Do you ever feel like spinning the arrow-spinner from the game Twister when reading? If the author has unclear antecedents to their pronouns, you might as well do so to find the noun referred to by the pronoun. "Stock prices again dropped today. They say we're headed into another depression." They whom, the stock prices? "We" includes who all? Authors of both fiction and non-fiction would be wise to study the proper placement of pronouns.

A noun is a person, place or thing. A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun--such as he, she, they, it, his, her, my, your--to keep repetition of the noun to a minimum. (If the reader is old enough, and from the United States, he or she may remember the Schoolhouse Rock song about Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla and his pet armadillo). One more term you need to know: antecedents are the nouns that the pronouns take the place of. For example:

>Sally called to say she would be a little late to lunch due to car trouble.

In this sentence the word "she" clearly refers to a specific noun "Sally" (its antecedent).

In her book, The Only Grammar Guide You'll Ever Need; a One Stop Source for Every Writing Assignment, Susan Thurman cites four mistakes writers commonly make with pronouns.

1. More than one noun that could be an antecedent.
2. No clear antecedent within the sentence.
3. Use of an abstract concept or other part of speech rather than a noun to be the antecedent.
4. Pronoun referencing the incorrect noun within the sentence.

The following are examples to illustrate those four problems, and how to solve them.

Bob gave Tom tickets to the game because he enjoyed football.

Who enjoys football--Bob or Tom? The antecedent of "he" is unclear. Reword this type of sentence to make it clear:

Because Tom enjoyed football, Bob gave him tickets to the game.

Or:

Bob, who enjoyed football, gave Tom tickets to the game.

For clarity, a pronoun must have an antecedent within the sentence. However, constructing a sentence without a clear antecedent is possible. Read this sentence:

Mr. Jacobs had no idea what she was talking about.

Taking this sentence out of context, the reader is wondering if Mr. Jacobs has gender issues. The reader would need to find the antecedent of "she" in context of the paragraph. Otherwise, putting the woman's name in instead of the pronoun is best.

An antecedent must be a noun rather than an abstract concept; that is, it (the antecedent) has to refer to a specific person, place, or thing. An example:

George was upset, but he kept it hidden.

George kept what hidden? The fact that he felt upset? Replace "it" with the word "it" references:

George was upset, but he kept upset hidden.

The word "upset" can't be the antecedent of "it" because "upset" isn't a person, place, or thing. The author must reword this sentence.

George was upset with his lack of a raise, but he kept his feelings hidden.

Or

George was upset, but he kept his upset hidden.

All right, you've constructed a sentence, careful that each pronoun refers to a person, place or thing. But do those pronouns refer to the correct noun?

After reading books at a book club with her friends, Lavern likes all of them so far.

We can hope Lavern likes all the friends. If the writer means that Lavern likes all the books, the sentence should be rewritten like this:

After reading books at a book club with her friends, Lavern likes all the book choices so far.

The writer of the written word must be more careful about phrasing than the speaker for the spoken word. Sentences such as the following are common in speech:

This year's student guide came in the mail. They insist we send the kids to school even if they have a cold.

The way this sentence is worded, the student guide wants you to send the kids to school. Someone wants the kids at school, but the author didn't tell us who. The sentence needs to be reworded to make clear who "they" are. Twice. (Does the student guide catch colds?)

This year's student guide came in the mail. The school officials insist we send the kids to school even if the kids have a cold.

Try this three-step test by Susan Thurman:
1. Find the pronoun.
2. Replace the pronoun with its antecedent--the noun it refers to (remember the noun must be the exact word).
3. If the sentence doesn't make sense, you need to reword your sentence.

Kelly Schaub is a freelance writer and editor located in Oregon. Her website is http://www.thewritecritter.com