meeting the day before.

There
are at least two ways to repair this error and create a clear antecedent for this:

**
Watch out for "this" and "which" pronouns.  Often they
are used incorrectly and create faulty or
vague pronoun reference problems. **

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THE ANTECEDENT
Recognize an antecedent when you see one.

The English language includes pronouns, such as she, it, or they. Pronouns are
generic words that have little meaning on their own. If you hear a friend say, "She is
beautiful," you know your friend is referring to a singular, feminine being or object,
but with just the pronoun she, you don't know if the discussion concerns a woman, a
cheetah, or an automobile. You cannot picture the she until you know the antecedent,
the word that this pronoun refers to or replaces.

A NTECEDENTS AND P ERSONAL P RONOUNS

Often, an antecedent is the word, phrase, or clause that you replace with one of
these third-person personal pronouns:

T H IR D -P E R S O N P ER S O NAL P R O NO UN S

he, him, his, himself

she, her, hers, herself

it, its, itself

they, them, their, theirs, themselves

Here are some examples:

Adeline bit her lip.

Adeline = antecedent; her = personal pronoun.

Our carnivorous friends will not attend the picnic because they
despise tofu hotdogs and black bean burgers.

Friends = antecedent; they = personal pronoun.

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 When Kris sprained his ankle, Coach Ames replaced him with
Jasper, a much slower runner.

Kris = antecedent; him = personal pronoun.

Eating with your mouth closed has several benefits. Most

importantly, it keeps people from turning away in disgust.

Eating with your mouth closed = phrase as antecedent; it = personal

pronoun.

Karline hopes that her roommates remember to walk the new

puppy. It will mean less urine to mop up when she gets home.

That her roommates remember to walk the new puppy = clause as

antecedent; it = personal pronoun.

A NTECEDENTS AND D EMONSTRATIVE P RONOUNS

Other times, the antecedent might be the word, phrase, or clause that
a demonstrative pronoun replaces.

D E MO N S TR A TI V E P R O NO U N S

this, that, these, those

Check out the examples below:

Jackson rides his skateboard to work. Now this is an eco-friendly

mode of transportation!

Skateboard = antecedent; this = demonstrative pronoun.

You need to work on throwing large, unwieldy objects and

catching heavy things. Those are the skills you must acquire to
be a successful chainsaw juggler.

Throwing large, unwieldy objects, catching heavy things = phrases as

antecedents; those = demonstrative pronoun.

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 Francine prays that the neighbors will keep their barking dog
inside. That will allow her to get a good night's sleep.

That the neighbors will keep their barking dog inside = clause as
antecedent; that [the second one] = demonstrative pronoun.

A NTECEDENTS AND R ELATIVE P RONOUNS

And sometimes the antecedent is the point of reference for a relative pronoun.

R EL AT I VE P R O NO U N S

who, whom, whose, that, which

Read these examples:

Principal Meyers, whose nose hair curled outside his nostrils,

delivered the morning announcements.

Principal Meyers = antecedent; whose = relative pronoun.

The dish that contains the leftover squid eyeball stew cannot go
in the microwave.

Dish = antecedent; that = relative pronoun.

Eating ice cream for dinner , which might not be nutritionally

smart, is what Teresa wanted after her long day of waitressing.

Eating ice cream for dinner = antecedent; which = relative pronoun.

Realize that some antecedents can make pronoun agreement

tricky.

Usually, maintaining agreement between antecedents and pronouns is easy. A

singular antecedent requires a singular pronoun, like this:

The cat yowled its happiness for tuna.

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 Cat = singular antecedent; its = singular pronoun.

And a plural antecedent requires a plural pronoun, like this:

The cats yowled their happiness for tuna.

Cats = plural antecedent; their = plural pronoun.

Sometimes, however, establishing agreement can be tricky. Consider the situations

below.

E ACH AND E VERY

When you join two or more singular nouns with and, you create
a plural antecedent:

The beetle and baby snake were thankful they escaped the
lawnmower blade.

Beetle + snake = plural antecedent; they = plural pronoun.

If, however, you include each or every in front, the antecedent

becomes singular and will thus require a singular pronoun:

Each beetle and baby snake was thankful it escaped the

lawnmower blade.

Each beetle + baby snake = singular antecedent; it = singular pronoun.

No matter how many nouns you include, if you have each or every in front, the
antecedent is singular and needs a singular pronoun for agreement:

Each beetle, baby snake, worm, centipede, lizard, grasshopper,

and toad was thankful it escaped the lawnmower blade.

Each beetle + baby snake + worm + centipede + lizard + grasshopper +

toad = singular antecedent; it = singular pronoun.

C ORRELATIVE C ONJUNCTIONS

When you use correlative conjunctions like either ... or, neither ... nor, or not
only ... but also, only the second antecedent counts for agreement.

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 If, for example, the second antecedent is plural, then the pronoun that follows
must be plural:

Not only Freddy the nose picker but also grateful shoppers
replenished their supply of tissues during the drugstore sale.

But if the second antecedent is singular, then you need a singular pronoun to
maintain agreement:

Not only grateful shoppers but also Freddy the nose picker
replenished his supply of tissues during the drugstore sale.

S INGULAR I NDEFINI TE P RONOUNS

Singular indefinite pronouns are often antecedents. Logic might indicate that
the indefinite pronoun is plural—when we say everyone, for example, we mean
more than one person—but with this group, you must use a singular pronoun for
agreement:

S IN G UL AR I ND E F IN I TE P R O NO U NS

each, either, neither

anybody, anyone, anything

everybody, everyone, everything

nobody, no one, nothing

somebody, someone, something

Read these examples:

Neither of Darren's girlfriends knows that she has competition.

After the long hike in the c old mountains, everybody needs to

replenish her fluids with a steaming bowl of squid eyeball stew.

The lack of air conditioning made everyone's shirt stick

to his skin.

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C OLLECTIVE N OUNS

Class, family, jury, and team are examples of collective nouns. This type of
noun names groups composed of two or more members. As we all know,
sometimes a group acts in unison, as one unit, with every member doing the
same thing at the same time. Other times, the members of the group have their
own agendas and are pursuing individual goals.

When a collective noun is an antecedent, the behavior of its members

determines whether you need a singular or plural pronoun.

If all of the members are doing the same thing at the same time, then the
collective noun is singular and requires a singular pronoun for agreement:

The Larsen family does its shopping every Saturday.

In the quiet auditorium, the class took its chemistry final.

The team roared its displeasure when the opposition scored

another touchdown.

If, however, the members of the collective noun are acting individually, you
indicate that change by using a plural pronoun:

In the produce section, the Larsen family began arguing about

the vegetables they would prefer for dinner.

After the long and difficult exam, the class returned home, some
to pack for winter break, some to study for their Thursday exams.

During the off season, the team spend their afternoons

as they please, happy to escape the demands of the coaches.

S CHOOLS , B USINESSES , AND O RGANIZATIONS

Many people might attend a school, work for a business, or volunteer at an

organization, but when the name of that school, business, or organization is the
antecedent, you must ignore—for the purpose of agreement—all of the people
involved and use a singular pronoun.

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 Study these examples:

When Weaver High School won the regional football

championship on a technicality, we sneaked onto campus the next
evening and cut all four legs off its tiger mascot.

Save room for dessert, for Tito's Taco Palace offers its diners
fried ice cream with habanero jelly.

PencilGang International met its fundraising goal last year, so

free pencils will be distributed to needy writers worldwide.

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RULES FOR FINDING AND
FIXING PRONOUN AGREEMENT
ERRORS
Understand the problem.

Whenever you use a personal pronoun like she, it, or they, you first have to have
an antecedent, the word that the pronoun is replacing.

Read this sentence:

Gustavo slowed to the speed limit when he saw the police cruiser in
the rearview mirror.

The pronoun he replaces Gustavo. Pronouns like he will keep you from repeating
Gustavo, Gustavo, Gustavo over and over again.

The pronoun must agree with its antecedent. To navigate this agreement successfully,
you will need to know these singular and plural pronoun forms:

S IN G UL AR P L UR AL

he, she, it they

him, her, it them
his, her, hers, its their, theirs
himself, herself, itself themselves

The general rule for pronoun agreement is straightforward: A singular antecedent

requires a singular pronoun; a plural antecedent needs a plural pronoun.

Read these examples:

The boy scratched his armpit.

The boys scratched their armpits.

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 In most cases, you won't need to debate whether you need the singular or plural form.
The spoken English you have heard will help you make the right pronoun choice when
you write.

Use the correct pronoun in tricky situations.

English unfortunately includes some special agreement situations. These will require
your more careful attention.

K NOW HOW EACH AND EVERY CAN CO MPLICATE PRONO UN AGREEMENT .

In math, 1 + 1 = 2. This rule applies to pronoun agreement as well. If you have 1

singular noun + 1 singular noun, then together they = 2 things, or
a plural antecedent.

Read these examples:

The woodpecker and his mate tried their best to oust the squirrel
who had stolen their nest.

Ronald wanted the attention of the cheerleader and the baton

twirler, but he could not make them look his way.

The plural pronouns their and them are logical and ear-pleasing choices for
woodpecker + mate and cheerleader + baton twirler, respectively.

Two words, however, have incredible sentence power. Each and every are
singular and can strong-arm an otherwise plural antecedent to become singular
as well.

Watch what happens:

The cowboy and his horse drank their fill at the desert oasis.

Each cowboy and horse drank his fill at the desert oasis.

Every cowboy, horse, pack mule, trail hand, and cook

drank his fill at the desert oasis.

Each and every will also change the verbs that have to agree:

Whenever a diner walks in five minutes before c losing, the

cook and waitress sigh and roll their eyes.

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 Whenever a diner walks in five minutes before
closing, every cook and waitress sighs and rolls her eyes.

U NDERSTANDHOW CORRELATIVE CONJUNCT IONS CAN CONFUSE

PRONOUN AGREEME NT .

Exercise caution when you use correlative conjunctions like either ...
or, neither ... nor, and not only ... but also. Because correlative conjunctions
have two parts, you'll find two separate antecedents.

Read these examples:

Not only the handpicked flowers but also the homemade peanut
butter pie will win Briana's heart with its thoughtfulness.

Not only the homemade peanut butter pie but also the
handpicked flowers will win Briana's heart with their
thoughtfulness.

Notice that you have two antecedents, the homemade peanut butter pie and
the handpicked flowers. Use the closer of the two antecedents to determine if
you need a singular or plural pronoun.

R ECOGNIZE THE PROBLEM S THAT SINGULAR INDEFINITE PRONOUNS CAN

CAUSE .

Indefinite pronouns, a special class of words, will often be antecedents. Some

indefinite pronouns—despite the illogic—are always singular:

S IN G UL AR I ND E F IN I TE P R O NO U NS

each, either, neither

anybody, anyone, anything
everybody, everyone, everything
nobody, no one, nothing
somebody, someone, something

When people talk, logic wins, so you will hear plural pronouns with these words.
But when you write, words like everyone, somebody, and nothing are singular
and require a singular pronoun for agreement.

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 Everyone on the planet deserves clean water to quench their his
thirst.

Can you believe it? Somebody left their her dog in a hot car with
the windows rolled up!

Nothing is in their its place after the violent shaking from the
earthquake.

Because this group of indefinite pronouns is singular, your choice of singular

pronoun might strike some people as sexist. If, for example, you say,

Everybody should take his seat.

then the females present might take offense that you have excluded them. Or if
you say,

No one needs her money because the food is free.

then the males might wonder why they have to pay.

One solution is to include both genders with constructions like he or she, him or
her, his or hers, or him or herself.

The problem with using these inclusive constructions is that they are awkward.
Although you do maintain pronoun agreement and avoid offending one gender,
these constructions wreck the cadence of a good sentence.

Read a piece of professional writing—an essay, a movie or book review, an

opinion piece in the newspaper—and you'll notice that real writers, those folks
who engage audiences that number in the thousands or millions, will seldom, if
ever, use a phrase like he or she.

Instead, professional writers might revise the sentence so that a pronoun is

unnecessary. Sometimes, they make the antecedent plural so that they can use
the natural-sounding they, them, or their. Or they might decide to
alternate he and she in the piece so that both genders get mentioned.

Using he or she or him or her is technically correct. But it's also bad style. Avoid
these constructions if you can.

R EALIZE THAT NOT ALL INDEFINITE PRO NOUNS ARE STRICTL Y SINGUL AR .

Another group of indefinite pronouns are singular or plural, depending on the

information from the prepositional phrase that follows.

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 I ND E F I NI TE P R O NO UN S T H A T C AN B E S I N GU L AR OR P L UR AL

all, any, none*, more, most, some

Read these examples:

Some of this footwear smells because Tina wears it to the barn.

Some of these shoes smell because Tina wears them to the barn.

In the first sentence, footwear makes some singular, so it is the pronoun that
agrees. In the second sentence, shoes, a plural noun, has all the power. Some
becomes plural too, and them is the appropriate pronoun for agreement.

*Some people consider none a strictly singular word, a contraction of no one. We

at Grammar Bytes! subscribe to the alternative belief that none is the opposite
of all, and, like all, can be either singular or plural. Exercises here will reflect
that belief.

K NOW HOW TO HANDLE PR ONOUN AGREEMENT WITH COLLECTIVE NOUNS .

Collective nouns name groups [things] composed of members [usually people].

Here are examples:

C O L L EC T I VE N O U NS

army, audience, board, cabinet, class

committee, company, corporation, council
department, faculty, family, firm, group
jury, majority, minority, navy
public, school, senate, team, troupe

When the members of the group act in unison—everyone doing essentially the
same thing at the same time—then the collective noun is singular and requires
singular pronouns for agreement.

Read these examples:

The family is at the table, ready for its dinner, when Grandma
prepares her delicious chicken pot pie.

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 The committee decided to spend its budget on surplus yo-yos for
the officers.

The team agreed to host a car wash to finance its farthest away
game.

When, however, the members of the group act as individuals—each person

taking on separate responsibilities or actions—then the collective noun is plural
and requires plural pronouns for agreement.

Look what happens:

When Grandpa begins boiling liver, the family quickly find other
plans for their dinner.

At the car wash, the team took their places so that each vehicle
got vacuumed, washed, and dried.

The committee disagree if they should offer Billie financial

assistance after he suffered a concussion during an unfortunate
yo-yo accident.

If deciding whether the collective noun is singular or plural makes your head
hurt, remember that you have a couple of options.

First, you can substitute a regular plural noun for the collective noun. Then you
can use a natural-sounding plural pronoun.

The team football players [or athletes, or teammates] earned

500 dollars for their trip.

Another option is to add the word members after a collective noun. Members is
a plural antecedent and requires an ear-pleasing plural pronoun.

When Grandpa has dinner duty, the family members stretch their
budgets eating dollar items from the value menu at Tito's Taco
Palace.

The committee members wish that they had spent their surplus
on soft teddy bears, not skull -crushing yo -yos.

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U NLIKE
COLLECTIVE NOU NS , NAME D BUSINESSES , SCHOOLS , AND
ORGANIZATIONS ARE AL WAYS SINGULAR .

Many people comprise a business, school, or organization. For the purposes of

pronoun agreement, however, consider these three groups singular and
use it, its, or itself to maintain agreement.

Read these examples:

To increase its profits, Tito's Taco Palace packs its burritos with
cheap refried beans.

Weaver High School encourages its students to make leaner

lunch choices, such as hot, steaming bowls of squid eyeball stew.

The Southeastern Association of Salt & Pepper Shaker

Enthusiasts will hold its annual convention in Atlanta.

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20
Exercise on Pronoun Reference

Raihan Sir 21