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1.5 Pronouns
Learning Objectives
- Identify pronouns and their antecedents.
- Use pronouns and their antecedents correctly.
If there were no pronouns, all types of writing would be quite tedious to read. We would
soon be frustrated by reading sentences like Bob said that Bob was tired or Christina
told the class that Christina received an A. Pronouns help a writer avoid constant
repetition. Knowing just how pronouns work is an important aspect of clear and concise
writing.
Pronoun Agreement
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of (or refers back to) a noun or another
pronoun. The word or words a pronoun refers to is called the antecedent of the pronoun.
- Lani complained that she was exhausted.
o She refers to Lani.
o Lani is the antecedent of she. - Jeremy left the party early, so I did not see him until Monday at work.
o Him refers to Jeremy.
o Jeremy is the antecedent of him. - Crina and Rosalie have been best friends ever since they were freshman in high
school.
o They refers to Crina and Rosalie.
o Crina and Rosalie is the antecedent of they.
Pronoun agreement errors occur when the pronoun and the antecedent do not match or
agree with each other. There are several types of pronoun agreement.