In the next section, you’ll review the pronoun definition provided earlier in this guide and prepare to use this type of noun in different sentences than the ones you have so far. Why are you paying for Frank’s concert tickets? Pronouns must agree with the antecedent, or else the meaning of your sentence will be lost. Notice that by inserting the wrong pronoun, “I, ” the sentence’s meaning has completely changed. Message received.īut what happens if there is a disagreement ? Let’s find out:įrank went to too many concerts, so now I have no money. Concert tickets are expensive, and now Frank has no money. “He” substitutes “Frank” with no confusion and avoids repetition. The antecedent establishes who you’re talking about, Frank. Not sure what that means? Here’s an example in which the two agree :įrank went to too many concerts, so now he has no money.Įverything is clear in this sentence. You also need to make sure the pronoun you choose agrees with the antecedent. The sentence went from being about any “he” in any meeting to the prime minister of a country, which makes this a pretty big deal. Notice how much the meaning of the sentence changed once the antecedent was added. The Prime Minister of Singapore did not like the proposal, so he left the meeting. Let’s try that sentence again, this time with an antecedent: It is necessary in third-person sentences to clarify which person, place, or thing you’re discussing. An antecedent is a noun that will be replaced later by a pronoun. In the above sentence, it is unclear who “he” is.

He did not like the proposal, so he left the meeting.

But before you add one into any sentence, you have to make sure everyone knows who or what you’re talking about. In the last section, you learned this guide’s pronoun definition: a noun that replaces another noun. So far, you’ve seen a pronouns definition and an example of how to use this type of noun in a sentence.

Pronoun what is it