Make pronoun references clear.

1. Make pronoun references clear. (A challenge for many ECA students.)

2. What is a pronoun? • Pronouns substitute for nouns; they are a kind of short hand. In a sentence like After Andrew intercepted the ball, he kicked it as hard as he could, the pronouns he and it substitute for the nouns Andrew and ball. The word a pronoun refers to is called its antecedent.

3. Differences between English & Spanish • In English, the pronoun is never dropped from the sentence because it is understood. You all know this, but some of you forget when you write and speak English.

4. About Grammar Checkers • They do not flag problems with faulty pronoun reference. Grammar checkers would miss the ambiguous pronoun reference in the following sentence: The thief stole the woman’s purse and her car and then destroyed it.

5. Examples of Ambiguous Reference • When Gloria set the pitcher on the glass-topped table, it broke. • BETTER—The pitcher broke when Gloria set it on the glass-topped table.

6. Another Example • Tom told James that he had won the lottery. Who won the lottery—Tom or James? • BETTER—Tom told James, “You have won the lottery.”

7. Implied Reference • A pronoun must refer to a specific antecedent, not to a word that is implied but not present in the sentence. FOR EXAMPLE • After braiding Ann’s hair, Sue decorated them with brightly colored ribbons. • BETTER—After braiding Anne’s hair, Sue decorated the braids with brightly colored ribbons.

8. A Subtle Implied Reference • In Mary Gordon’s The Shadow Man, she writes about her father’s mysterious and startling past. • BETTER—In The Shadow Man, Mary Gordon writes about her father’s mysterious and startling past.