Pronoun Antecedent Agreement and Parallelism

Pronoun antecedent agreement and parallelism are two essential concepts in writing correctly and effectively. These terms refer to the grammatical relationships between pronouns and their antecedents, as well as the consistency and balance in sentence construction.

Pronoun antecedent agreement refers to the agreement between a pronoun and its antecedent. An antecedent is the noun or pronoun that a pronoun refers to. The pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number (singular/plural), gender (masculine/feminine), and person (first/second/third). For instance, in the sentence “Steve helped his sister, and she thanked him,” the antecedent of “she” is “sister,” which is feminine singular, and “him” refers to “Steve,” which is masculine singular. So, the pronouns agree with their respective antecedents.

It is essential to maintain pronoun antecedent agreement to avoid confusion and ambiguity in writing. If the agreement is not maintained, the reader may struggle to understand who or what a pronoun is referring to. For example, a sentence such as “The team celebrated their victory, and it was well deserved” is incorrect because “team” is singular, and “their” is plural. A better version could be “The team celebrated its victory, and it was well deserved.”

Parallelism refers to the consistency of grammatical structure within a sentence or among related sentences. Parallelism creates a rhythm and flow in writing that enhances readability and understanding. In parallel construction, items of the same type should have the same grammatical structure. For example:

• “She likes cooking, hiking, and to read” is incorrect because “to read” is not parallel to the gerunds “cooking” and “hiking.” A parallel version could be “She likes cooking, hiking, and reading.”

• “The company invested in new technology, to hire more staff, and reducing expenses” is incorrect because the third item, “reducing expenses,” is not parallel to the infinitive phrases “to hire more staff” and “to invest in new technology.” A parallel version could be “The company invested in new technology, hired more staff, and reduced expenses.”

Parallelism enhances clarity, emphasis, and coherence in writing. When constructing sentences or lists, ensure that items of the same type have the same grammatical structure to create parallelism.

In conclusion, pronoun antecedent agreement and parallelism are essential concepts in writing to ensure correctness, clarity, and coherence. Correct pronoun usage maintains clarity and avoids ambiguity, while parallelism creates a rhythm and flow that enhances readability and understanding. As a writer or editor, it is crucial to master these concepts to create effective communication.