7.13: Text- Antecedent Clarity
- Page ID
- 59192
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We’ve already defined an antecedent as the noun (or phrase) that a pronoun is replacing. The phrase “antecedent clarity” simply means that is should be clear who or what the pronoun is referring to. In other words, readers should be able to understand the sentence the first time they read it—not the third, forth, or tenth. In this page, we’ll look at some examples of common mistakes that can cause confusion, as well as ways to fix each sentence.
Let’s take a look at our first sentence:
Rafael told Matt to stop eating his cereal.
When you first read this sentence, is it clear if the cereal Rafael’s or Matt’s? Is it clear when you read the sentence again? Not really, no. Since both Rafael and Matt are singular, third person, and masculine, it’s impossible to tell whose cereal is being eaten (at least from this sentence).
How would you best revise this sentence? Type your ideas in the text frame below, and then look at the suggested revisions.
[practice-area rows=”4″][/practice-area]
[reveal-answer q=”654515″]Show Possible Revisions[/reveal-answer]
[hidden-answer a=”654515″]Let’s assume the cereal is Rafael’s:
- Rafael told Matt to stop eating Rafael’s cereal.
- Matt was eating Rafael’s cereal. Rafael told him to stop it.
What if the cereal is Matt’s?:
- Rafael told Matt to stop eating Matt’s cereal.
- Matt was eating his own cereal when Rafael told him to stop.
These aren’t the only ways to revise the sentence. However, each of these new sentences has made it clear whose cereal it is.
[/hidden-answer]
Were those revisions what you expected them to be?
Let’s take a look at another example:
Katerina was really excited to try French cuisine on her semester abroad in Europe. They make all sorts of delicious things.
When you read this example, is it apparent who the pronoun they is referring to? You may guess that they is referring to the French—which is probably correct. However, this is not actually stated, which means that there isn’t actually an antecedent. Since every pronoun needs an antecedent, the example needs to be revised to include one.
How would you best revise this sentence? Type your ideas in the text frame below, and then look at the suggested revisions.
[practice-area rows=”4″][/practice-area]
[reveal-answer q=”654516″]Show Possible Revisions[/reveal-answer]
[hidden-answer a=”654516″]Let’s assume that is is the French who make great cuisine:
- Katerina was really excited to try French cuisine on her semester abroad in Europe. The French make all sorts of delicious things.
- Katerina was really excited to try the cuisine in France on her semester abroad in Europe. The French make all sorts of delicious things.
- Katerina was really excited to try French cuisine on her semester abroad in Europe. The people there make all sorts of delicious things.
- One of the things Katerina was really excited about on her semester abroad in Europe was trying French cuisine. It comprises all sorts of delicious things.
[/hidden-answer]
As you write, keep these two things in mind:
- Make sure your pronouns always have an antecedent.
- Make sure that it is clear what their antecedents are.
Practice
Use the context clues to figure out which pronoun to use to complete the sentences. Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
- Pat is fifteen and Robin is thirteen. (Pat / he / she) likes swimming, but (Robin / he / she) doesn’t know what he likes.
- Because (Robin / he) can swim now, (Robin / he) can join the swim team.
[reveal-answer q=”877215″]Click to Show Answer[/reveal-answer]
[hidden-answer a=”877215″]
- Pat is fifteen and Robin is thirteen. Pat likes swimming, but Robin doesn’t know what he likes. (We cannot use a pronoun until we know the person. In this case, repeat the name. Note the last he gives us the clue that Robin is male.)
- Because Robin can swim now, he can join the swim team. (Mention noun before using the pronoun.)
[/hidden-answer]
Let’s try a more complicated paragraph:
- When my identical twin girls, Andrea and Renee, were about a month old, (she / Renee) developed a very high temperature, so I took her to the hospital where (she / Renee) spent the night. Meanwhile, at home, (she / Andrea) was twisting and turning; (she / Andrea) was unable to sleep. The next night, (she / Andrea) was the same.
[reveal-answer q=”877216″]Click to Show Answer[/reveal-answer]
[hidden-answer a=”877216″]
- When my identical twin girls, Andrea and Renee, were about a month old, Renee developed a very high temperature, so I took her to the hospital where she spent the night. Meanwhile, at home, Andrea was twisting and turning; she was unable to sleep. The next night, she was the same.
[/hidden-answer]
- Text: Antecedent Clarity. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution
- Revision and Adaptation of Pronouns and Antecedents (Practice). Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
- Pronouns and Antecedents. Authored by: Julie Sevastopoulos. Provided by: Grammar-Quizzes. Located at: http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/pronoun_placement.html. License: CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
- Image of two squares. Authored by: Didzis Gruznovs. Provided by: The Noun Project. Located at: https://thenounproject.com/search/?q=replace&i=201238. License: CC BY: Attribution