Pronouns and Antecedents

Pronouns and Antecedents

A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun.

Question 1: How many pronouns are there in the following sentence?

Paul Steinbrenner promised Rosalie Amato that he would vote for her.

Answer: Two.

He is a pronoun taking the place of Paul Steinbrenner.

Her is a pronoun taking the place of Rosalie Amato.

Question 2: What is an antecedent?

Answer: An antecedent is the noun that a pronoun stands for.

In the sentence above, the antecedent of the pronoun he is the noun Paul Steinbrenner;

the antecedent of the pronoun her is the noun Rosalie Amato.

Question 3: Why are pronouns important?

Answer: Pronouns make language more smooth and efficient because they let

us express ourselves without repetition and in fewer words.

If there were no pronouns, we would have to say:

Paul Steinbrenner promised Rosalie Amato that Paul Steinbrenner would vote for Rosalie Amato.

Composition Hint

To avoid repeating a noun you have just mentioned, use a pronoun.

INSTEAD OF: I know Texas well because Texas is my home state.

WRITE: I know Texas well because it is my home state.

The pronoun it enables you to avoid repeating the noun Texas.

Agreement of a Pronoun with Its Antecedent

 A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number.

(The word antecedent comes from two Latin words meaning “going before.” An antecedent is the noun that the pronoun stands for.)

Look at the following sentence:

A wolf is gentle with its young.

Its refers to wolf. Wolf is the antecedent of its. Wolf is singular. Therefore, its is singular.

(Notice that the antecedent “goes before” the pronoun.)

Now look at this sentence:

Wolves are gentle with their young.

Their refers to wolves. Wolves is the antecedent of their. Wolves is plural. Therefore, their

is plural.