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    Vague Pronoun Reference

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    Davidos Yoon
    This document discusses vague pronoun references and provides examples. It explains that pronouns should clearly refer to a specific noun or phrase (the antecedent). Vague references occur when there is no clear antecedent, multiple potential antecedents, a mismatch between singular and plural forms, or when a pronoun refers to an implied but unstated noun. The document provides revisions to example sentences to eliminate vague references by specifying the antecedent or removing unnecessary pronouns. It advises being clear and specific rather than vague when writing.

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    Vague Pronoun Reference

    Uploaded by

    Davidos Yoon
    79 views2 pages
    This document discusses vague pronoun references and provides examples. It explains that pronouns should clearly refer to a specific noun or phrase (the antecedent). Vague references occur when there is no clear antecedent, multiple potential antecedents, a mismatch between singular and plural forms, or when a pronoun refers to an implied but unstated noun. The document provides revisions to example sentences to eliminate vague references by specifying the antecedent or removing unnecessary pronouns. It advises being clear and specific rather than vague when writing.

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    This document discusses vague pronoun references and provides examples. It explains that pronouns should clearly refer to a specific noun or phrase (the antecedent). Vague references occur when there is no clear antecedent, multiple potential antecedents, a mismatch between singular and plural forms, or when a pronoun refers to an implied but unstated noun. The document provides revisions to example sentences to eliminate vague references by specifying the antecedent or removing unnecessary pronouns. It advises being clear and specific rather than vague when writing.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    79 views2 pages

    Vague Pronoun Reference

    Uploaded by

    Davidos Yoon
    This document discusses vague pronoun references and provides examples. It explains that pronouns should clearly refer to a specific noun or phrase (the antecedent). Vague references occur when there is no clear antecedent, multiple potential antecedents, a mismatch between singular and plural forms, or when a pronoun refers to an implied but unstated noun. The document provides revisions to example sentences to eliminate vague references by specifying the antecedent or removing unnecessary pronouns. It advises being clear and specific rather than vague when writing.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    Vague Pronoun Reference

    Pronouns are used to replace other nouns or noun phrases in order to avoid repetitiveness. Common
    pronouns include: I, me, you, he, she, us, we, they, them, that, which, who, whom. Some are used exclusively
    as subject and others as object, and some can perform double duty. Properly used, they are an important part
    of a good writer’s style. However, poor writers often use pronouns in a haphazard fashion, which creates
    unclear meanings and, sometimes, downright miscommunication.
    There are several types of vague pronoun references, and they all have to do with how the pronoun refers to
    its antecedent. A properly used pronoun refers to a specific and clearly identified antecedent.

    Biff informed Chet that he would take Mary Lou to the sock-hop Saturday night.
    In the above sentence, who “he” is remains unclear. It could be either Biff or Chet. The problem is that there
    are two potential antecedents. We can revise the sentence to make the reference specific to one or other of
    the possible antecedents, or even remove the pronoun altogether. Either way, the sentence becomes clear in
    its meaning:

    Chet learned that Mary Lou would be enjoying the Saturday-night sock hop in Biff’s
    illustrious company, or
    Chet realized that it would be his distasteful task to accompany the infamous toe-
    crunching Mary Lou to the Saturday-night sock hop.
    Another type of vague pronoun reference is created when there is no antecedent at all:

    Although Frank was a smart guy, he made little use of it.


    “It” refers to Frank’s intelligence, which is implied, but not stated in the original sentence.
    Instead, insert a clear antecedent, or remove the pronoun:

    Although Frank possessed a high degree of intelligence, he made little use of it, or,
    Although Frank was a smart guy, he made little use of his intelligence.
    A third type of vague pronoun reference is created when a singular pronoun is used to refer to a plural
    antecedent, or vice versa:

    Every single one of the students got an A on their report card!


    Instead: Every single one of the students got an A on his/her report card!

    (Consider carefully how you will deal with gender-specific pronouns when gender is unidentified or mixed.)
    And, finally, a common sentence structure in student-written essays where the student doesn’t really know
    what to say is “This shows that.” Notice how the writer can form the sentence without actually saying
    anything specific. Don’t do that. Be specific, not vague.

    EN10-12 D. Roberts
    Now, revise the following sentences to eliminate all vague pronoun references:
    1. The bosses informed the workers that they would be receiving a Christmas bonus.

    2. It says in the story that the protagonist is evil.

    3. After hiding the gun in the glove box of the car, it was stolen.

    4. If the class doesn’t finish the assignment, they can finish it for homework.

    5. Cynthia wrote to Kathryne every day she was on holidays.

    6. They make a lot of bad reality television shows these days.

    7. Going to school during the day and working at night are difficult for most students, but this
    strengthens the will and often leads to outstanding success later in life.

    8. The Vancouver Canucks hockey team is really bad, so bad, in fact, they stink.

    EN10-12 D. Roberts

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