What do you think when you read the following paragraph?<\/p>\n
Jameson stood far back in the alley. Jameson lit Jameson’s cigarette and drew on the cigarette, making the cigarette crackle and glow in the dark, lighting part of Jameson’s face.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
You see a scene is developing. As it is, you may begin to notice the language while you’re moving through it, possibly because repetition is distracting you.<\/p>\n
Now consider this this passage:<\/p>\n
He needs to adjust his behavior. At first he might have been cute, but now he’s just irritating them. They might want to avoid him. If they avoid him, they may also avoid us.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Is this paragraph describing an impulsive man, or could it also depict an unrefined male dog? Without a clear identifying reference, we don’t really know.<\/p>\n
What Are Antecedents?<\/h2>\n
All pronouns must have a clear, identifiable antecedent, which is the noun or noun phrase<\/a> that a pronoun replaces or refers back to. This makes antecedents and pronouns bound to each other.<\/p>\n
We call the noun or noun phrase an antecedent because it usually comes before the pronoun (the prefix ante-<\/em> comes from the Latin word for before<\/em> or in front of<\/em>).<\/p>\n
That ’86 Chevy<\/u><\/em> [antecedent] is about to lose its<\/u><\/em> [pronoun] muffler.<\/em><\/p>\n
Are you even going to play the guitars<\/u><\/em> [antecedent] before you buy them<\/u><\/em> [pronoun]?<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Occasionally, the antecedent will appear after the pronoun. When it does, we would more technically refer to it as a postcedent<\/em> (post-<\/em> = after<\/em>):<\/em><\/p>\n
For his<\/u> final film,\u00a0the renowned director Zhi Han<\/u> chose a new script by the famous screenwriter Mason McReady.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The identifying noun (Zhi Han<\/em>) comes after the pronoun (his<\/em>), but the reference is still clear.<\/p>\n
Antecedents: Why We Need Them<\/h2>\n
Our communication would fast become monotonous, redundant, and vague if we did not have antecedents and pronouns working together.<\/p>\n
Antecedents without pronouns:<\/b> Jameson<\/u> stood far back in the alley. Jameson<\/u> lit Jameson’s<\/u> cigarette<\/u> and drew on the cigarette<\/u>, making the cigarette<\/u> crackle and glow in the dark, lighting part of Jameson’s<\/u> face.<\/em><\/p>\n
Antecedents with pronouns:<\/b> Jameson<\/u> stood far back in the alley. He<\/u> lit his<\/u> cigarette<\/u> and drew on it<\/u>, making it<\/u> crackle and glow in the dark, lighting part of his<\/u> face.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The use of antecedents with pronouns (Jameson<\/em>, he<\/em>, his<\/em>; cigarette<\/em>, it<\/em>) allows us to avoid droning and distracting repetition while reducing content space. Note too that antecedents should be close enough to their pronouns for their connections to be clear.<\/p>\n
Let’s look at another example from the opposite view.<\/p>\n
Pronouns without antecedents:<\/b> He needs to adjust his behavior. At first he might have been cute, but now he’s just irritating them. They might want to avoid him. If they avoid him, they may also avoid us.<\/em><\/p>\n
Pronouns with antecedents:<\/b> Your brother<\/u> needs to adjust his<\/u> behavior. At first he<\/u> might have been cute, but now he<\/u>‘s just irritating people<\/u>. They<\/u> might want to avoid him<\/u>. If they<\/u> avoid him<\/u>, they<\/u> may also avoid us.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Having clear antecedents (your brother, people<\/em>) for the pronouns lets us infer we’re considering a person and not an unruly pet. We also understand the scope of the reference to they<\/em> (people in general).<\/p>\n
Antecedents: Number and Gender<\/h2>\n
Maintaining the correct number and gender of antecedent-pronoun relationships is central to clear, effective writing.<\/p>\n
How would you interpret this sentence?<\/p>\n
All of the students are encouraged to buy her tickets before the game.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n