Merriam-Webster defines a pronoun as “a word that is used instead of a noun or noun phrase. Pronouns refer to either a noun that has already been mentioned or to a noun that does not need to be named specifically.”*
That says it well enough. Pronouns are grouped in various categories, but they all boil down to two kinds: those whose meaning is inherently clear, and those that can create confusion unless they’re handled carefully.
I and you are examples of instantly understandable pronouns. When I say I in this sentence, you know I mean myself. No need to explain. Ditto you; you understand I’m talking to. . . well, to you. In both cases, my meaning is clear.
Other pronouns, however, require careful handling; otherwise, they can easily slip outside their context and confuse readers. These are pronouns such as he, she, they, it, and those that, as the above definition puts it, “refer to . . . a noun that has already been mentioned.” In other words, they are standing in for another noun, called an antecedent.
Learn that word, antecedent. It’s a useful one, because as a writer, you’re dealing constantly with pronouns and antecedents. For example:
Adam was hungry, so he made a sandwich.
He is the pronoun, and Adam is the antecedent. Clear enough.
Where It Gets Confusing
But what about this:
Adam was hungry, and since Peter was too, he made a sandwich for each of them.
Who made the sandwich, Adam or Peter? Grammatically, Peter did. A pronoun refers to the noun most nearly preceding it that agrees with it in kind and number (i.e., male, female, or neuter; singular or plural). That’s the rule, and Peter is therefore the antecedent.
BUT. But, but, but . . . what if it was actually Adam who made the sandwich? Is that what you meant to say? If so, you’ve got to make your meaning plain, because what may be crystal-clear in your mind isn’t necessarily so to your reader.
The solution is simple: use the noun, not the pronoun.
Adam was hungry, and since Peter was too, Adam made a sandwich for each of them.
For that matter, even if Peter is your intended sandwich artist and your antecedent-pronoun combination is just as it should be, I as a reader still find the pronoun he ambiguous in this context. It’s just how my mind works. Rule or no rule, I tend to read in Adam as the antecedent. Kind of. I’m not really sure, you see. With a little rewriting, you can ease my puzzlement.
Clarity’s the Goal
One more time: a pronoun takes as its antecedent the nearest preceding noun or noun phrase that matches it in number and kind. That’s the rule.
But let’s not cast that rule in cement. In practice it gets broken often, with no harm done. (I’ve doubtless broken it a number of times writing this post.) Context often allows a pronoun to retain its meaning clearly even when another noun follows the antecedent. So look at the rule as more of a guideline: extremely helpful, but don’t let it hang you up. Your goal isn’t to abide by inflexible orthodoxy; it’s to ensure that your readers always know who or what each pronoun refers to.
I’ve given you one example above of how the connection between a pronoun and its antecedent can get blurred. I could give you twenty more examples and we’d just be getting started. But there’s no need. Just keep these few pointers in mind:
- Keep a close eye on your antecedent. Don’t let it get lost behind other nouns. That happens easily, and when it does, the meaning of a pronoun can become vague or, worse yet, changed to a different meaning you never intended. So stay alert.
- When the meaning of a pronoun is unclear, the easiest, most commonsense solution is not to use the pronoun but to restate its antecedent–or to make sure you clearly supplied the antecedent in the first place.
- Think like your reader. If you were in his or her place, would you easily understand what you just wrote? If not, how can you fix the problem?
- Did I say “Stay alert”? I’ll say it again: Stay alert. Practice awareness. Don’t assume your meaning will be as transparent to your readers as it is to you. Vet your pronouns.
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* Merriam-Webster online, s.v. “pronoun,” accessed April 23, 2019, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pronoun#note-1.