Business English 2 - Task 3
Antecedents of pronouns The English language includes pronouns, such as she, it, or they. Pronouns are generic words that have little meaning on their own. If you hear a friend say, "She is beautiful," you know your friend is referring to a singular, feminine being or object, but with just the pronoun she, you don't know if the discussion concerns a woman, a cheetah, or an automobile. You cannot picture the she until you know the antecedent, the word that this pronoun refers to or replaces. Antecedents with Personal Pronouns Often, an antecedent is the word, phrase, or clause that you replace with one of these third-person personal pronouns: H e, him, his, himself S he, her, hers, herself I t, its, itself T hey, them, their, theirs, themselves Examples: • Ariana drop her bag Ariana = antecedent; her = personal pronoun. • Our carnivorous friends will not attend the picnic because they despise tofu hotdogs and black bean b...