Problems with yesterday’s sentences: He felt great resent towards his family. We were told it was a regression movement.

Be mindful of number shift with pronouns Be mindful of number shift with pronouns. Make sure the antecedent and its pronoun agree in number. Incorrect: If a person wants to return an item to the store, they need a receipt. Notice “person” is singular, but the pronoun standing in for it is plural. Avoid this shift in number. Correct: If a person wants to return an item to the store, he or she needs a receipt. Or, if “he or she” seems clumsy to you, change the antecedent to some plural form: If customers want to return an item to the store, they need a receipt.

Indefinite pronouns and subject-verb agreement

The following pronouns are always treated as singular: Anybody Anyone Anything Each Either Everybody Everyone Everything Neither Nobody No one Nothing One Somebody Someone Something

Anybody is welcome to our party this weekend. Neither of our solutions is acceptable to the supervisor. Something is missing from this response.

The following pronouns are always treated as plural: Both Few Many Several

Both of my classes are difficult this year. Few are eager for a test on pronouns right now. Several of the sophomores, however, are ready for the test.

All Any More Most None Some The following pronouns are sometimes singular and sometimes plural, depending on use: All Any More Most None Some When these pronouns refer to singular words, use the pronouns as singular. When they refer to plural words, use them as plural.

All of the garden is green from the rain last night. All of the vegetables from our garden are delicious. Most of the food is ready to be served now. Most of my friends are happy about our weekend plans.

Your assignment: Underline the pronoun subject and its verb. Write one simple present-tense sentence for each of the singular pronouns and each of the plural pronouns listed in this presentation. For each of the pronouns which can be used either as singular or plural, write one simple present-tense sentence correctly using the pronoun as singular, and one simple present-tense sentence correctly using the pronoun as plural. Underline the pronoun subject and its verb.