Page 6 Pronouns

Pronouns are a key element to identifying point of view. Read the conversation about an incident below:



So Dom, Rajinder and I went to the high school volleyball game. I watched him get hit with a volleyball.

We took him to her and she said he needed to go to emergency. So we brought him here on the bus.

Nurse 1: So who got hit on the head? Nurse 2: I have no idea.


Why were the nurses confused about the story?


Definition


A pronoun is a word that acts in place of a noun. So, it represents a person, place, or thing. 

Some examples of pronouns are: I, me, my, mine, myself, she, her, herself, hers, he, him, himself, his, you, yourself, yours, we, us, ourselves, ours, they, them, themselves, their, theirs, it, itself, its.

Pronoun Antecedent


Pronouns can cause confusion when the antecedent is unclear.  The antecedent is the noun the pronoun is replacing.


Example 1 Here is an example of a sentence with an unclear pronoun antecedent:

When Lisa and Mom arrived, I told her the dog was sick. 
  • Which is the antecedent for the word, "her"?
  • Does "her" refer to Lisa or to Mom? 

When Lisa and Mom arrived, I told Mom that the dog was sick.

When she arrived with Lisa, I told Mom that the dog was sick.

The meaning is much more clear in these corrected versions.


Example 2

Lisa told Rani that her cat was outside.
  • Whose cat is it? 
  • Is the cat Lisa's or is it Rani's? 

The antecedent for the pronoun, "her," is not clear.  Two possible ways to correct this problem are:
  1. Repeat the noun:

    Lisa told Rani that Rani's cat was outside.
  2. Reword the sentence: 

    "Rani, your cat is outside," said Lisa.



Example 3

When Lisa tripped over her dog, she broke her leg.
  • Who broke her leg?
  • Lisa or the dog?

Lisa broke her leg when she tripped over her dog.

An antecedent can be unclear when it is too far away from the noun or it is missing.



  Please contact your teacher if you have questions.