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Pronouns and Their Referents 
    Antecedent: An antecedent is the pronoun's referent, that is, it is the word to which the pronoun refers. Often in the sentence, the pronoun will stand in for this word:
Before Marcello jogs, he must stretch. The pronoun he refers to Marcello. 

One for One: 

For clarity's sake, a single pronoun can only refer to one singular or compound compound antecedent.

Yes:  Renee spoke, but she was not heard over the crowd. 

No: Renee spoke, but she was not heard over the crowd though she tried to be loud.

 The final sentence above creates too much confusion. It's clear that Renee was not heard, but who is the second she? Perhaps is was Renee, but it may not have been. In long passages the confusion grows: 

       

 Stephen raced to the car, so he didn't hear his dad calling him back to the house. Apparently, he had just received a very important phone call from the admissions officer of the college to which he had applied earlier that semester. Perhaps the officer had called him to inform him that he had been accepted to the school. 

Which he is referring to Stephen and which is referring to Stephen's dad? 

Keeping Pronouns & Antecedent Together: 

Another reason for such confusion is that too much material comes between the pronoun and its antecedent. The first he may be clear, but both the antecedent of Stephen and his dad could be the antecedent of the second mention of he. It would probably be best to mention the antecedent again just to be clear:

Stephen raced to the car, so he didn't hear his dad calling him back to the house. Apparently, his dad had just received a very important phone call from the admissions officer of the college to which Stephen had applied earlier that semester. 

Compound Antecedents: 
  • Compound subjects and objects may serve as antecedents for pronouns. In such cases, use a plural pronoun:
New York and New Jersey are in cooperation to recycle their garbage. 
  • However, when indefinite determiners like each and every appear, a singular form of the pronoun is used:
Each person should do his or her part to help keep our streets safe. 
  Distinguishing Antecedents: 
  • Adjectives sometimes pose problems when trying to find the antecedent of a pronoun:
Black jeans make anyone look cool. It is a trendy color. What does it refer to? Adjectives can not serve as antecedents for pronouns. However, they do modify the subjects and objects that serve as antecedents. 
Black modifies jeans, therefore, jeans must be the logical antecedent, but, after substituting the noun for the pronoun, the second sentence makes no sense: Jeans is a trendy color. 
No:  Frank took a bicycle tour. It is great exercise. (This is unclear. It's best just to use the intended subject here.) 
Yes:  Frank took a bicycle tour. Bicycling is great exercise. 
No: Tonia works in a jewelry store. They are very expensive. 
Yes: Tonia works in a jewelry store. The jewels are very expensive. 

Indefinite Pronouns as Antecedents: 

Indefinite pronouns should be considered as singular antecedents and should therefore have a singular referent. 

Yes: No one  knows his or her student identification number by heart.

No: No one knows their student identification number by heart. 

Other Ambiguity: Where's the Antecedent?

 It said on television that the stock market is in a crisis.

Who does it refer to?

They say  that it's important to floss after every meal. 

Who are they? I agree with this statement. What statement is this referring to? 

The final example above is often seen as the opening sentence of an essay response to some question. Re-write the  posed question, and then the above sentence. On it's own, "I agree with this statement"  is an ambiguous response to a question (and is highly unacceptable for a formal academic response!) 

David claims that the environment deserves more of our attention in the modern era. I agree with this statement. 

Now it's clear that this refers to David's claim. 
Notes on It, Who, Which, & That: 
  • It is not only a personal pronoun, it also functions as an expletive which postpones the subject until later in the sentence:

Hua's store has many common food supplies, but it doesn't have soy milk in stock. (Here, it is functioning as personal pronoun)

 It is a good thing that I brought my umbrella today. (Here, it postpones thing). Beware of over using it in combination sentences:

It is a good thing that I brought my umbrella today, because it came in handy. 
  • Who, which, and that refer to specific things.

George, which lives across the street, told me the story. 

That's silly! You would never refer to George as "which". You would refer to George as "who". Who refers to people and pets: 

The dog Billy Boy, who recently bit the mailman, growled at me. 

Which and that refer to objects, plants (if not named like a pet), and animals that are not pets:

 A bug, which crawled under Gilly's seat in the subway car, made her scream.