{"id":51,"date":"2017-07-20T16:28:02","date_gmt":"2017-07-20T16:28:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/chapter\/antecedent-clarity\/"},"modified":"2017-07-20T16:28:02","modified_gmt":"2017-07-20T16:28:02","slug":"antecedent-clarity","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/chapter\/antecedent-clarity\/","title":{"raw":"Antecedent Clarity","rendered":"Antecedent Clarity"},"content":{"raw":"<img class=\"alignright wp-image-2297\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2232\/2017\/07\/20162800\/Screen-Shot-2016-06-21-at-11.36.04-AM-300x273.png\" alt=\"Icon of two squares, one solid and one dotted line, connected by two curved arrows\" width=\"165\" height=\"150\"\/>We've already defined an <strong>antecedent<\/strong> 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\u2014not the third, forth, or tenth.\u00a0In this page, we'll look at\u00a0some examples of common mistakes that can cause confusion, as well as ways to fix each\u00a0sentence.\n\nLet's take a look at our first sentence:\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Rafael told Matt to stop eating his cereal.<\/p>\nWhen you first read this sentence, is it clear if the cereal Rafael's\u00a0or 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\u00a0impossible to tell whose cereal is being eaten (at least from this sentence).\n\nHow would you best revise this sentence? Type your ideas in the text frame below, and then look at the suggested revisions.\n\n[practice-area rows=\"4\"][\/practice-area]\n[reveal-answer q=\"654515\"]<strong>Show Possible Revisions<\/strong>[\/reveal-answer]\n[hidden-answer a=\"654515\"]Let's assume the cereal is Rafael's:\n<ul><li>Rafael told Matt to stop eating Rafael's cereal.<\/li>\n \t<li>Matt\u00a0was eating Rafael's\u00a0cereal. Rafael told him to stop it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nWhat if the cereal is Matt's?:\n<ul><li>Rafael told Matt to stop eating Matt's cereal.<\/li>\n \t<li>Matt was eating his own cereal when Rafael told him to stop.<\/li>\n<\/ul><span style=\"color: #000000;\">These aren't the only ways to revise the sentence. However, each of these new sentences has made it clear whose cereal it is.<\/span>\n\n[\/hidden-answer]\n\nWere those revisions what you expected them to be?\n\nLet's take a look at another example:\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Zuly was really excited to try French cuisine on her\u00a0semester\u00a0abroad\u00a0in Europe. They make all sorts of delicious things.<\/p>\nWhen you read this example, is it apparent who the pronoun\u00a0<em>they<\/em> is referring to? You may guess that <em>they<\/em> is referring to the French\u2014which is probably correct. However, this is not actually stated, which\u00a0means that there isn't actually an antecedent. Since every pronoun needs an antecedent, the example\u00a0needs to be revised to include one.\n\nHow would you best revise this sentence? Type your ideas in the text frame below, and then look at the suggested revisions.\n\n[practice-area rows=\"4\"][\/practice-area]\n[reveal-answer q=\"654516\"]<strong>Show Possible Revisions<\/strong>[\/reveal-answer]\n[hidden-answer a=\"654516\"]Let's assume\u00a0that is is the French who make great cuisine:\n<ul><li>Zuly was really excited to try French cuisine on her\u00a0semester\u00a0abroad\u00a0in Europe. The\u00a0French\u00a0make all sorts of delicious things.<\/li>\n \t<li>Zuly was really excited to try the\u00a0cuisine in France on her semester abroad in Europe. The French make all sorts of delicious things.<\/li>\n \t<li>Zuly was really excited to try French cuisine on her semester abroad in Europe. The\u00a0people there\u00a0make all sorts of delicious things.<\/li>\n \t<li>One of the things Zuly was really excited about on her semester abroad in Europe was trying French cuisine. It comprises\u00a0all sorts of delicious things.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n[\/hidden-answer]\n\nAs you write, keep these two things in mind:\n<ul><li>Make sure your pronouns always have an antecedent.<\/li>\n \t<li>Make sure that it is clear what their antecedents are.<\/li>\n<\/ul><div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\n<h3>Practice<\/h3>\nUse the context\u00a0clues to figure out which pronoun to use to complete the sentences. Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.\n<ol><li>Pat is fifteen and Robin is thirteen. (Pat \/ he \/ she) likes swimming, but (Robin \/ he \/ she) doesn't know what he likes.<\/li>\n \t<li>Because (Robin \/ he) can swim now, (Robin \/ he)\u00a0can join the swim team.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n[reveal-answer q=\"877215\"]<strong>Show Answer<\/strong>[\/reveal-answer]\n[hidden-answer a=\"877215\"]\n<ol><li>Pat is fifteen and Robin is thirteen. <strong>Pat<\/strong> likes swimming, but <strong>Robin<\/strong> doesn't know what he likes.\u00a0(We cannot use a pronoun until we know the person. In this case, repeat the name. Note the last <em>he<\/em>\u00a0gives us the clue that Robin is male.)<\/li>\n \t<li>Because <strong>Robin<\/strong> can swim now, <strong>he<\/strong> can join the swim team.\u00a0(Mention noun before using the pronoun.)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n[\/hidden-answer]\n\nLet's try a more complicated paragraph:\n<ol start=\"3\"><li>When my identical twin girls, Andrea and Renee, were about a month old, (she \/ Renee)\u00a0developed a very high temperature, so I took her to the hospital where (she \/ Renee)\u00a0spent the night. Meanwhile, at home, (she \/ Andrea)\u00a0was twisting and turning;\u00a0(she \/ Andrea)\u00a0was unable to sleep. The next night, (she \/ Andrea)\u00a0was the same.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n[reveal-answer q=\"877216\"]<strong>Show Answer<\/strong>[\/reveal-answer]\n[hidden-answer a=\"877216\"]\n<ol start=\"3\"><li>When my identical twin girls, Andrea and Renee, were about a month old, <strong>Renee<\/strong>\u00a0developed a very high temperature, so I took her to the hospital where <strong>she<\/strong> spent the night. Meanwhile, at home, <strong>Andrea<\/strong>\u00a0was twisting and turning; <strong>she<\/strong>\u00a0was unable to sleep. The next night, <strong>she<\/strong>\u00a0was the same.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n[\/hidden-answer]\n\n<\/div>","rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-2297\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2232\/2017\/07\/20162800\/Screen-Shot-2016-06-21-at-11.36.04-AM-300x273.png\" alt=\"Icon of two squares, one solid and one dotted line, connected by two curved arrows\" width=\"165\" height=\"150\" \/>We&#8217;ve already defined an <strong>antecedent<\/strong> as the noun (or phrase) that a pronoun is replacing. The phrase &#8220;antecedent clarity&#8221; 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\u2014not the third, forth, or tenth.\u00a0In this page, we&#8217;ll look at\u00a0some examples of common mistakes that can cause confusion, as well as ways to fix each\u00a0sentence.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s take a look at our first sentence:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Rafael told Matt to stop eating his cereal.<\/p>\n<p>When you first read this sentence, is it clear if the cereal Rafael&#8217;s\u00a0or Matt&#8217;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&#8217;s\u00a0impossible to tell whose cereal is being eaten (at least from this sentence).<\/p>\n<p>How would you best revise this sentence? Type your ideas in the text frame below, and then look at the suggested revisions.<\/p>\n<p><textarea aria-label=\"Your Answer\" rows=\"4\"><\/textarea><\/p>\n<div class=\"qa-wrapper\" style=\"display: block\"><span class=\"show-answer collapsed\" style=\"cursor: pointer\" data-target=\"q654515\"><strong>Show Possible Revisions<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"q654515\" class=\"hidden-answer\" style=\"display: none\">Let&#8217;s assume the cereal is Rafael&#8217;s:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Rafael told Matt to stop eating Rafael&#8217;s cereal.<\/li>\n<li>Matt\u00a0was eating Rafael&#8217;s\u00a0cereal. Rafael told him to stop it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>What if the cereal is Matt&#8217;s?:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Rafael told Matt to stop eating Matt&#8217;s cereal.<\/li>\n<li>Matt was eating his own cereal when Rafael told him to stop.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">These aren&#8217;t the only ways to revise the sentence. However, each of these new sentences has made it clear whose cereal it is.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Were those revisions what you expected them to be?<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s take a look at another example:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Zuly was really excited to try French cuisine on her\u00a0semester\u00a0abroad\u00a0in Europe. They make all sorts of delicious things.<\/p>\n<p>When you read this example, is it apparent who the pronoun\u00a0<em>they<\/em> is referring to? You may guess that <em>they<\/em> is referring to the French\u2014which is probably correct. However, this is not actually stated, which\u00a0means that there isn&#8217;t actually an antecedent. Since every pronoun needs an antecedent, the example\u00a0needs to be revised to include one.<\/p>\n<p>How would you best revise this sentence? Type your ideas in the text frame below, and then look at the suggested revisions.<\/p>\n<p><textarea aria-label=\"Your Answer\" rows=\"4\"><\/textarea><\/p>\n<div class=\"qa-wrapper\" style=\"display: block\"><span class=\"show-answer collapsed\" style=\"cursor: pointer\" data-target=\"q654516\"><strong>Show Possible Revisions<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"q654516\" class=\"hidden-answer\" style=\"display: none\">Let&#8217;s assume\u00a0that is is the French who make great cuisine:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Zuly was really excited to try French cuisine on her\u00a0semester\u00a0abroad\u00a0in Europe. The\u00a0French\u00a0make all sorts of delicious things.<\/li>\n<li>Zuly was really excited to try the\u00a0cuisine in France on her semester abroad in Europe. The French make all sorts of delicious things.<\/li>\n<li>Zuly was really excited to try French cuisine on her semester abroad in Europe. The\u00a0people there\u00a0make all sorts of delicious things.<\/li>\n<li>One of the things Zuly was really excited about on her semester abroad in Europe was trying French cuisine. It comprises\u00a0all sorts of delicious things.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>As you write, keep these two things in mind:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Make sure your pronouns always have an antecedent.<\/li>\n<li>Make sure that it is clear what their antecedents are.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\n<h3>Practice<\/h3>\n<p>Use the context\u00a0clues to figure out which pronoun to use to complete the sentences. Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Pat is fifteen and Robin is thirteen. (Pat \/ he \/ she) likes swimming, but (Robin \/ he \/ she) doesn&#8217;t know what he likes.<\/li>\n<li>Because (Robin \/ he) can swim now, (Robin \/ he)\u00a0can join the swim team.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<div class=\"qa-wrapper\" style=\"display: block\"><span class=\"show-answer collapsed\" style=\"cursor: pointer\" data-target=\"q877215\"><strong>Show Answer<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"q877215\" class=\"hidden-answer\" style=\"display: none\">\n<ol>\n<li>Pat is fifteen and Robin is thirteen. <strong>Pat<\/strong> likes swimming, but <strong>Robin<\/strong> doesn&#8217;t know what he likes.\u00a0(We cannot use a pronoun until we know the person. In this case, repeat the name. Note the last <em>he<\/em>\u00a0gives us the clue that Robin is male.)<\/li>\n<li>Because <strong>Robin<\/strong> can swim now, <strong>he<\/strong> can join the swim team.\u00a0(Mention noun before using the pronoun.)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Let&#8217;s try a more complicated paragraph:<\/p>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li>When my identical twin girls, Andrea and Renee, were about a month old, (she \/ Renee)\u00a0developed a very high temperature, so I took her to the hospital where (she \/ Renee)\u00a0spent the night. Meanwhile, at home, (she \/ Andrea)\u00a0was twisting and turning;\u00a0(she \/ Andrea)\u00a0was unable to sleep. The next night, (she \/ Andrea)\u00a0was the same.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<div class=\"qa-wrapper\" style=\"display: block\"><span class=\"show-answer collapsed\" style=\"cursor: pointer\" data-target=\"q877216\"><strong>Show Answer<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"q877216\" class=\"hidden-answer\" style=\"display: none\">\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li>When my identical twin girls, Andrea and Renee, were about a month old, <strong>Renee<\/strong>\u00a0developed a very high temperature, so I took her to the hospital where <strong>she<\/strong> spent the night. Meanwhile, at home, <strong>Andrea<\/strong>\u00a0was twisting and turning; <strong>she<\/strong>\u00a0was unable to sleep. The next night, <strong>she<\/strong>\u00a0was the same.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-51\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Text: Antecedent Clarity. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Revision and Adaptation of Pronouns and Antecedents (Practice). <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Pronouns and Antecedents. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Julie Sevastopoulos. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Grammar-Quizzes. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.grammar-quizzes.com\/pronoun_placement.html\">http:\/\/www.grammar-quizzes.com\/pronoun_placement.html<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Image of two squares. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Didzis Gruznovs. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: The Noun Project. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thenounproject.com\/search\/?q=replace&#038;i=201238\">https:\/\/thenounproject.com\/search\/?q=replace&#038;i=201238<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":19,"menu_order":14,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Text: Antecedent Clarity\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Pronouns and Antecedents\",\"author\":\"Julie Sevastopoulos\",\"organization\":\"Grammar-Quizzes\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.grammar-quizzes.com\/pronoun_placement.html\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-nc-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Revision and Adaptation of Pronouns and Antecedents (Practice)\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Lumen 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