A pronoun is a substitute for a noun, like “she” or “it.” An antecedent is the word, phrase, or clause to which the pronoun refers. Easy, right?
It helps if your pronoun has something to refer back to. From this morning’s Redeye, the Tribune’s free daily crap newspaper:
So, David—about those Armani underwear ads.
Soccer superstar David Beckham said he had some explaining to do after agreeing to be photographed in his skivvies for a new, sex-drenched ad campaign for Emporio Armani. The black and white ads show Beckham reclining shirtless.
“When the photos came out out, she was the first one to call me and say, ‘What are you doing?’” he told Jay Leno this week on the “Tonight” show, according to The Associated Press. “I had to try and explain it to her and it didn’t go down that well.”
That was the whole article. All of it. And who do you suppose she is? The headline says, “Ssh! Don’t tell mom and dad! Even superstars have to consider their parents’ wrath.”
Still, if you glance down at the article, like I did this morning while waiting for the bus, “she” doesn’t refer to anything within the text. And I don’t know about Beckham’s mom, but my mom gets pretty pissed off if she’s referred to as simply “she” or “her.”
lmb, I fully support your crusade for poor, forgotten parts of speech like the pronoun/antecedent. I, for one, am on a bit of a mission to bring back the adverb. Have you ever noticed how the adverb is becoming extinct? “He got here really quick.” “She sang beautiful.” Ugh! Don’t even get me started on the past conditional - “I should have went to the store last night.”
Megan should read some commercial fiction before mourning the adverb.
Miss Fix It