Question

Where should a pronoun be placed?

Answer 1

choices:
- anywhere in the sentence somewhere
- before the antecedent
- as close to the antecedent as possible
- anywhere after the antecedent

Answer 2

Recall that an antecedent is the noun to which a pronoun refers. You cannot put pronouns wherever you want in a sentence (eliminating choice 1). Pronouns may come before, or after, the antecedent, depending on the sentence.

examples:
- I worked on my painting until I thought it was perfect. (the pronoun "it" comes after the noun to which it refers (painting)
- After her show, Emily went out for a drive. (the pronoun "her" comes before the noun to which it refers (Emily)

Therefore, the only logical choice is "as close to the antecedent as possible." This is done to make it clear what word the pronoun is talking about. If we separate the pronoun and antecedent too much, it can become unclear.