NCO Primary Leadership Subjects
Logical Arrangement, Continued
Pronouns must agree with the nouns they refer to (their antecedents). The pronoun
Avoid faulty
normally follows the antecedent.
pronoun
references
Two or more antecedents connected by "and" usually take a plural pronoun.
Example:
FAULTY: The squad leader and the platoon leader couldn't coordinate his
schedule.
CLEAR:
The squad leader and the platoon leader couldn't coordinate their
schedules.
Exception: When the combined antecedents refer to a single idea, person, or
thing, then the pronoun is singular.
Example:
The sergeant and I rode in his car.
Given a series of nouns, the pronoun should refer to the nearest antecedent.
Example:
MISPLACED:
The sniper followed the enemy soldier into the woods where
he ambushed him. (Who ambushed whom?)
CLEAR:
The sniper followed the enemy soldier into the woods and
ambushed him.
Make sure you tic related thoughts together with parallel sentence structure.
Maintain
parallel
Example:
construction
FAULTY:
The property officer is responsible for issuing supplies,
maintenance of records, and must keep a reserve stock.
PARALLEL:
The property officer issues supplies, maintains records, and
keeps a reserve stock.
3-34
Writing Mechanics and Composition
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