rom making a mistake. [Or, abandoning the pronoun] Reading the
directions on the bottle may prevent a mistake.

Wrong: The managers told him they would increase his salary if
he would represent them in South America. He refused that.

Right: The managers told him they would increase his salary if
he would represent them in South America. He refused the offer.

Exception.--It cannot be maintained that a pronoun must _always_ have
one definite word for its antecedent. Many of the best English authors
occasionally use a pronoun to refer to a clause. But the reference must
always be clear.

Note.--Impersonal constructions must be used with caution. "It is
raining" is correct, although _it_ has no antecedent. We desire that the
antecedent shall be vague, impersonal. But unnecessary use of the
indefinite _it_, _you_, or _they_ should be avoided.

Faulty: It says in our history that Columbus was an Italian.

Right: Our history says that Columbus was an Italian.

Not complimentary to the reader: You aren't hanged nowadays for
stealing.

Right: No one is hanged nowadays for stealing.

Faulty: They are noted for their tact in France.

Right: The French are noted for their tact.

Exercise:

1. You use little slang in your paper which is commendable.

2. They had no reinforcements which caused them to lose the
battle.

3. The carbon must be removed from pig iron to make pure steel,
and that is done by terrific heat.

4. Our stenographer spends most of her spare time at a cheap
movie theater, which is in itself an index of her character.

5. It says in the new rules that you aren't allowed in the
building on Sunday.

=Dangling Participle or Gerund=

=23. A participle, being dependent, must refer to a noun or pronoun. The
noun or pronoun should be within the sentence which contains the
participle, and should be so conspicuous that the participle will be
associated with it instantly and without confusion.=

Wrong: Coming in on the train, the high school building is
seen. [Is the building coming in? If not, who is?]

Right: Coming in on the train, one sees the high school
building.

A sentence containing a dangling participle may be corrected (1) by
giving the word to which the participle refers a conspicuous position in
the sentence, or (2) by replacing the participial phrase by