"I shaved my head when I was 17. I sold it for $500 to a famous Broadway wigmaker. My mother and my brother were so thrilled because my hair had always been so greasy and I always wore it in my face." - Chloe Sevigny, in US Weekly
Chloe has made a confusing statement. She has used a pronoun without clearly stating its antecedent. While it is easy to infer the meaning of her statement, it is instructive to examine this quote to illustrate the importance of clearly defining antecedents when using pronouns.
Chloe begins by saying, "I shaved my head." In the next sentence, she says, "I sold it for $500." While it is safe to assume that Chloe sold her hair, she has made no mention of it at this point in her statement. The only noun that precedes the pronoun "it" is "head." The literal interpretation of this syntax is that Chloe sold her head for $500.
Chloe mentions her hair in a subsequent sentence. It is possible for a sentence to make sense when the antecedent follows the referent pronoun. For example:
Having sold it for $500, Chloe thrilled her mother and brother when she showed up without her greasy hair in her face.
As it was greasy and always in her face, Chloe sold her hair to a famous wigmaker for $500.
However, a structure in which the antecedent follows the pronoun may be vague and confusing (and even humorous) in certain contexts. When using pronouns in your writing, be sure that they refer clearly to their antecedents.
To make Chloe's statement clearer, restructure it so that the antecedent precedes the pronoun.
"I shaved my head when I was 17. I sold my hair for $500 to a famous Broadway wigmaker. My mother and my brother were so thrilled because it had always been so greasy and I always wore it in my face."
Note: Chloe's quote is taken out of context. It is possible that she was responding to a question such as, "Do you have anything interesting to say about your hair?" In such an instance, the question would contain the antecedent. However, the statement would remain unclear because the pronoun could still refer to either her hair or her head.
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