Where the Red Fern Grows - Pronoun/Antecedent

Where the Red Fern Grows - Pronoun/Antecedent

A pronoun is a word that is used to replace a noun. The noun that the pronoun replaces is called the antecedent.

Example

Bob went to the grocery store. He bought milk.

In this example, Bob is the antecedent for the pronoun "he."

Example

Nancy walked her dogs. She walked with them for an hour.

In this example, Nancy is the antecedent for the pronoun "she."

A pronoun should clearly refer to one antecedent. The best way to see why is to look at sentences that have unclear antecedents.

Example

LaTonya told her mother that her shirt had a stain on it.

Whose shirt had the stain, LaTonya's or her mother's?

Example

When Michael drove the car through the garage door, he badly damaged it.

What was damaged, the car or the garage door?

Example

The book was on the desk, but now it's gone.

What's gone, the book or the desk?

Pronouns also need to match in number and person with the noun they refer to.

Example

Many new basketball players feel overwhelmed at first. However, they soon learn that with hard work you can do well on the team.

Notice how the pronouns in the above sentence do not match in number. There is a shift from the plural "they" to "you" when it should remain plural.

Example

David lost his pencil. Felicia helped look for them.

The pronoun does not match in number. David lost one pencil, but Felicia is looking for "them," which is a plural pronoun.