Pronouns are an important part of writing. They assist in the grammatical flow of the work, and they alleviate unwanted redundancy: If a writer used the same noun over and over again, a reader might become bored relatively quickly before he or she had gotten past the first paragraph.  However, a writer can’t just state the noun once and use pronouns to represent the noun throughout the remainder of the document.  Just like overused nouns, overused pronouns can become redundant quite easily. So how do you effectively link sentences using pronouns in an effective way? Let’s first take a look at what a pronoun is:

Pronouns are words that replace nouns or noun phrases in sentences. The noun or noun phrase is known as the referent or antecedent to the pronoun.  Here are some examples of different kinds of pronouns:

Demonstrative pronouns
these          that          this          those

Interrogative pronouns
whom          who          which          what          whose 

Relative pronouns
that          which          whose          whom          who

Possessive pronouns
whose      your      its      their      our      mine      yours      theirs      his      hers      ours      my

Contracted pronouns
you're      it's      who's      they're

Reflexive and intensive pronouns
itself      themselves      myself      himself       herself      yourselves      ourselves      yourself

Personal pronouns
I   my   our   yours   you   he   her   him    her   its   they   their   them    she   we   as

Indefinite pronouns
all   another   many   someone   one   other   neither   everything   anybody   everybody   everyone

So how do we use these pronouns to establish links between sentences? A good rule to remember is to first use the actual noun or noun phrase somewhere in the beginning of the paragraph (before you use of any pronouns). After the noun or noun phrase is clearly stated, leaving little room for ambiguity in the reader’s mind, a writer may write up to three or four sentences, using the noun or noun phrase’s pronoun, so long as no other noun or noun phrase intervenes. 

By using the pronoun for only three to four sentences, a writer is able to assist a reader in remembering what the pronoun refers to. If the reader does become confused with the pronoun’s meaning, he or she will only have to travel a few sentences up to find out what or whom the pronoun alludes to. 

By using the method of restating the actual noun or noun phrases after every three or four sentences, a writer establishes a strong link between the noun or noun phrase and the pronoun.  So, after three or four sentences, a writer may want to restate the original noun or noun phrase to refresh the pronoun’s meaning in the reader’s mind.

In addition to our website, we recommend the following site: HyperGrammar at http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/pronouns.html.  This site contains useful English grammar information and definitions, such as examples and quizzes on the use of pronouns.

Test your understanding of the correct use of pronouns by substituting pronouns for the nouns and/or noun phrases in the following sentences.

1. John wants to go to the store.  He can’t go because John is still grounded.  John would not want to go with me anyway because John says I take a long time to buy our groceries.  He will just have to stay here.

2. It should not be done like that.  Laundry needs to be done this way.  The clothes need to be separated so that the darker colors do not bleed into each other.

Answers

1. John wants to go to the store.  He can’t go because he is still grounded.  He would not want to go with me anyway because he says I take a long time to buy our groceries.  He will just have to stay here.

2. Laundry should not be done like that.  It needs to be done this way.  The clothes need to be separated so that the darker colors do not bleed into each other.

Grammatically Correct is a grammar tip of the week created by Academic Center Peer Writing Tutors at the University of Houston-Victoria in Victoria, Texas.

Comments about this newsletter should be directed to Summer Leibensperger, leibenspergers@uhv.edu.

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