Ambiguous reference of _he_: John spoke to the stranger, and he
was very surly.

Right: John spoke to the stranger, who was very surly. [Or]
John spoke in a surly manner to the stranger.

Note.--The reference of relative and demonstrative pronouns is largely
dependent upon their position. The reference of a personal pronoun
(_he_, _she_, _they_, etc.) is not so much dependent upon its position,
the main consideration being that the antecedent shall be emphatic (See
the next article.)

Exercise:

1. He was driving an old mule attached to a cart that was blind
in one eye.

2. There is a grimy streak on the wall over the radiator which
can be removed only with great difficulty.

3. The feet of Chinese girls were bandaged so tightly when they
were babies that they could not grow.

4. He gave me a receipt for the money which he told me to keep.

5. After the pictures have been taken and the film has been
removed, they are sent to the developing room where it is
developed and dried.

=Weak Reference=

=21. Do not allow a pronoun to refer to a word not likely to be central
in the reader's thought; a word, for example, in the possessive case, or
in a parenthetical expression, or in a compound, or not expressed at
all. Make the pronoun refer to an emphatic word.=

Wrong: When a poor woman came to Jane Addams' famous Hull
House, she always gave help. [_Poor woman_ and _Hull House_ are
the emphatic words, to which any pronoun used later is
instinctively referred by the reader.]

Right: When a poor woman came to Jane Addams' famous Hull
House, she always received help. [Or] When a poor woman came to
Hull House, Jane Addams always gave help.

Wrong: In biology, which is the study of plants and animals we
find that they are made up of unitary structures called cells.
[Since the words _plants and animals_ occur only in a
parenthetical clause, the reader is surprised to find them used
as an antecedent.]

Right: In the study of biology we find that plants and animals
are made up of unitary structures called cells.

Wrong: This old scissors-grinder sharpens them for the whole
neighborhood. [The center of interest in the reader's mind is a
man, not scissors.]

Right: This old scissors-grinder sharpens scissors for the
whole neighborhood.

Wro