Lesson 7: Pronoun References

Hello again! Welcome back to class. Today's lesson is on pronoun references- one that isn't too hard to handle.

When you write sentences, you want them to be as clear and concise as possible. You do not want your readers to get confused when they read what you write. This goes back to the first lesson on audience awareness. When sentences contain pronouns whose antecedents (the noun your pronoun is referring to) are unclear, those who read them may mix-up different pronouns with different antecedents. They may get a different meaning from reading that sentence than was intended by the author.

Here's an example of a sentence that has an unclear pronoun reference: Mom told Bobby and Sam to do their chores, but he refused. Now, was it Bobby or Sam that refused to do his chores? It is impossible to tell, because the pronoun he could refer to either Bobby or Sam. Either boy could be the antecedent. To correct this sentence, simply be more specific: Mom told Bobby and Sam to do their chores, but Bobby refused. Pretty simple, right?

Well, short lesson today. Just remember to be clear and specific in your writing, and you shouldn't have any problems with unclear pronoun references. Always ask yourself if there could be multiple nouns that your pronouns can possibly refer to. If the answer is yes, revise your sentence so that there will not be any misunderstandings.