Pronouns and Antecedents

What’s a pronoun? There are 4 common types: subject, object, possessive, and indefinite

Subject and Object pronouns Subject: “I” and “we” are pronouns that appear in the subject position “We wrote a hit song.” Object: “me,” “him,” “her,” “you,” “us,” “them,” and “it” must be in the object position. “The batter hit the ball to me.”

Possessive and Indefinite Pronouns Possessive: “mine” and “hers” Indefinite: “anyone” and “somebody”

What’s an Antecedent? The noun a pronoun replaces Example: I like bananas because they are healthy and delicious.

More examples “The driver totaled his car.” “The driver totaled the driver’s car.”

Problem #1: missing or faraway antecedents “Here at work they expect us to show initiative.” “it” and “they” are especially tempting to use without an antecedent. Our bosses expect us to show initiative.

Problem #1 continued “Breathe in through your nose, hold it for a few seconds, then breathe out through your mouth.” * hold your breath for a few seconds

Problem #2: Anticipatory Reference Referring to something that is yet to be mentioned OR putting the pronoun before the antecedent. “If it’s available, be sure to order the champagne.” Just switch the noun and the pronoun “If champagne’s available, be sure to order it.”

Problem #3: Ambiguous Antecedents Multiple antecedents = confusing pronouns “The room contained a chair, a desk, and a lone light bulb. It was twenty-six feet long by seventeen feet wide.” “It” could refer to “room,” “chair,” “desk,” or “light bulb.” How can we fix this sentence?

Solution(s) “The room contained a chair, a desk, and a lone light bulb. The room was twenty-six feet long by seventeen feet wide. The room, twenty-six feet long by seventeen feet wide, contained a chair, a desk, and a long light bulb.

Funny disagreement “The ladies of the church have cast off clothing of every kind, and they can be seen in the church basement Friday afternoon.”

Problem #4: agree in number If a student parks a car on campus, they have to buy a parking sticker. If a student parks a car on campus, he or she has to buy a parking sticker. Everybody, anybody, anyone, each, neither, nobody, someone, a person are singular and take singular pronouns

Problem #5: agree in person (1 st, 2 nd, or 3 rd ) When a person comes to class, you should always have your homework ready. When a person comes to class, he or she should have his or her homework ready. When students come to class, they should have their homework ready.