Another Example of Why I Don’t Much Like Pronouns

rogersgeorge on May 12th, 2024

—They need antecedents, and you can easily get the antecedent wrong. The rule is that a pronoun should refer to the closest preceeding noun, which is not the correct noun in this sentence. But you knew that, right?

https://www.gocomics.com/muttandjeff/2024/03/30

Good thing he didn’t say to hit it hard! My brother and one of my grandchildren are blacksmiths. I think they’d like this comic.

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Rogers George has been a technical writer for more than 20 years. He has written on subjects as diverse as outhouse assembly, restaurant reviews, software, information security, and scientific equipment. He has his own writing consultancy and is always happy to discuss writing and grammar. Drop him a line at curmudgeon@writing-rag.com.

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