September 15, 2009

Writing Tip of the Week

Pronoun Reference

A pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun. The most common kinds are personal pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we, they); indefinite pronouns (anyone, anybody, anything, someone, somebody, something, everyone, everybody, everything); and relative pronouns (who/whom, which, that). Usually a pronoun substitutes for a specific noun, known as its antecedent. Although most function as substitutes, some can function as adjectives modifying nouns. Legal writers tend to have two kinds of problems with pronouns: (1) they use plural pronouns to refer back to singular antecedents; and (2) they use pronouns that have unclear or ambiguous antecedents.

1) Singular antecedents require singular pronouns; plural antecedents require plural pronouns.

Grammatical William McDonald (antecedent) may claim that his (pronoun)

constitutional rights were violated.

Grammatical William McDonald and Grace Yessler (antecedents) may claim

that their (pronoun) constitutional rights were violated.

Ungrammatical If a person (antecedent) has legal capacity to marry, they (pronoun) may enter into marriage.

Revision If a person (antecedent) has legal capacity to marry, she (pronoun) may enter into marriage.

2a) Each pronoun should clearly refer back to its antecedent.

Vague Referent Officer Robert O’Malley, who arrested Howard Davis, said that he

was drunk at the time.

Revision Officer Robert O’Malley, who arrested Howard Davis, said that

Davis was drunk at the time.

Revision According to the arresting officer, Robert O’Malley, Howard Davis

was drunk at the time of the arrest.

2b) The small, unimportant-looking pronoun “it” along with its companions “this” and “which,” should refer to closely adjacent antecedent nouns. If their antecedents are too far away, if they refer to some nebulous concept not actually mentioned in the sentence, or if they have no antecedent at all, “it,” “this,” and “which” become vague referents. Vague referents cause confusion in all kinds of writing, but they are dangerous in legal writing, where precision is so important.

Vague Referent Because defendants were playing a practical joke on the plaintiff, it

shows intent on their part.

What shows intent? That is, to what does the referent “it” refer? The writer is aware that one of the elements of battery is “intent” and wants to say that defendants’ playing a practical joke indicates their intention to carry out the battery. In his sentence structure, however, the noun phrase that “it” refers to is “practical joke,” and practical jokes cannot possess intent.

Revision Defendants’ playing a practical joke on the plaintiff showed their intent.

Adapted from: Effective Legal Writing—Block

The Legal Writing Handbook—Oates, Enquist, and Kunsch

Prepared by: James Wright and Christopher Dunn