Difficulty: Beginner | Prerequisites: Subject-Verb Agreement and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement study notes
Source: ENGL 101.08, Michigan State University
Tags: person shifts, point of view shifts, vague reference, ambiguous pronoun, pronoun clarity, ENGL 101
This topic covers two related but distinct problems that weaken writing clarity. The first, unnecessary shifts in person, happens when a writer starts in one grammatical person (first, second, or third) and drifts into another mid-sentence or mid-paragraph. The second, vague or ambiguous pronoun reference, happens when a pronoun like "this," "it," or "they" has no clear antecedent, leaving the reader to guess what it refers to. Both errors are tested alongside agreement rules in Grammar Quiz 2.
Stay in the same grammatical person throughout a sentence or paragraph. If you start with "we," finish with "we/our," not "you/your." Make sure every pronoun points to a specific, identifiable noun, not to an entire idea or a missing antecedent.
Grammatical person
The perspective a sentence is written from. First person: I, we, our. Second person: you, your. Third person: he, she, they, it, one, a person.
In simple terms, "who is talking?" First person is the speaker, second person is the listener, third person is someone else.
Unnecessary shift in person
An error that occurs when a writer changes grammatical person within a sentence or passage without a clear reason.
Think of it as switching the camera angle mid-scene with no warning. "We love our town. You can get anything you need there" jumps from "we" to "you" for no reason.
Vague reference (also called ambiguous reference)
An error in which a pronoun (this, that, it, which, they) does not clearly refer to a specific noun. The antecedent may be missing entirely, or the pronoun may point to an entire sentence or idea rather than a single identifiable noun.
In simple terms, if a reader has to ask "what does 'this' refer to?", the reference is vague.
Ambiguous reference
A specific type of vague reference in which a pronoun could logically refer to more than one antecedent in the sentence.
Think of it as: "After we saw the Sullivans' dogs, they showed us the cats." Does "they" mean the Sullivans or the dogs?
The rule is straightforward: pick a grammatical person and stay with it. Shifting mid-sentence confuses the reader.
Third person to second person (the most common shift)
Incorrect: "It is important for a person to be sure before you get married."
"A person" is third person; "you" is second person.
Correct: "It is important for a person to be sure before he or she gets married."
First person to second person
Incorrect: "We are happy with our lives in the town. You can get anything you need there."
"We/our" is first person; "you" is second person.
Correct: "We are happy with our lives in the town. We can get anything we need there."
First person to third person
Incorrect: "As we live our lives, each day we come closer to discovering what our fate is or realizing our potential to be who you want to be."
The sentence starts with "we/our" (first person) and shifts to "you" (second person) at the end.
Correct: Change "you" to "we."
The fix is always the same: identify which person the sentence starts in, then make all pronouns consistent.
The pronouns "this," "that," "it," and "which" should refer to a specific noun, not to an entire sentence or an unarticulated idea.
"This" referring to a whole idea
Vague: "Mr. Parker announced that the research essays were due early, on Friday, not Monday. This really distressed the poor students."
"This" refers to the entire situation, not a specific noun.
Revised: "Mr. Parker announced that the research essays were due early, on Friday, not Monday. The schedule change really distressed the poor students."
Replace "this" with the specific noun it stands for.
"It" with no antecedent
Vague: "Keith will never fly again. This past weekend it explained on Sixty Minutes that the Federal Aviation Authority allows unsafe passenger jets to fly."
"It" has no identifiable antecedent. Who or what explained?
Revised: "Keith will never fly again. This past weekend a report on Sixty Minutes explained that the Federal Aviation Authority allows unsafe passenger jets to fly."
"They" with no clear antecedent
Vague: "After we saw the Sullivans' dogs, they showed us the cats."
Does "they" refer to the Sullivans or the dogs?
Revised: "After we saw the Sullivans' dogs, the Sullivans showed us the cats."
Replace the ambiguous pronoun with the specific noun.
"This" used vaguely for a situation
Vague: "My brother has been unemployed for three months because of illness. This makes him depressed."
Does "this" mean the unemployment, the illness, or the combination?
Revised: "My brother has been unemployed for three months because of illness. The prolonged unemployment makes him depressed."
Students often think "this" is always acceptable as a pronoun. In formal writing, "this" needs a specific noun antecedent. When it points to an entire previous sentence or a vague idea, it is an error.
Students confuse person shifts with pronoun agreement errors. A person shift is about consistency of perspective (first vs. second vs. third person throughout), while agreement is about matching singular/plural. Both can appear in one sentence.
Students assume that vague reference only matters when the pronoun has two possible antecedents. It also applies when the pronoun has no antecedent at all (e.g., "it explained on Sixty Minutes" where "it" refers to nothing).
Students underestimate how often "they" is used without a clear antecedent. If you cannot point to the specific noun "they" replaces, the reference is vague.
⚠️ Exercise B on the practice quiz combines person shifts and vague reference in the same questions. Read the full sentence before deciding which error type is present.
⚠️ The most common tested pattern: a sentence that begins with "we" and shifts to "you" or "his or her" partway through. The fix is to keep the same person throughout.
⚠️ Exercise C asks you to rewrite sentences with vague "this," "it," or "they." The technique is always the same: replace the vague pronoun with the specific noun it should refer to.
⚠️ Questions about vague reference may look correct on first reading. Slow down and ask: "What exactly does 'this' or 'it' refer to?" If you cannot name a single noun, the reference is vague.
True or False: "It is important for a person to be sure before you get married" contains a person shift. (True. "A person" is third person; "you" is second person.)
Fill in the blank: "We are happy with our lives in the town. ______ can get anything ______ need there." (We, we)
True or False: "My brother has been unemployed for three months. This makes him depressed" contains a vague reference. (True. "This" does not refer to a specific noun.)
True or False: "After we saw the Sullivans' dogs, they showed us the cats" is clear and correct. (False. "They" is ambiguous: it could refer to the Sullivans or the dogs.)
Fill in the blank: To fix a vague "this," replace it with ______. (The specific noun it refers to, e.g., "the schedule change," "the unemployment.")
Q: "As individuals, we are raised to believe that his or her own culture is perfect." What is the error, and which fix is correct: (a) no error, (b) change HIS or HER to THEIR, (c) change HIS or HER to OUR?
A: (c) Change HIS or HER to OUR. The sentence begins with "we" (first person), so the pronoun must stay in first person: "our own culture."
Q: "Even though our backgrounds do not seem similar, we do enjoy exploring it." What is the error: (a) no error, (b) change OUR to THEIR, (c) change WE to SHE, (d) change IT to THEM?
A: (d) Change IT to THEM. "Backgrounds" is plural, but "it" is singular. The pronoun must match: "exploring them."
Q: "As we live our lives, each day we come closer to discovering what our fate is or realizing our potential to be who you want to be." What is the error?
A: Change YOU to WE. The sentence is in first person ("we," "our") throughout, then shifts to second person ("you") at the end.
Q: "However, these goals cannot be too ambitious because it will cause the person to lose hope and he will end up frustrated." What needs to change?
A: The vague pronoun "it" has no clear antecedent (it should refer to the goals being too ambitious). A possible correction: "However, these goals cannot be too ambitious because excessive ambition will cause the person to lose hope and he will end up frustrated." Alternatively, if the question offers "change IT to THEY," that would also work since "these goals" is the intended antecedent.
Q: Rewrite to fix the vague reference: "Mr. Parker announced that the research essays were due early, on Friday, not Monday. This really distressed the poor students."
A: "Mr. Parker announced that the research essays were due early, on Friday, not Monday. The earlier deadline really distressed the poor students." Replace "this" with the specific thing that distressed them.
Q: Rewrite to fix the vague reference: "After we saw the Sullivans' dogs, they showed us the cats."
A: "After we saw the Sullivans' dogs, the Sullivans showed us the cats." Replace "they" with the specific noun.
Q: Rewrite to fix the vague reference: "My brother has been unemployed for three months because of illness. This makes him depressed."
A: "My brother has been unemployed for three months because of illness. The prolonged unemployment makes him depressed." Replace "this" with the specific noun it refers to.
Shifts in person and vague reference are tested alongside subject-verb agreement and pronoun-antecedent agreement in Grammar Quiz 2. Many exam sentences contain more than one type of error, so being fluent in all three topics helps you identify which rule is being tested in each question.
Vague reference also connects to broader writing skills: learning to replace "this" and "it" with specific nouns improves clarity in essays, research papers, and any extended writing.
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