Overview
Pronouns often cause trouble, and incorrect pronouns can be caught and corrected when editing an essay. They may be part of a compound subject or object. The pronoun reference may be unclear, or ambiguous. The pronoun used may be singular when the subject is plural, or vice versa. Although pronouns might be difficult, they are not impossible.
Pronouns in Compounds
It is difficult to tell which pronoun to use in a compound subject or object. Should it be “Robert and she went to the painting class” or “Robert and her went to the painting class”? One of the ways to test for the correct pronoun is to cross out the other noun in the compound. By comparing the phrases “Robert and she went to the painting class” with “Robert and her went to the painting class” it is easier to see which one in correct. While editing, stop whenever a compound subject or object is used and mentally cross out the noun. Similarly, if a pronoun is part of a phrase such as “we astronauts went through special training”, mentally crossing out the noun helps edit the sentence.
Avoid Unclear References
Suppose the sentence is “Mr. Bates and Jim discussed upcoming plans for the senior trip before he made the reservations.” Who made the reservations? Was it Mr. Bates or was it Jim? Rewrite the sentence to make it clearer, by saying “Mr. Bates and Jim discussed upcoming plans for the senior trip before Jim made the reservations.”
Avoid Pronoun Shift
When reading back sentences in the essay, take care when using the pronoun “you” and check how it is being used. For example, “Students who learn to play a musical instrument practice many long hours. You have to be willing to practice the same phrase over and over again.” The first sentence is in the third person. The second sentence has shifted to the second person. In order to avoid pronoun shift, it could be recast as “They have to be willing to practice the same phase over and over again.” The first sentence could also be recast to second person to avoid pronoun shift, but most of the time formal essays are not written in second person unless they are assigned that way.
Avoid Lack of Agreement
If a noun is singular, the pronoun referring to it should be singular. Similarly, if a noun is plural, the pronoun referring to it should be plural. The pronouns they, their, and them refer to plural nouns. The indefinite pronouns everybody, everything, everyone, somebody, something, someone, anybody, anything, and anyone are all singular. In very formal English, a phrase shows agreement such as “Students must bring their math textbooks to class. They will need them to find exercises to solve.” It can also be recast as “Each student must bring his/her math textbook to class. S/he will need it to find exercises to solve.”
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