3.7 Pronoun Agreement, Intensive Forms, and Clear Reference

3.7 Pronoun Agreement, Intensive Forms, and Clear Reference

Pronoun consistency depends on the intended antecedent and point of view. Learn to distinguish reflexive and intensive forms and revise references that leave the reader guessing.

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

An antecedent is the noun or pronoun to which a subsequent pronoun refers. Standard written English requires that a pronoun agree with its antecedent in number (singular or plural), person (first, second, or third), and gender.

Singular They and Pronoun Consistency

Singular they, them, and their are accepted in current formal usage for a person of unspecified gender or a person who uses those pronouns. APA's singular-they guidance explicitly accepts this use. Do not label a sentence wrong merely because everyone or each student is followed by their. ETS's current topic list names agreement but does not publish a rule rejecting singular they.

• Accepted: Everyone should submit their portfolio by Friday.
• Accepted: Every teacher must submit his or her classroom inventory.
• Accepted plural recasting: All teachers must submit their classroom inventories.

Check person as well as reference. A sentence that begins with we teachers should not unexpectedly change to you when referring to the same group. “As teachers, we can revise the task or you can retain it” has an unnecessary shift. “As teachers, we can revise the task or retain it” preserves perspective. Singular they still takes its usual verb forms: they are and they have, even when referring to one person.

Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns

Forms such as myself, herself, ourselves, and themselves have two important functions. A reflexive pronoun is an object referring back to the subject: “The student reminded herself to cite both sources.” The subject and object identify the same person. An intensive pronoun adds emphasis: “The student herself checked every citation.” Removing the intensive leaves a complete sentence with the same basic proposition.

Do not use these forms as substitutes for ordinary subjects or objects merely to sound formal. “The principal sent the plan to Ana and myself” is wrong if the speaker is not the subject; use “Ana and me.” “Myself reviewed the plan” needs “I reviewed the plan.” An intensive can accompany a legitimate subject: “I myself reviewed the plan.”

Match the form to the antecedent: I myself, we ourselves, the students themselves. Test grammatical function first, rather than choosing the longest or most formal-sounding option.

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Faulty Pronoun Reference Traps

A pronoun should have an identifiable referent. It can refer to a named person, a contextually clear entity, or an entire proposition; the problem is ambiguity, not the absence of a single immediately preceding noun. Watch for these clarity problems:

1. Ambiguous Reference (Two Competing Antecedents)

Occurs when a pronoun could logically refer to more than one preceding noun:

• Ambiguous: "When Dr. Vance met with the school principal, she expressed grave concerns regarding the budget deficit."
  • Problem: Who expressed concerns—Dr. Vance or the principal?
• Revised: "During their meeting, Dr. Vance expressed grave concerns regarding the budget deficit to the school principal."

2. Remote Reference

Occurs when a pronoun is separated from its antecedent by so many words, phrases, or competing nouns that the reader loses the grammatical connection:

• Flawed: "The university established a new center for research in childhood language development, which incorporated cutting-edge sensory laboratories and recruited leading scholars from across the globe, and it expanded rapidly."
• Revised: "The university established a new center for research in childhood language development... and the center expanded rapidly."

3. Vague and Broad Reference (Floating "This", "That", and "Which")

Pronouns may refer to a clearly understood situation or proposition. Revise them when the intended referent is unclear:

• Grammatical broad reference: "The school board voted to lengthen the instructional school day by forty minutes, which angered local parents."
  • Problem: What does which refer to? The forty minutes? The day? Here it can clearly refer to the decision to lengthen the day; the sentence is grammatical. Naming the decision explicitly is an optional clarity improvement.
• Revised: "The school board voted to lengthen the instructional school day by forty minutes, a decision that angered local parents."
• Context-dependent "This": "The district reduced library funding. This caused widespread outrage."
• Revised: "The district reduced library funding. This budget cut caused widespread outrage."

4. Unexpressed / Implied Antecedent

Context can supply a clear referent, including a person named possessively. Revise when competing people or ideas make the intended referent uncertain:

• Flawed: "In Shakespeare's Hamlet, he explores the paralyzing effects of profound grief."
  • Problem: Shakespeare is available as a referent, but a reader may also consider Hamlet. Naming the author removes that possible ambiguity; possession itself does not invalidate the reference.
• Revised: "In the play Hamlet, Shakespeare explores the paralyzing effects of profound grief."

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Strategic Praxis Core Checklist for Pronoun Usage

1. Isolate compound pronouns: Drop the accompanying noun and read the pronoun in isolation to verify subjective versus objective case.
2. Look for prepositions: After words like between, for, to, and with, enforce the objective case (me, him, her, us, them, whom).
3. Test Who vs. Whom with He/Him: Rephrase the clause into a declarative sentence. If he fits, use who; if him fits, use whom.
4. Check singular antecedents: Verify consistency of person and number; singular they is accepted, and plural recasting can also clarify the sentence.
5. Inspect "which", "this", and "that": Check whether their referent is clear. A reference to an entire previous statement is legitimate when its meaning is unambiguous.