Grammar: Issues with Agreement Pronouns and Verbs (noun-pronoun agreement) (agreement in number) (subject-verb agreement)

Pronouns A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. When it would be awkward to repeat the nouns in sentences, use a pronoun. Pronouns convey the same meaning more efficiently by simply taking the places of the nouns. But, make sure your audience knows what the pronoun is referring to (the antecedent).

Identifying Pronouns Three features distinguish pronouns from other parts of speech. A pronoun, like a noun, may be singular or plural. The form of a pronoun depends on its function in a sentence. Personal pronouns have both subjective and objective forms. Pronouns may show gender. Some singular personal pronouns are masculine, feminine, or neuter.

Pronoun Agreement A pronoun must agree with (match) the noun or pronoun it refers to in number (singular or plural). If the pronoun is singular, it must also agree in gender (masculine or feminine). The word that the pronoun refers to is called the antecedent.

Demonstrative Pronouns Demonstrative pronouns refer to specific persons or things without naming them. The following are demonstrative pronouns: This (singular) That (singular) These (plural) Those (plural) When you use demonstratives in speech, you often actually point at the objects you are talking about.

Possessive Pronouns Possessive pronouns show ownership. Unlike possessive nouns, they do not require apostrophes. First person: my, mine, our, ours Second person: your, yours, your, yours Third person: his, her, hers, its, whose, their, theirs, whose

Pronouns used as Subjects and Objects The subjective forms of personal pronouns (sometimes called nominative case) are as follows: Singular: I, you, he, she, it Plural: we, you, they Use the subjective form of a pronoun whenever the pronoun is the subject of a verb.

Pronouns used as Subjects and Objects The objective form (objects receive the action of the verb) of the personal pronoun is called the objective case. The objective forms are as follows: Singular: me, you, him, her, it Plural: us, you, them

Who and Whom Who is the subjective (nominative) form Whom is the objective form Whoever is the subjective form Whomever is the objective form

Subject-Verb Agreement A verb must agree with its subject in number. A singular subject (one person or thing) takes a singular verb A plural subject (more than one person or thing) takes a plural verb

Agreement – Regular Verbs The form of the verb used with the first and second person singular pronouns is usually the same as the plural form. It’s the third person singular that presents a problem Singular Plural First I play We play Second You play You play Third He/she/it plays They play

Errors Mistakes in subject-verb agreement often occur in the following situations: With compound subjects When a verb comes before the subject With indefinite pronouns When words come between the subject and the verb

Compound Subjects Joined by And Two or more subjects joined by and usually require a plural verb A compound subject thought of as a single unit requires a singular verb

Other Compound Subjects If compound subjects are joined by or, nor, or not only… but also, problems may arise If both subjects are singular, the verb is singular If both subjects are plural, the verb is plural If one subject is singular and the other subject is plural, the verb agrees with the subject closer to the verb

Subjects After the Verbs The verb agrees with the subject even when the subject follows the verb, as it does in questions and after the expletives there and here: If you are unsure of the subject, ask who or what of the verb. If you are unsure of the verb, ask what the subject is doing or what the subject is having done to it