1. PRONOUN REVIEW THREE-PART SERIES Part 1 Pronoun Case Part 2 Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement Part 3 Pronoun Reference PRONOUNS Part 3 Pronoun Reference

2. For pronoun reference, remember three basic rules. A personal pronoun MUST have an antecedent. A pronoun must have just ONE possible antecedent. The relative pronouns WHICH and THAT begin subordinate clauses that MUST modify the noun or pronoun directly in front of the subordinate clause. Remember that the antecedent is the noun or pronoun to which a pronoun later in the sentence refers. The pronoun and antecedent do not have to be in the same sentence, but the relationship must still be clear ANTECEDENT PRONOUN People are often logic driven. But more often, they are emotion driven. ANTECEDENT PRONOUN George told his sister that he wants to study engineering. ANTECEDENT PRONOUN Grandmother prefers Comfit jeans, which are manufactured only in New Jersey.

3. PROBLEMS TO AVOID Pronouns that do not have antecedents They say that teenagers require eight or nine hours of sleep each night. Often people use this ambiguous THEY, but do not use THEY unless it refers to specific people named earlier in the sentence or in the sentence before. If you have no antecedent for the pronoun, use a noun instead. Experts say that teenagers require eight or nine hours of sleep each night. I won’t buy any more pool supplies from Aqua Dream because they don’t stand behind their products. Again, there is no group of people for THEY and THEIR to rename The company Aqua Dream is one company, singular, so THEY and THEIR can’t refer to it. I won’t buy any more pool supplies from Aqua Dream because the company doesn’t stand behind its products. Now, the singular pronoun ITS clearly refers to the singular COMPANY.

4. More Problems with No Antecedent I went by Chinese restaurant this afternoon, but they were closed. THEY has no people to refer to. I went by the Chinese restaurant this afternoon, but IT was closed. In the middle of the night and all alone, Susan walked ten blocks to her friend’s house. This was not a good idea. THIS must refer to a specific noun. THIS idea is the best you’ve had. It may not refer to an entire sentence. In the middle of the night and all alone, Susan walked ten blocks to her friend’s house. Doing so was not a good idea. My brother wants to study medicine, but I’m not interested in it. In this sentence, IT has nothing to refer to. It can’t logically refer to medicine. My brother wants to study medicine, but I’m not interested in being a doctor.

5. MORE THAN ONE POSSIBLE ANTECEDENT Sometimes, a pronoun is unclear because it could refer to more than one antecedent. Mark told David his car had been stolen. The problem is the pronoun HIS. Whose car is missing? Actually, HIS could refer to either Mark or David. This sentence is harder to repair. Sometimes rewording is necessary. These two sentences are revised to eliminate the error. Mark told David that his, David’s, car had been stolen. When Mark saw that his car had been stolen, he told David about the theft. When Mary bumped bumped her garage door with her car, it dented. What dented? Either the garage door or the car could be dented. Clarify. When Mary bumped her garage door with her car, the car was dented.

6. TOO MANY POSSIBLE ANTECEDENTS Sometimes, a pronoun could have several antecedents. The antecedent should be the closest noun or pronoun to the pronoun renamed by it. Mary cut the stems off the strawberries and threw them away. Logic says that Mary threw away the stems and kept the strawberries. But the closer antecedent to the pronoun THEM is STRAWBERRIES, so grammatically, she threw the berries away. Mary cut the stems off the strawberries and threw away the stems. Mary threw away he stems that she cut off the strawberries. or even… Mary threw away the strawberry stems.

7. More Problems Tom spilled paint on his favorite sweater. It could not be washed out. Probably the paint could not be washed out, but the sentence sounds as if Tom cannot wash out the sweater. On his favorite sweater, Tom spilled paint that could not be washed out. Steve came home from work, put a pizza in the oven, changed clothes, turned on the television, lay on the couch, and let it burn to a crisp. Do not put other possible antecedents between the pronoun and the intended antecedent. Steve burned the pizza, not the couch upon which he lay. Usually, the best remedy is to repeat the original antecedent for clarity. Steve came home from work, put a pizza in the oven, changed clothes, turned on the television, lay on the couch, and let the pizza burn to a crisp.

8. THAT. WHICH, AND WHO CLAUSES Bill bought a shabby old Chevy truck that embarrassed his wife. The closest noun to the underlined THAT clause is TRUCK. It is the truck that embarrassed the wife. Not all such clauses have an antecedent. but they must have. Jane spends way too much money, which annoys her husband. In this sentence, the WHICH clause modifies the closest noun, MONEY. The husband’s worry really isn’t money. What annoys him is the spending. The sentence can be simplified for clarity. Jane’s overspending annoys her husband.

9. THAT, WHICH, WHO Kathy met a man on the flight to Europe who is from Paris. WHO should modify the closest noun, EUROPE, but EUROPE is not logical. On the flight to Europe, Kathy met a man who is from Paris. Now the man is from Paris, and the sentence is logical. John has coins in his pockets, which are jingling. The sentence says that the pockets are jingling. In his pocket, John has coins, which are jingling.

10. PRONOUN REFERENCE The pronoun should have ONE CLEAR antecedent. Other nouns and pronouns, possible antecedents, should not be placed between the logical pronoun and antecedent. Check each pronoun to be sure its antecedent is clear.