What is an antecedent?
Pronouns are used in place of a noun. This word that the pronoun replaces is called an antecedent. It is the antecedent of the pronoun. An antecedent comes before the pronoun that refers to it. Here are some examples:
1. The mother held a rattle and the baby played with it.
2. Mike entered the cycling race and he won first prize.
In the first example above the pronoun it is used in place of the noun rattle. In this case rattle is the antecedent of the pronoun it. The pronoun it refers to rattle.
In the second sentence the pronoun he is used in place of the noun Mike. The noun Mike is the antecedent of the pronoun he. As you can see the he in the sentence refers to Mike.
What is faulty pronoun reference?
Your pronouns must refer directly to their antecedent. When it is not clear what is the antecedent of a pronoun, writing can become ambiguous. You can leave your reader confused. You can fail to deliver the correct information. Miscommunication can be the result.
Here is an example of an unclear pronoun reference:
After taking the drill from the toolbox, Fred gave it away.
Here we are not sure if the pronoun it refers to the toolbox or to the drill. We do not know what is the antecedent of it. We are confused as to whether Fred gave away the toolbox or whether he gave away the drill.
We can rewrite the sentence as follows and remove the ambiguity.
Fred gave away the drill after he took it from the toolbox.
In this new sentence it is clear that the pronoun it refers to drill. The antecedent of it is drill. Now we are sure of what item Fred gave away.
You can also avoid a faulty pronoun reference by rewriting the sentence without the use of a pronoun.
Example: After taking out the drill, Fred gave away the toolbox.
This new construction makes it clear what Fred gave away.
Examples of faulty pronoun reference
Here are some other examples of faulty pronoun reference. These sentences leave the reader guessing about the antecedent of a pronoun.
1. Carla and her mother watched the parade but she did not like the fireworks.
Here it is unclear whether the antecedent of she is Carla or her mother.
2. The Sparrows defeated the Marbles and they hired a new coach.
In this sentence the faulty pronoun reference leaves us guessing as to which team hired a new coach. They is a plural pronoun and there are two plural nouns preceding it. There are two possible antecedents and this uncertainty leaves the reader confused.
3. The black hen and the white hen which had chicks scratched a hole in the yard.
Which hen had chicks? Once again we are left guessing. Where you have two possible antecedents your pronoun reference can be unclear.
What happens when you leave out the antecedent?
The examples above are unclear because there are two possible antecedents for the pronoun. However you may find that a pronoun is used in a sentence and there is no noun or antecedent to which it can refer.
Example: Sandra can draw but she does not use it.
In this sentence the pronoun reference is very unclear. We know that the pronoun she refers to Sandra. The other pronoun it has no noun to which it can refer. There is only one noun in the sentence and that is the word Sandra. It cannot refer to Sandra for Sandra is a person. We can guess that the writer is referring to Sandra’s talent for drawing. We could rephrase the sentence and get rid of the pronoun it.
Example: Sandra can draw but she does not use that talent.
Another way to avoid the unclear pronoun reference is to include a noun as an antecedent for the pronoun it.
Example: Sandra has artistic talent but she does not use it.
Now the pronoun it has the antecedent talent to which it can refer.
Be careful when writing and avoid unclear pronoun reference.