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2. Pronoun Usage
There are three areas of pronoun usage that frequently cause problems and should be reviewed: whether a
pronoun has a proper antecedent, agreement between pronoun and antecedent, and choice of pronoun case.
A. A pronoun should have a clear antecedent (also called a referent). The antecedent is the word
for which the pronoun substitutes. Setting aside certain idioms—such as It’s raining, in which the it does
not have an identifiable antecedent—a pronoun that lacks a clear antecedent is used incorrectly.

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Lesson 2
8
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ARCO
■ SAT II Subject Tests
EXAMPLES:
During her rise to fame, she betrayed many of her friends; and because of it, very few people
trust her.
A pronoun must have an antecedent, but it doesn’t refer to anything. It “wants” to refer to the
woman’s behavior, but that word doesn’t appear in the original sentence. Corrected, the sentence reads:
“During her rise to fame, she betrayed many of her friends; and because of her behavior, very few people
trust her.”
In New York City, they are brusque and even rude but quick to come to one another’s assistance
in a time of crisis.
This construction might be called the “ubiquitous they.” “They” are everywhere: In New York, they
are rude; in Chicago, they like the Cubs; in Atlanta, they speak with a southern accent; in California, they
like parties. “They” do get around! The trouble with this use of “they” is that “they” has no antecedent.
In conversation, the “ubiquitous they” may be acceptable, but not in standard written English. The
sentence above is corrected by using the word people in place of they. So the sentence should read: “In
New York City, the people are brusque and even rude but quick to come to one another’s assistance in a
time of crisis.”
Ten years ago, the United States imported ten times as much French wine as Italian wine, but
today Americans are drinking more of it.
Here, the antecedent of it is unclear. Does the sentence mean to state that Americans are drinking
more French wine or more Italian wine? It could be either. The sentence is corrected by specifying which.
Corrected, the sentence reads: “Ten years ago, the United States imported ten times as much French wine
as Italian wine, but today Americans are drinking more Italian wine.”