What’s the us(ag)e?

9. Pronouns chasing nouns: “Where are the nouns?”

              “This is going to be easy,” I say.

Oh, really? Then, what does “this” refer to?

When we talk, we usually don’t have pronoun reference problems because those who we are talking with would know what “this” referred to. In a conversation, the context, the shared understanding, is quickly established. The context of our conversation provides the information that makes the pronoun reference clear. But writing is not talk. And it’s not talk written down. It’s not talk at all. Writing is different from speech. Speech is oral. Writing is visual. Speech is natural; writing is, inherently, artificial. We didn’t take lessons in how to speak; we need lessons in how to write. Writing, in short, is writing. And this important, and too often overlooked, difference makes writing difficult.

And that is the problem with pronouns (Oh, really? Then, what does “that” refer to?)

Before using a pronoun, you should always use the noun to which the pronoun refers. Okay. But what do mean by this?

Let’s do a quick review of what pronouns are all about. (And why are they called pronouns? Are they professional nouns? No. The word comes from the Latin “pro” “in place of” and “nomen” “noun, name,” hence pronoun, a word used in place of a noun.) We call the noun that the pronoun replaces the antecedent, meaning “One who or that which comes before.” From this definition, it is clear that the noun should come before the pronoun. Not having the noun come before the pronoun is the source of some of the problems with pronoun usage.

Here is an example, all too typical with beginning writers:

He’s a great guy. He takes me to the ball games. He takes me fishing every weekend. We go everywhere together. My dad is wonderful.

It is obvious from the last sentence that the “he” is “my dad.” But why should the reader have to wait until the fourth sentence to make sense out of the first? There is nothing wrong here. There is no mistake. In fact, sometimes it makes good sense to keep the reader a little “off balance,” by developing a little mystery by keeping information from the reader and then supplying it later, if that is your intent.

However, this type of antecedent agreement, or lack of agreement, is not the most common problem with pronouns. The most common problem is the one I illustrated with my first sentence: “This is going to be easy.” The demonstrative pronouns “this,” “that,” “these,” and “those” are often misused. The problem is not a grammatical problem but a problem of the writing being not as clear to the reader as it should and could be.

So, to go back to my first sentence (“This is going to be easy”), what I should have written is “Explaining the problem with pronouns is going to be easy.”  Then, if I wanted to use “this” in the next sentence, the reader would understand what “this” referred to.

So what do you do to keep from avoiding the misuse of “this” and “that”? Just consider both words as “red flags” that make you stop and take notice. Ask yourself, “Can my readers know exactly what these words refer to or do I have to re-write the sentence?”

            Look at this example: Some teachers come to class with pre-conceived notions about their students’ abilities. That surprises me.

Since it is not exactly clear what “that” means, re-write the sentence to:

That attitude disappoints me.

Another, and better, way to re-write it would be: That unprofessional attitude disappoints me.

Here is a sentence from a student paper:

In high school, it was nothing but a big show.

To the reader, the obvious question is, “What does ‘it’ refer to?” But if it is obvious to the reader, why isn’t it to the writer? That is not the “sex” question, though it probably is a question that relates to sex and the possibilities of sexual relationships because it relates to issues fundamental to communication, and sex is intimate communication. But more of that later.

Here is another example from the same writer. The sentences are more interesting than the “big show” example above, but notice the pronoun problems:

The result of trying to force air through these blocked air tubes is that breathing becomes more difficult and a wheezing or cough sound is projected. All this [What does “this” refer to?] is altered either spontaneously or with proper medications. It [What does “it” refer to?] only affects the air tubes, not the air sacs. It [What does “it” refer to?]  all occurs in attacks at varying interval times.

The key to using these pronouns, and the key to all attempts to learn to write better, is to think about the impact your words will have on the reader. Of course, the obvious question about this statement about “impact on the reader” is “Who is the reader?”

I am going to answer this question, but I’m not going to explain, not yet.

The answer is: the reader is a ghost.

Return to Usage Table of Contents