Deictic words: who we are, when now is, where here is
Words such as we, you, recently and here depend on context for their referents. Written text needs to make those referents clear when the reader does not share the writer's time, place or personal context.
Meaning and context
I and me refer to the speaker or writer, so their referent changes with whoever uses them. A pronoun stands for a noun or noun phrase. A deictic word has a fixed dictionary meaning but a referent that varies with context outside the language, such as person, time or place; this function is called deixis. Examples include pronouns, possessive forms such as my and their, and this, that, soon, recently, here and there.
Person, space and time deixis express relationships of proximity and distance to a deictic centre. Although these words are common and their dictionary meanings clear, careless use can leave the intended person, thing, time or place unclear. Writing can lose clues available in speech, so person, place and time referents should be obvious to the reader.
The people included in we and you
We, us and our normally refer to more than one person; exceptions include a monarch's royal we and an editor's editorial we. The writer should clarify who belongs to the group and who does not, as in We medical writers play an important role in medical research.
Second-person pronouns refer to the intended listener or reader, and a command or request has an implied you as its subject, as in (You) please pass the salt. Modern English uses you for both singular and plural addressees, and also for an unspecified person: the indefinite, generic or impersonal you.
The scope of you may not cover everyone in an audience. An audience reading about diabetes may include people with type 2, gestational, type 1 or rare genetic forms such as maturity-onset diabetes of the young, as well as healthy parents and spouses. A statement about your pancreas may therefore not apply to every reader. Limiting words or phrases, or a switch to the third person, can clarify the scope, as in If you have type 1 diabetes, your pancreas is not making enough insulin to keep you alive or For people with type 1 diabetes, insulin therapy is essential.
Time relative to a reference point
Time deixis refers to time relative to a reference point, usually the moment of utterance. Yesterday, today and tomorrow depend on that date, as do this week, last year and next Monday. Other relative-time words include now, then, ago, later, soon, before and after; their time referent should be correct and clear.
Recently needs particular care in a textbook that will pass through later editions: what meant the previous year in the first edition could refer to a point 20 years in the past by the fifth.
Place and position in a text
Spatial deixis concerns the relative location of people and things: here and this indicate proximity to the speaker or writer, while there and that indicate distance. Other spatially deictic expressions include left, right, up, down, above, below, in front of, behind, go, come and bring.
Discourse deixis points to a part of a text or speech relative to the speaker's or writer's current position within it. Written examples include above, below, last, previous, preceding, next and following; spoken examples include this, that, there, next and last.