To avoid repeating nouns in writing, you can use pronouns to stand in for them.In doing so, you must be sure that each pronoun agrees with the noun it refers to (its antecedent).Pronouns and antecedents must agree in person, number, and gender.
1.Avoid needless shifts in person
1) One has to expect criticism when you succeed.
In the sentence above, the third-person oneis shifted to the second-person youwithout any reason.
You can correct this error by using the second person throughout:
2) You have to expect criticism when you succeed,
or by using the third person throughout.
3) One has to expect criticism when one succeeds.
4) One has to expect criticism when he succeeds.
Sentence 4) is the most natural way and the one most frequently used in writing.
2.Avoid needless shifts in number
1) The waitresses in this elegant restaurant can receive up to eighty percent of her salary in tips.
2) The mayor welcomed the foreign delegation by presenting them with a key to the city.
In sentence 1) , the antecedent waitressesis plural but its pronoun heris singular.To match them, you can replace herwith their.In sentence 2) , the antecedent foreign delegationis singular but its pronoun themis plural.To match them, you can replace themwith it.
3.Avoid needless shifts in gender
Many people write heor she , himor her , and himselfor herselfin an attempt to show that they have no sex bias:
1) If one wants to succeed in his or her career, he or she has to depend on himself or herself.
Such writing is often awkward and wordy.No one talks that way, and it isn't necessary to write that way, either.The pronouns he, him , or himselfare generally used to represent both genders:
2) If one wants to succeed in his career, he has to depend on himself.
You can rewrite this sentence by switching it entirely to the third-person plural form:
3) If people want to succeed in their careers, they have to depend on themselves.