The Lonely This

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Robert Hruzek via Compfight

Writers often use “This” to refer to the subject of the previous sentence. However, using the pronoun “this” alone is sometimes called a Lonely This. A subject should follow a “This.”

A Lonely This looks like:

  • This is mine.
  • This is likely due to too much freedom.
  •  This left them feeling inadequate.

In each of these examples, the reader does not know to what the “This” refers. The “This” is lonely because it doesn’t have a subject.

Writers should identify the “This” as in the following examples:

  • This textbook is mine.
  •  This problem is likely due to too much freedom.
  •  This problem left them feeling inadequate.

In these examples, the “This” is followed by a noun. The more specificity in your writing, the easier it is to read because the reader doesn’t have to re-read sections to determine your subject.

 

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