Use Pronouns Carefully

A pronoun is word that replaces a noun in a sentence. Every time you write a pronoun-he, his, she, her, it, its, they, that, or which be sure there can be absolutely no doubt what its antecedent is. (An antecedent is the particular noun a pronoun refers to or stands for). Careless use of pronouns can obscure your intended meaning.

• UNCLEAR: The teacher told the student he was lazy. (Dose he refer to teacher or student?)
• UNCLEAR: Sara knows more about history than Irina because she learned it from her father. (Dose she refer to Sara or Irina?)

You can usually rearrange a sentence to avoid ambiguous pronoun references.

• CLEAR: The student was lasy, and the teacher told him so.
• CLEAR: The teacher considered himself lazy, and told the student so.
• CLEAR: Since Sara learned history from her father, she knows more than Irina dose.
• CLEAR: Because Irina learned history from her father, she knows less about it than Sara dose.

If you are worried that a pronoun reference will be ambiguous, rewrite the sentence so that there is no doubt. Do not be afraid to repeat the antecedent if necessary:

• UNCLEAR: I would rather settle in Phoenix than in Albuquerque, although it lacks wonderful restaurants.
• CLEAR: I would rather settle in Phoenix than in Albuquerque, although Phoenix lacks wonderful restaurants.

A reader must be able to pinpoint the pronoun's antecedent. Even if you think the reader will know what you mean, do not use a pronoun without a clear and appropriate antecedent.

• INCORRECT: When you are painting, be sure not to get it on the floor. (It could only refer to the noun paint. But do you see the noun paint anywhere in the sentence? Pronouns cannot refer to implied nouns.)
• CORRECT: When you are painting, be sure not to get any paint on the floor.