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I am having some doubts regarding the use of pronouns.  Please have a look at the following sentences.

  1. I picked a pen from the dustbin yesterday.  It writes very smoothly.

  2. I picked a pen from the dustbin yesterday.  It was full of plastic trash.

In the first example, I used the pronoun for the direct object (“pen”).  However, in the second example, I used the pronoun for the object of the preposition (“dustbin”).

Are both examples correct in the context of the use of pronouns?  Or should I use the noun (“pen” or “dustbin”) instead of the pronoun?

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Welcome to the site!

The back-reference of personal pronouns, such as it, is usually free, but it depends on context. In this case, context makes the reference clear enough. I would say both sentences are perfectly fine.

In case of ambiguity, one could use a noun instead of a pronoun, as you suggested. Nouns can be made shorter if desired, such as the bin.

Alternatively, especially in somewhat formal genres, one can use the former and the latter, to refer to two things mentioned previously; the latter refers to the last (relevant) thing mentioned, the former to the other (relevant) thing mentioned in case there are only two relevant things to refer to.

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(1) is correct.

(2) would be understood, but is not strictly correct. In conversation, the speaker might add "The dustbin, that is" either at the end or after 'it'.

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