The (Picky) Pronoun Antecedents Page:
The
thing about something that takes a place of a noun is you've got to
make sure the reader knows what it is that it takes its place.
Ummm...er....?
Let me try again: The thing about a pronoun taking the place of a noun
is you've got make sure the reader knows what noun is being replaced.
A little better.
"Antecedents" is the term for the word a pronoun replaces.
Sometimes a writer will use the pronoun in a way that the reader has no idea what the writer means.
Mary and Jane opened up a stale bag of gummy bears. They were of different colors.
Hmmm? Interracial friends or pretty gummy bears?
But the all time problem maker is the pronoun "it" which all too often has a very unclear antecedent.
Sometimes "it" refers to some strange cosmic unknown:
It seems you are the one who murdered Colonel Marshall in the library.
What seems...??? Or, tell me please, what does the word "it" mean in the following sentence?
It is raining.
What exactly, pray tell, is doing the raining? Huh?
Yeah,
yeah the sentence communicates, and I'll put up my umbrella, but if you
are hoping to make your writing clear and appropriate to Standard
English, beware!
And make sure that should your writing contain I'll ship it tomorrow. that somewhere in your writing you have made very clear what "it" refers to!
I hate seeing unclear antecedents when people use "it" carelessly.
I love seeing "it" with a cleverly staged vague antecedent such as can be found on some bumper stickers:
Pilots do it in the air.
Or, my personal favorite
Teachers do it with class.
The joke works because "it" can refer to anything.
Even to IT!
There are some wonderful old blues songs that make good use of this phenomenon.
I will not quote any.
Helpful hint: When your writing has a need to be formal, Standard English, avoid using "it" altogether.
Your grades will improve and more people will love you.
Fool around a bit.
In
the space below try thinking of ways to write sentences that could have
some confusing pronoun antecedents, of some cosmic questions caused by
unclear antecedents, or some "it" problems.
And, if you're working on a final draft, circle all of the "its" in your paper. Now, replace each "it" with a noun. Better?
More often, though, we sometimes forget to make sure personal pronouns clearly refer to the specific person you intend:
Arthur, Fred, John, and Bismark went fishing. He caught the first fish.
Mouse Breath gave Simple Pimple a big party. He enjoyed it.
I guess the bottom line is, "When in doubt, throw it out." At least when you can figure out what "it" is. Or isn't. . .
To return to Step Two, click here.
