Personal pronouns, particularly second person, make our content more conversational and easier to read.
When using pronouns (such as that, which, it, they, who, etc.), always be completely clear what the pronoun refers to (that's the pronoun's antecedent). If there's any ambiguity — any question of "What does it refer to in this sentence?" — reword.
For localization purposes, aim to remove ambiguity by replacing imprecise pronouns with actual nouns whenever possible.
In most cases, use second person (you, your, yours, yourself, yourselves) when the interface is asking questions, giving instructions or describing things to the customer. It's more conversational and implies the app or interface is talking with the customer, not at them.
Save your model
Save my model
In general, aim to avoid the use of first person (me, I, my, mine). However, there will be times when first person is appropriate, such as when someone responds to the interface or answers a question they've been asked directly or when there's a legal need to use first person to ask for consent.
I agree to the terms and conditions
You agree to the terms and conditions
As a general rule, avoid we, our and us in interface copy. However, you can use these third-person pronouns where appropriate in promotional or marketing messages.
Always refer to Anaplan as we. An exception would be in communications where a human is taking an action:
Avoid using pronouns he/him or she/her in interface copy and documentation. Instead, use the singular they.
The following variants are acceptable depending on the grammatical context:
An exception would be in content where you’re referring to a named individual.
✓ In his keynote speech, Frank Calderoni outlined Anaplan’s key targets for the next quarter.
Defining clauses
The pronoun that introduces a defining clause (also called an essential clause or a restrictive clause). A defining clause gives information essential to the meaning of the sentence. If you remove it, the meaning of your sentence changes.
Example: My model that uses Anaplan's new import capability is ready to view.
In this sentence, you understand that the customer has at least one other model. Specifically, the model they're talking about is distinguished from their other models because it uses the new import capability.
If you removed the clause that uses Anaplan's new import capability, you would lose the implication that the customer has more than one model, and even if you somehow knew about the other models, you wouldn’t know which one was using the new capability.
When possible, err on the side of defining clauses, as they generally make sentences shorter and easier to read.
Non-defining clauses
The pronoun which introduces non-defining clauses. Unlike defining clauses, non-defining clauses (also called nonessential or nonrestrictive clauses) don’t limit the meaning of a sentence. You might lose interesting details if you remove them, but the meaning of your sentence will still be clear. Non-defining clauses are generally set off with commas.
Example: My model, which uses Anaplan's new import capability, is ready to view.
Here, the new import capability is simply a description of the customer's model. There’s no implication that the customer has built more than one model. You could remove the non-defining clause and the sentence would still make sense to a reader.