Reference of Pronouns antecedent vs. pronoun

1. Reference of Pronounsantecedent vs. pronoun Ambiguous reference Broad reference Weak reference Complied by Ms. Terri Yueh

2. Case of Pronouns • The Nominative case • The Objective case • The Possessive case

3. The Nominative case • Subject of verb, Subject complement Infinitive to be without a subject • I will go. • I thought he had left the office. • No one can do as well as he (can). • The persons mentioned were she and Rob. • My friend and Iwent to town. • He knows whosent the money. • Who do you think called me last night? • The best player was thought to be he. • The man who James says will be our next governor in the room.

4. 2. The objective case • Object of a verb • They invited Mary and me to the party. • The chairman appointed three of us girls—Mary, Sue, and me—to the party. • Whom do you think we saw last night? • He is the boy whom we meet in the party. • Object of a preposition • Supplied were sent to them. • Whom were you talking to? • An excellent report was given by him. • Just between you and me, Mary is going to be promoted. • Infinitive to be with subject • We thought the guests to be them. • She took him to be me.

5. 3. The Possessive case • Possessive adjective • My book is on the table. • It’s time foryour car to have itsoil changed. • Your presentation was great. • Possessive pronoun • Theirs is the first car in line. • The passport is mine.

6. Ambiguous reference • Amy told her aunt that her money had been stolen. • When tourists first arrived in this new resort, the locals thought they were lucky people.

7. Broad reference • Not until the last moment will a man tell his wife about his extramarital affair, and itis a leading cause of divorce. • Not until the last moment will a man tell his wife about his extramarital affair; such secrecyis a leading cause of divorce. • Not until the last moment will a man tell his wife about his extramarital affair; such belated confessions are a leading cause of divorce. • Not until the last moment will a man tell his wife about his extramarital affair; such affairs are a leading cause of divorce.

8. Weak reference * My father is a chemist. This is a profession I intend to follow. • When she thrust a stick into the rat hole, it ran out and bit her. • Although the new regulations allow them to do it, high school graduates seldom go abroad for higher education.  • High school graduates seldom go abroad for higher education, although the new regulations allow them to do so. • The students did not hand in his report on time and because of it was flunked by the teacher.  The students did not hand in his report on time andwas therefore flunked by the teacher.

9. Consistency of Pronoun Reference • Remember that if you are referring to you, or we, or I, or one, try to remain consistently within the same case. • One You should observe this carefully whenever you write. • While one travels abroad, you should always keep yourpassport in a safe place.  • While traveling abroad, one should always keep one’s passport in a safe place. • When a teacher takes his or herstudents on a field trip, he or she is responsible for their safety.