Quirks and Tips

Confusing References Think about the position of pronouns and be sure their antecedents are clear. She left the drink on the table that she had just bought. That refers to the table, meaning she had just bought the table, not the drink. Ann told Sue her hair needed combing. Whose hair? Ann's or Sue's? Technically, it’s Sue’s hair because "Sue" is the last noun before the pronoun.One clear (if boring) fix might be: Ann said to Sue, "My hair needs combing." We bought a small sailboat on a trailer and a chair. This sounds as if the sailboat rested on both the trailer and the chair. To make it clearer, reverse the two: We bought a chair and a small sailboat with a trailer. Please send me any ideas for mystery-related words or writing information you'd like to see here. Send to Ellis (Click for email. Please delete NOSPOOF-SPAM from address.)