Classic Errors and Helpful Hints

When you use pronouns like it, he, she, him, or her, it's important to make it clear who or what you are referring back to. If you use a pronoun to refer back to someone or something already mentioned in the same sentence, it should relate to a noun that is in the subject position. For example, interpreted according to strict grammatical rules, the sentence 'When her baby had finished its bottle, she washed it with boiling water' describes a very painful experience for the baby rather than a sensible thing to do to a baby's bottle.