Welcome students, and other searchers! I am neither an English teacher nor a grammarian. "O'Hara's Recommendations" are my attempt to address the writing problems that, based on my reading of thousands of papers and tests, causes 95% of a student's writing difficulties. This page is about one of those problems--indefinite pronouns. Professor O'Hara

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What are indefinite pronouns? Here is a partial list: it, him, her, they, them, those, and these. We use indefinite pronouns a lot in thinking and speaking. So a lot of indefinite pronouns end up on paper when we write. But writing is NOT like thinking, where WE always know what "it" refers to, or like conversations, where our listeners cue more easily on what "it" means. When you use indefinite pronouns in writing, the reader must glance back and/or dig back and/or figure out just what you mean by "it," "they," "he," or "she." Take the following passage.

I have just written a RUDE passage. Let’s pick apart what I wrote.

Sentence #1: "Courtesy is important in writing." Not bad.

Sentence #2: "It helps the reader." WHAT helps the reader? Courtesy? Probably. Writing? Well, maybe. Who has to figure this out? The poor reader, of course.

Sentence #4: "They then can get on with their business faster." Who are "they?" Darned if I know. Could be the readers. But it could also be the writers. The next puzzle for the reader is "their business." Whose business?!? Now the reader of this sentence can decide I mean writers, or decide I mean readers. A 50/50 shot. And whatever the reader decides, only a 50% chance exists that he/she will understand the sentence the way I meant the sentence to be understood. ROTTEN WRITING!!!!

Here is the same passage written courteously and clearly.

"Courtesy is important in writing. Courtesy means clarity, and clarity helps the reader engage with the writer’s ideas quickly and easily. Then, readers can go on to other things."

How do you minimize/avoid indefinite pronouns? EDIT YOUR WRITING!!!! Most of us tend to write as we think. So, it, he, she, and they usually abound in what we first write. Go back over what you have written. Find the "its" and "theys," the "he’s" and the "she’s," and replace with the person or thing to which the indefinite pronoun refers. Your writing will become much clearer as a result. And you will communicate much more courteously and effectively with your readers.

©Professor Patrick O'Hara, MPA Program, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of NY