Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement An Overview

Pronouns Definition: a word or phrase that takes the place of a noun or noun phrase; takes the place of a noun/noun phrase you have already mentioned There are subject pronouns, object pronouns, and possessive pronouns Examples: Subject: I, you, he, she, it, we, they Object: us, you, them, me, him, her, it Possessive: his, hers, its, our(s), your(s), their(s), my, mine Other pronouns: who, us, one, anything, nothing, everything, someone, themselves, myself

Pronoun Examples Mark lives down the street. He is my best friend. He=pronoun, which refers to Mark Kim and I went to the grocery. We bought spaghetti for dinner. We=pronoun, which refers to Kim and I Jim, Cathy, and Sam saw the play yesterday. They thought it was a great performance. They=pronoun, which refers to Jim, Cathy, and Sam

Antecedents Definition: the noun a pronoun refers to The pronoun must agree with the antecedent in number and gender. Singular pronouns must replace singular nouns and plural pronouns must replace plural nouns. Masculine pronouns must replace masculine nouns and feminine pronouns must replace feminine nouns.

Antecedent Examples Mark lives down the street. He is my best friend. He=pronoun (singular) Mark=antecedent (singular), which “he” refers to John, Tom, and Jill are teachers. They work at the same elementary school. They=pronoun (plural) John, Tom, and Jill=antecedents (plural), which “they” refers to Yesterday the driver took his car to the shop. His=pronoun (singular) The driver=antecedent (singular), which “his” refers to

Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement Katie walked to her car Her=pronoun, which agrees with Katie (the antecedent) “Her” is a singular, feminine pronoun A box of donuts was on the table. It was empty. It=pronoun, which refers to a box (the antecedent) “It” is a singular, object pronoun Sam and I were at the game. Did you see us? Us=pronoun, which refers to Sam and I “us” is a plural, object pronoun

More Examples Neither one of the men knew where his car was parked. Neither one=antecedent (singular) His=pronoun (singular) The policemen disagreed amongst themselves. Policemen=antecedent (plural) themselves=pronoun (plural) Both women found their purses. Both=antecedent (plural) Their=pronoun (plural John found his wallet in his pocket. John=antecedent (singular) His=pronoun (singular) A number of the employees lost their benefits. A number of=antecedent (plural) their=pronoun (plural)

Common Mistakes Incorrect: If a student wants to learn, they should ask the teacher for help. Correct: If students want to learn, they should ask the teacher for help. Students=antecedent (plural) They=pronoun (plural) Also correct: If a student wants to learn, he or she should ask the teacher for help. Student=antecedent (singular) He or she=pronoun (singular) Incorrect: The company lost their contract with Dell. Correct: The company lost its contract with Dell. Company=antecedent (singular) its=pronoun (singular)

References and Further Help For more information on pronouns and antecedents, consult the following: antecedents.aspx antecedents.aspx