Clear pronoun reference, namely, which noun or pronoun a pronoun refers to, is also very important. Unclear and ambiguous pronoun reference can be confusing to readers.
Wrong: Jane told Mary that she was right about the new student in their school.
(Who was right? The antecedent of “she” could be either Jane or Mary, thus the ambiguity occurs.)
Correct: Jane told Mary, “You were right about the new student in our school.”
Correct: Jane told Mary, “I was right about the new student in our school.”
Here are some tips in correct pronoun reference.
1. Remain consistent in using pronouns
Remember that you’re referring to you, or we, or I, or one; try to remain consistently within the same case.
Wrong: In Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, we find the narrator to be one of the few successful characters in terms of moral development. However, even the narrator, you soon realize, is seriously flawed.
Correct: In Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, we find the narrator to be one of the few successful characters in terms of moral development. However, even the narrator, we soon realize, is seriously flawed.
2. Avoid ambiguous pronoun references
When a pronoun refers to more than one possible antecedent, the reference is ambiguous.
Wrong: John walked with Bob because he did not know where the college’s bookstore was. (The antecedent of “he” could be either John or Bob, thus the ambiguity occurs.)
Correct: John didn’t know where the bookstore was, so he walked with Bob.
3. Avoid vague pronoun references
Pronouns like this, that, which, and it, can be confusing if the antecedents they refer to are not made clear.
Wrong: We never buy fresh vegetables at that store because they charge too much. (What does they refer to?)
Correct: We never buy fresh vegetables at that store because the owners charge too much.
Wrong: The movie Titanic is about man and nature, the rich and the poor, and the love story between a young man and a young woman. I like this enormously.
(Does this refer to the movie or its different themes?)
Correct: The movie Titanic is about man and nature, the rich and the poor, and the love story between a young man and a young woman. I like it enormously.
Correct: The movie Titanic is about man and nature, the rich and the poor, and the love story between a young man and a young woman. I like this mixture of themes in a movie enormously.
4. Avoid left-out pronouns
Another problem some students have is leaving out a pronoun necessary to complete a sentence. In some languages, a subject pronoun may be left out if it is clear. In English, however, the subject pronoun can never be left out.
Wrong: It is cold outside, and that is why is necessary to dress warmly.
Correct: It is cold outside, and that is why it is necessary to dress warmly.
Exercise 1
Correct the mistakes in the following statements.
Is important to find a regular place to study every night?
Check your brakes to make sure are good enough for the trip.
As long as everyone tries best to abandon the wasteful habits, the environment we live in would be more and more beautiful.
One point is that the mobile owners should protect your mobile numbers.
Everyone is different from others. As long as you are making progress, you are successful.
Exercise 2
Rewrite each of the following sentences to make clear the vague pronoun reference. Add, change, or omit words as necessary.
1. At the gas station, they told us one of our tires looked soft.
2. Nora dropped the heavy ashtray on her foot and broke it.
3. Don’t touch the freshly painted walls with your hands unless they’re dry.
4. Maurice stays up half the night watching Chiller Theater, which really annoys his wife.
5. Because my eyes were itchy and bloodshot, I went to the doctor to see what he could do about it.
