Pronouns

Extra Pronoun It is easy to add an extra pronoun if the subject of the sentence is separated from the verb by a long adjectival clause. Wrong: The countries which Hitler wanted to conquer in the late 1930s they were too weak to resist him. Right: The countries which Hitler wanted to conquer in the late 1930s were too weak to resist him.

First Person Singular The object of a formal essay is normally to present an argument, and you will prove your case by presenting evidence rather than by stating that such and such is what you think. Thus many teachers advise their students to avoid using the first person singular (I and me) in their writing.

Phrases such as I think and I feel, on the other hand, will not help you convince the reader of the strength of your main points. Poor: I felt greatly moved by the final pages of The Stone Angel. Better: The final pages of The Stone Angel are extraordinarily moving.

He/She Many writers now feel that the use of he to represent both sexes is unacceptable. Yet he/she or he or she are undeniably awkward and wordy. One solution is to alternate between he and she is successive chapters. Another is to avoid the singular pronoun as much as possible, either by repeating the nouns or by switching t the plural.

Poor: A doctor who treats his patients humanely is unlikely to benefit financially from doing so. Better: Doctors who treat their patients humanely is unlikely to benefit from doing so.

Unreferenced or Wrongly Referenced Pronoun Normally a pronoun must refer to a noun in the previous sentence or clause. In the following sentence, the pronoun she clearly refers to the noun Charity, which is the subject of the first clause in the sentence. Ex. Charity told George that she would start work at nine.

Notice how confusing the sentence becomes, however, if there are two possible shes in the first part of the sentence: Ex. Charity told Mavis that she would start work at nine.

Does this mean that Charity will start work at nine, or that Mavis will? From the sentence, it is impossible to tell. In cases like this, where it is not absolutely clear who or what a pronoun refers to, use the noun again instead: Clear: Charity told Mavis that she (Charity) would start work at nine.

Similar mistakes are often made when you are writing about a general class of people, such as policemen, or doctors, or football players. When writing this way you may use either the third person singular (e.g., A doctor helps patients. He…) or the third person plural(Doctors help patients. They…).

Wrong: A herbalist knows a lot about herbs and other plants. They can often cure you by giving you medicine. ( Here the pronoun they meant to refer to the singular noun herbalist) Right: A herbalist knows a lot about herbs and other plants. He can often cure you by giving you medicine.

It may not also be clear what or who a pronoun refers to if it is placed too far away from the noun. Poor: The Finance Minister increased corporation taxes by an average of 43%. Other measures in the budget include 20 million pesos in student assistance. He also introduced a variety of measures to help small businesses. Better: The Finance Minister increased corporation taxes by an average of 43%. Other measures in the budget include 20 million pesos in student assistance. The Minister also introduced a variety of measures to help small businesses.

Be particularly careful when using this a s a pronoun; if the preceding sentence is a noun, it may not be at all clear what this refers to: Poor: The surplus was forecast to be $200 million, but turned out to be over $2 billion. This reflected the government’s failure to predict the increase in interest rates and the onset of a recession. Better: The surplus was forecast to be $200 million, but turned out to be over $2 billion. This vast discrepancy reflected the government’s failure to predict the increase in interest rates and the onset of a recession.

Sometimes your meaning may be clear, but the omission of a pronoun may create unintended and humorous ambiguity: Wrong: She visited a doctor with a bad case of the flu. (According to this the doctor had a flu) Right: she visited a doctor when she had a bad case of the flu.