Writing Analytically, 6th Edition - Rosenwasser, David & Stephen, Jill [278]
Pronoun–Antecedent Agreement A pronoun must agree in number (and gender) with the noun or noun phrase that it refers to.
Pronoun Error: Plural Pronoun With Singular Antecedent It can be dangerous if a child, after watching TV, decides to practice what they saw.
Corrections
It can be dangerous if children, after watching TV, decide to practice what they saw. [antecedent (and verb) made plural to agree with pronouns]
It can be dangerous if a child, after watching TV, decides to practice what he or she saw. [singular pronouns substituted to match singular antecedent “child”]
The error occurs because “child” is singular, but its antecedent pronoun, “they,” is plural. The first correction makes both singular; the second makes both plural. You might also observe in the first word of the example—the impersonal “it”—an exception to the rule that pronouns must have antecedents.
Test yourself 19.5: Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
What is wrong with the following sentence, and how would you fix it?
Every dog has its day, but all too often when that day happens, they can be found barking up the wrong tree.
Ambiguous Reference A pronoun should have only one possible antecedent. The possibility of two or more confuses relationships within the sentence.
Pronoun Error: more than one possible referent for “they”
Children like comedians because they have a sense of humor.
Corrections
Because children have a sense of humor, they like comedians. [subordinate “because” clause placed first, and relationship between noun “children” and pronoun “they” tightened]
Children like comedians because comedians have a sense of humor. [pronoun eliminated and replaced by repetition of noun]
Does “they” in the original example refer to “children” or “comedians”? The rule in such cases of ambiguity is that the pronoun refers to the nearest possible antecedent, so here “comedians” possess the sense of humor, regardless of what the writer may intend. As the corrections demonstrate, either reordering the sentence or repeating the noun can remove the ambiguity.
Test yourself 19.6: Ambiguous Reference
As you proofread, it’s a good idea to target your pronouns to make sure they cannot conceivably refer to more than one noun. What’s wrong with the following sentences?
Alexander the Great’s father, Philip of Macedon, died when he was twenty-six.
The committee could not look into the problem because it was too involved.
Broad Reference
Broad reference occurs when a pronoun refers loosely to a number of ideas expressed in preceding clauses or sentences. It causes confusion because the reader cannot be sure which of the ideas the pronoun refers to.
Pronoun Error: use of “this” makes referent unclear
As a number of scholars have noted, Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx offered competing but also at times complementary critiques of the dehumanizing tendencies of Western capitalist society. We see this in Christopher Lasch’s analysis of conspicuous consumption in The Culture of Narcissism.
Correction
As a number of scholars have noted, Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx offered competing but also at times complementary critiques of the dehumanizing tendencies of Western capitalist society. We see this complementary view in Christopher Lasch’s analysis of conspicuous consumption in The Culture of Narcissism. [broad “this” clarified by addition of noun phrase]
The word “this” in the second sentence of the uncorrected example could refer to the fact that “a number of scholars have noted” the relationship between Freud and Marx, to the competition between Freud’s and Marx’s critiques of capitalism, or to the complementary nature of the two men’s critiques.
Beware “this” as a pronoun: it’s the most common source of broad reference. The remedy is generally to avoid using the word as a pronoun. Instead, convert “this” into an adjective, and let it modify some noun that more clearly specifies the referent: “this complementary view,” as in the correction