Anticipatory Reference: A Grammatical Error?
Summary
Anticipatory reference occurs when a pronoun appears before its antecedent (the person or thing it refers to) in a sentence.
- When she can, Rita runs marathons.
Often considered an error, anticipatory reference is best avoided in formal writing. In casual communication and creative writing, anticipatory reference can lend humor or drama to a sentence or help introduce a new character to a reader.
What is anticipatory reference?
Anticipatory reference happens when a pronoun like he, she, or it is used to refer to someone or something that is identified later in the sentence. The pronoun appears before the noun, or the person or thing to which it refers.
- When she’s happy, Lulu likes to dance.
“She” refers to Lulu, but this is not immediately apparent. It becomes clear later when the name “Lulu” appears in the sentence.
- It’s convenient to book tickets online.
The word “it” refers to something that appears later in the sentence. What is convenient? “To book tickets online.”
Generally, the pronoun appears after the person or thing it stands for (called the antecedent).
- When Tumkin was young, he lived in Sri Lanka.
In an anticipatory reference, this order is reversed: the pronoun appears before the antecedent.
- When he was young, Tumkin lived in Sri Lanka.
Pronoun before noun
Sometimes, we unwittingly place the pronoun before the noun it refers to. This is anticipatory reference and generally considered an error in formal writing.
- When they were children, my parents lived in a village by the sea.
The pronoun “they” appears before its antecedent, “my parents.”
- When I first met him, I thought Nesbit was a student.
- Because she likes animals, Anita has adopted a cat from the shelter.
When a conjunction like because starts a sentence, it’s easy to mistakenly use the pronoun before the noun.
- Poor: Because it discusses several important findings, we believe this paper should be published.
Better: Because this paper discusses several important findings, we believe it should be published.
It’s fine to start a sentence with because; just watch out for an unintentional anticipatory reference.
Anticipatory it
The pronoun it is often used as an anticipatory subject in both speech and writing. In fact, in certain types of sentences, using anticipatory it is often the preferred choice.
- It’s not easy to be a parent.
- It’s lucky that we left when we did.
Anticipatory there
The word there can precede the real subject, which follows it in the sentence. When used like this, the word is also called the existential there.
- There is a cow in the garden.
“There” refers to the cow, the real subject of the sentence, which appears later. In English, such a construction is preferred to “A cow is in the garden.”
- There is nowhere else to go.
Preferred to “Nowhere else to go exists.”
When it and there are used as anticipatory subjects, they are also called dummy subjects since they replace the real subject, which appears later in the sentence. For a full discussion and examples, see this article on dummy subjects in English.
When to avoid
Anticipatory references can be confusing: when you use a pronoun before specifying what it refers to, readers don’t know whom or what you’re talking about until they read the entire sentence. Sometimes, they may have to read a sentence more than once to make sense of it.
- Since she enjoys learning about different cultures and places, whenever she has a chance, Maya likes to travel around the world.
The reader doesn’t know who “she” is until the end of the sentence.
Moreover, with an anticipatory reference, it may not be clear at all what the pronoun refers to, even upon reading the entire sentence. Usually the pronoun refers to the noun that immediately precedes it, or it has an implied antecedent.
- If she wins the match, Rita will be thrilled.
“She” could refer to Rita or some other person altogether.
- If it works, the experiment will be a great success.
If what works?
Anticipatory references are therefore best avoided in formal texts, like academic and business documents, which require a clear and direct style.
When it is acceptable
In informal speech and writing, anticipatory reference can help the speaker or writer create drama. In particular, such usage is acceptable when the antecedent closely follows the pronoun.
- I knew it! You were never going to cancel the tickets.
What “it” refers to (that “you were never going to cancel the tickets”) comes immediately after, so the reference isn’t too confusing for the reader.
- When they, the citizens, discovered the truth, there were mass protests.
- It’s him—that’s the man who stole my purse!
In creative writing, writers may indulge in anticipatory reference to add an element of surprise, drama, or humor to a sentence.
- Just because he did not have a real heart, the poor little robot was treated as though he had no feelings.
What the word “he” refers to is not a person but a “poor little robot,” which is unexpected.
In stories, we may find anticipatory reference when a character is first introduced to the reader. After all, the reader hasn’t met this character yet, so using a name won’t provide much more information than a pronoun.
- She waited, Kate Croy, for her father to come in, but he kept her unconscionably . . .”
— Henry James, The Wings of the Dove (1902)
- As soon as he was born, Mr. and Mrs. Canker knew that their baby was not like other people’s children.
— Eva Ibbotson, Which Witch? (1979)
Finally, using anticipatory it or there as the subject in a sentence is often the more natural choice.
- It was important to cross-check the results.
Preferred to “To cross-check the results was important.”
- There’s some butter in the fridge.
Preferred to “Some butter is in the fridge.”
Nevertheless, editors will advise you to avoid unnecessary use of it and there as dummy subjects. Whenever possible (and when it sounds natural), in formal writing, provide a real subject.
- Poor: There were seven applicants we interviewed.
Better: We interviewed seven applicants.
Examples from literature
Here are examples of anticipatory reference from the first lines of famous novels.
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
— Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (1813)It was a diamond all right, shining in the grass half a dozen feet from the blue brick wall.
— Dashiell Hammett, The Dain Curse (1929)The final dying sounds of their dress rehearsal left the Laurel Players with nothing to do but stand there, silent and helpless, blinking out over the footlights of an empty auditorium.
— Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road (1961)- Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.
— Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude (1970; trans. Gregory Rabassa)
It’s a funny thing about mothers and fathers. Even when their own child is the most disgusting little blister you could ever imagine, they still think that he or she is wonderful.
— Roald Dahl, Matilda (1988)