Antecedents

Antecedents

An antecedent is the noun, noun phrase, or pronoun to which a pronoun refers.

Edith forgot her glasses.
Helping others is its own reward.
He asked Rosie to visit him.

Placement of Pronouns and Antecedents

A pronoun usually follows its antecedent. For flow, however, a pronoun sometimes is best placed before the word to which it refers. In these cases, the antecedent should appear closely after the pronoun so that the relationship between the words is clear.

Awkward: Returning to Martin’s childhood home, he was surprised that nothing had changed.
Better: Returning to his childhood home, Martin was surprised that nothing had changed.

Avoid using the same pronoun several times in a row to refer to different antecedents.

Confusing: When Becky and Jill went to the store, she bought milk and she bought soda.
Better: When Becky and Jill went to the store, Becky bought milk and Jill bought soda.

Unclear Antecedents

The antecedent of a pronoun should be easy for readers to identify. If a sentence includes a pronoun and more than one noun, be sure it is clear to which noun the pronoun refers.

Confusing: The new mother gave her bottle to the baby girl.
Better: The new mother gave the baby girl her bottle.

By moving the phrase her bottle after the antecedent girl, it becomes obvious that the bottle belongs to the baby, not to the mother.

Missing Antecedents

Be careful not to inadvertently leave out an antecedent.

Confusing: If you work hard, it will bring you happiness.

In this sentence, the antecedent of it is missing. Even though many readers could mentally fill in the blank, some are likely to be confused. For them, you should either add the antecedent or rephrase the sentence to eliminate the word it.

If you work hard, your efforts will bring you happiness.
Or: Working hard will bring you happiness.