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Pronouns: Antecedents

Be clear about which word the pronoun refers to

Pronouns and Their Antecedents

PERSONAL PRONOUN BEFORE PRONOUN
After the first-mention of a noun, a pronoun is commonly used to refer to the noun a second time. The noun is called the antecedent to the pronoun. Antecedent means "goes before".
noun (antecedent) pronoun By the time my family arrived, they were very hungry.
noun (antecedent) pronoun Because of the boy's hunger, he was permitted to eat early.

PRONOUN BEFORE PERSONAL PRONOUN
Placing the pronoun before the noun to which it refers is similar to "putting the cart before the horse". Not mentioning the noun at all forces the other person to guess what you are talking about.
pronoun noun (antecedent) By the time they arrived, my family was very hungry.
pronoun noun (antecedent) Because of his hunger, the boy was permitted to eat early.

PRONOUN BEFORE PERSONAL PRONOUN

Placing the pronoun before the noun to which it refers is similar to "putting the cart before the horse". Not mentioning the noun at all forces the other person to guess what you are talking about.

pronoun noun (antecedent)

By the time they arrived, my family was very hungry.

pronoun noun (antecedent)
Because of his hunger, the boy was permitted to eat early.

Antecedent — a word that comes before and is represented by another word after it.

Unclear Pronoun Reference

Reword a sentence when a pronoun reference is unclear.

Antecedent of Same Gender

NOUN OF SAME GENDER
A pronoun refers to a noun of the same gender. The reference is easy to understand when there is only one noun.
John gave Mary a recipe. She is a talented cook. She refers to Mary.
Tracy gave Robin a recipe. *She is a talented cook. Unclear! Tracy and Robin are names that could be male or female.
Tracy gave Robin a recipe. Robin is a talented cook. Reword and identify by name.
Tracy gave Robin her recipe because she asked for it. Reword with context.

NOUN OF SAME GENDER

A pronoun refers to a noun of the same gender. The reference is easy to understand when there is only one noun.

John gave Mary a recipe. She is a talented cook.
refers to Mary

She refers to Mary.

Tracy gave Robin a recipe. *She is a talented cook.

Unclear! Tracy and Robin are names that could be male or female.

Tracy gave Robin a recipe. Robin is a talented cook.

Reword and identify by name.

Tracy gave Robin her recipe because she asked for it.

Reword with context.

CLOSEST NOUN OF SAME GENDER
A pronoun refers to a noun of the same gender. However, if there are two personal nouns of the same gender, then it refers to the closest noun.
John was thanked by Mary. He is thoughtful. He refers to John, the closest masculine noun.
Tracy (female) gave Robin (if female) a recipe. She is a talented cook. She refers to the closest noun, Robin.
Tracy (female) gave Robin (if male) a recipe. She is a good cook. She refers to Tracy (the closest noun of female gender).
Robin was helped by Tracy. She is a good cook. Passive voice can be used to place a noun in a clause closer to the pronoun.

Practice 1

Cousins

Use the sentence clues (context) to figure out which pronoun to use to complete the sentence.

Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
Compare your response to the feedback by clicking the "check" button.

Every time I look at , seem taller.

Feedback 1

Pat is fifteen and Robin is thirteen. likes swimming, but doesn't know what he likes.

Feedback 2

taught Robin to swim. is a pretty good teacher.

Feedback 3

Because can swim now, can join the swim team.

Feedback 4

will be able to join the water polo team because is such a strong swimmer.

Feedback 5

Practice 2

Twins

Decide whether to use the noun or a pronoun that refers to it.

Select the word from each menu that best completes the sentence.
Compare your response to the feedback by clicking the "check" button to the right.

6-10.

When my identical twin girls, Ashley and Chelsea, were about a month old, developed a very high temperature, so I took her to the hospital where spent the night. Meanwhile, at home, was twisting and turning. was unable to sleep. The next night, was the same.

11-17.

As was still sick , decided to keep in the hospital for another night. asked if I could bring to the hospital and leave her there with her twin sister. immediately fell asleep. were comforted by each other.

As was still sick, decided to keep in the hospital for another night. asked if I could bring to the hospital and leave her there with her twin sister. immediately fell asleep because were comforted by each other.

18-20.

My girls are now 25 and are extremely close. calls sister several times a day.