Pronoun Antecedent Agreement

 

Pronouns are used to take the place of nouns in sentences in order to avoid repetition. They may refer to a person, place, thing, idea, or feeling.

Antecedents are the nouns for which a pronoun is used as a substitute.  Antecedents are more specific than pronouns in that they completely describe a person, place, thing, idea, or feeling by name.

 

 Here are a couple of examples that can help you become familiar with the terms “pronoun” and “antecedent:”

            My dog is so cute. It is a brown and white Collie.                 

 

In this pair of sentences, “it” is the pronoun that refers to “dog,” its antecedent.

Carrie, my roommate, has the same bedspread as I; she also has a similar alarm clock.

 

Here, “she” is a pronoun that refers to the antecedent “Carrie.”

 

If your sentence is to be grammatically correct, a pronoun should only be used when an antecedent is present, either in the same sentence or in a previous sentence.  The idea is to be sure your pronoun and its antecedent agree in person (1st, 2nd, or 3rd), number (singular or plural), and gender (masculine, feminine, or neutral). Be careful for words leading to an antecedent. Sometimes these ‘leading words’ tell whether a pronoun should be singular or plural.

 

Many mistakes are made because students neglect to consider words such as “each”, “every”, “either”, and “neither”, which may come directly before the antecedent in a sentence.  Always use a singular pronoun for antecedents preceded by “each”, “either”, “every”, and “neither”.  Also, when the word “or” is used between two nouns, or antecedents, the pronoun usually needs to be singular.  When the word “and” is used, the pronoun is often plural.

           

For example: The classes were difficult.  They posed a challenge.

                                 Each class had its challenge.

 

In the first sentence, “classes” is plural, so the plural pronoun, “they” is used.

 

In sentence two, the word “each” denotes an individual class.  Therefore, the singular pronoun “its” is used.

 

Getting back to person, number, and gender, here are three charts that can help in choosing an appropriate pronoun for your antecedent.

 

                                                                                        Person              Permissible Pronouns

First Person

I, we, us, my, our

Second Person

You, your

Third Person

He, she, it, they, his, her, its, their

 

                                                                                        Number    Permissible Pronouns

Singular

I, you, he, she, it, her, his, its, your

Plural

we, us, you, they, our, your, their

 

                                                                                Gender      Permissible Pronouns

Masculine

he, his

Feminine

she, her

Neutral

You, your, it, its, they, their, I, my, we, us, our

 

Here are some examples. You may check and see if your answer is correct at the bottom of this page. There will also be an explanation for each sentence, but make sure you try them first! Please, choose the correct pronoun or antecedent from the set in parenthesis. Look out for congruency in person, number, and gender between the pronoun and its antecedent. HINT: The word with which your choice must be congruent is in boldface letters.

  

1. A cook should always clean (their, his or her) utensils in the kitchen.

2. During class, (everyone, someone) should perform at their own level.

3. The O.J. Simpson jury has reached (its, their) decision.

4. Psychologists should review their patients’ record carefully before (you, they) make a diagnosis.

5. Either David or Jeff will present (his, their) ideas at the town meeting.

6. Helen and Allie showed us (her, their) Easter hats.

7. If a girl wants to look nice these days, (you, she) (has, have) to be ready to spend some cash.

8. Every student must study many nights if (they, he or she) is to excel.

9. When people dance, (they, he or she) should enjoy themselves.

10. If a student would like a good grade on a project, (you, he or she) must prepare sufficiently.

 

If you have questions regarding these rules, feel free to e-mail one of the creators of this site at one of the following addresses.

 Julia D’Antonio

Patricia Hernandez

Michael Kelso

 

 Answers:

1. his or her – third person, singular, neutral (appropriate for either gender)

2. everyone – third person, plural, neutral

3. its – third person, singular, neutral

4. they – third person plural, neutral

5. his – third person, singular, masculine

6. their – third person, plural, neutral (all plural pronouns are considered neutral)

7. she has – third person, singular, feminine

8. he or she – third person, singular, (appropriate for either gender)

9. they – third person, plural, neutral

10. he or she – third person, singular, (appropriate for either gender)

 

 

Here are some sites you might find helpful, as we did:

 

Campbell, Gregory M. “Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement”

            <http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/writing-lab/pronounantecedent_ag.html>

Copyright © 1999, BGSU Writing Lab, All Rights Reserved.

 

LEO: Literacy Education Online, “Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement”

<http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/grammar/pronante.html>

© 1997, 1998, 1999 The Write Place

                                                                                                       

Capital Community College, “Pronouns and Antecedent Agreement”

<http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/pronouns.htm>

Copyright 2003; Hartford, Connecticut.                                                                                                          

 

The Writers Workshop (University of Illinois), “Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement”

<www.english.uiuc.edu/cws/wworkshop/grammar/pronounagr.htm>

 

University of Houston Victoria

<http://www.vic.uh.edu/ac/grammar/pronoun.html>