Understanding Pronouns: Usage and Agreement
Pronouns play a vital role in substituting nouns to enhance clarity and avoid repetition. However, ensuring clear reference to antecedents is crucial to prevent confusion among readers. This guide explores the importance of pronoun usage, common pitfalls, and strategies for maintaining clarity in writing.
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What Pronouns Do Pronouns SUBSTITUE for nouns. Instead of saying, George went to George s house, and George ate dinner before doing George s homework, we can say, George went to his house, and he ate dinner before doing his homework.
Why Pronouns Can Be Tricky Every pronoun you write should refer clearly and unmistakably to ONE PARTICULAR noun. This noun is the antecedent. If the antecedent isn t clear, it confuses readers: Take the radio out of the car and fix it. What needs to be fixed the radio or the car? In the above example, faulty pronoun reference occurs because the pronoun it has two possible noun antecedents: radio and car. HOW TO PREVENT THE ERROR: Reword the sentence or replace the pronoun with a noun. Remove the radio before you fix the car. Take the radio out of the car before you fix the car.
Another Example The teacher gave the student her notes. PROBLEM: Does the pronoun her refer to the noun teacher or the noun student? Revise this sentence to eliminate the confusion. Then advance to the next slide for some possible answers. NOTE: There are MANY ways to revise the sentence for clarity!!
Confusion Eliminated! PROBLEM SENTENCE: The teacher gave the student her notes. Mrs. Johnson returned Amy s notes to her. After Mrs. Johnson graded Amy s notes, she returned them. The teacher gave Richard her lecture notes. NOTE: with this sentences imply substituting a noun for one of the pronouns doesn t always work. EXAMPLE: OF A NON REPAIR: Mrs. Johnson gave the student her notes. ANOTHER NON REPAIR: The teacher gave Amy her notes.
