LANGUAGE AND SPELLING III

PRONOUNS AND ITS ANTECEDENTS

Compare the two sets of paragraphs.

Paragraph A:

          Ariel was sitting in front of Ariel’s computer. Ariel was sending an email to Ariel’s friend. Suddenly, Ariel’s sister came in and said, “There’s an important message for you. I think the text message comes from your friend.”

Paragraph B:

          Ariel was sitting in front of his computer. He was sending an email to his friend. Suddenly, his sister came in and said, “There’s an important message for you.  I think the text message comes from your friend.”

Which paragraph did you understand better? Why? Would you be interested to read a paragraph that keeps on repeating names over and over again?

You need to use other words to take the place of nouns. These words are called pronouns. However, in using pronouns, we have to consider the number and the gender of the person referred to. This is called the antecedent. The antecedent of a pronoun is the noun that it replaces or to which it refers and it always appears before the pronoun. Take a look at these examples:

Cindy writes her name on the blackboard.

The rest of the pupils write their names as well.

Mother told me a story. I asked her to tell me more.

Why can’t we use “she” in referring to names like Ariel and Gabriel? (This is because we only use she when we refer to a female gender and the antecedent is, therefore, a female.) A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in gender.

Now read these sentences. Which do you think is correct?

The children are waiting for his school bus.

The children are waiting for their school bus.

Always remember that a pronoun must also agree with its antecedent in number. His, a singular pronoun, cannot refer to children, which is a plural noun.

A pronoun is a substitute for a noun. The antecedent of a pronoun is the noun that it replaces or to which it refers.

Try this:  Circle each pronoun in each sentence. Draw an arrow to its antecedent. 

1.    Mr. Angeles gave his pupils some assignments.

2.    Mary offered her computer to the group.

3.    Chris turned on the computer. He tried to get homework help from cyberspace.

4.    The new computer shop in town has its unique ambience.

5. Mary turned on another computer. She showed games and fun on kid’s website.

Prepared by: Ms. Jaaziel G. Reyes