Pronouns — Parts of Speech
What Is It?
A pronoun replaces a noun or noun phrase.
Canonical pattern: Antecedent → Pronoun.
Why Use Pronouns?
- Brevity – keeps docs lean (“it” instead of repeating the application).
- Cohesion – links sentences for smoother flow.
- Politeness – allows they/them for inclusive language.
- Focus – moves attention to new info by reducing repetition.
When to Choose Pronouns
- Long troubleshooting guides with recurring entities.
- Conversation UIs and chatbots.
- Test cases referencing earlier steps.
Forming Pronoun Sentences
| Tense / Aspect | Formula | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Present Simple | Pron + V + O | It compiles in seconds. |
| Past Simple | Pron + V-ed | They shipped the patch. |
| Future Simple | Pron + will + V | She will review the PR. |
| Present Continuous | Pron + be + V-ing | We are deploying now. |
Tips for Writing with Pronouns
- Identify a clear antecedent before introducing it or they.
- Switch to nouns if antecedent distance exceeds two sentences.
- Use who/whom for people, which/that for things.
- Default to they when gender is unknown.
- Keep UI copy consistent: “Save it” pairs with “document,” not “file” elsewhere.
Exceptions & Nuances
Reflexive forms (myself, ourselves) can emphasise agency in post‑mortems (“I fixed it myself”). Many style guides now advise they as a singular pronoun for privacy.