Do you agree? Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement By Mrs. Peterson English I

What is agreement? Words in sentences must agree with each other. Words can either be singular or plural.

Singular vs. Plural words Singular Words he she Karen Paul likes eats Plural Words their they girls boys help eat

Pronouns Pronouns, like other words, are either singular or plural. Her = Singular (you are referring to one girl). It = Singular (one thing). They=Plural (more than one person).

Indefinite Pronouns Some pronouns are indefinite…the number of people it refers to is not known…it is indefinite. Anyone Anybody Everyone Someone These indefinite pronouns are ALWAYS singular: Somebody No one Either Neither Nobody

Pronoun vs. Antecedent A pronoun refers to something earlier (antecedent) in the sentence. EXAMPLE: Sarah ate her food. PronounAntecedent The word “her” is referring to “Sarah.” Without the word Sarah in the sentence, a reader would not know who “her” is. Without the pronoun the sentence would read: Sarah is eating Sarah’s food.

Pronouns and Antecedents must agree in: –Number –Gender Pronoun vs. Antecedent EXAMPLE: Sarah ate her food. Sarah = singular/female Her = singular/female They Agree!

Let’s look at another example: Tom drank his milk. The word “his” is referring to “Tom.” Tom = Singular/male His = Singular/male They Agree! Remember: a pronoun must agree with its antecedent in gender and number.

Let’s try a few: Directions: Click on the correct answer Fill in the blank of the correct pronoun that agrees with the antecedent. (I’m trying to say Megan likes the bicycle of Megan!). Megan likes ____ bicycle. A.His B.Their C.Her D.They

OOPS! Try again!

OOPS! Megan likes Their? bicycle. Sorry, they don’t agree in number. Remember - I’m trying to say Megan likes the bike of Megan. Try again!

OOPS! Megan likes They? bicycle. This doesn’t agree in number. Megan is singular and They is plural. Remember - I’m trying to say Megan likes the bike of Megan. Try again!

You are a Superstar! Great! Megan = Singular/female Her = Singular/female The pronoun agrees with its antecedent!

Ready for another? Directions: Click on the correct answer Fill in the blank of the correct pronoun that agrees with the antecedent. (I’m trying to say Michael gave the shirt of Michael to Julie!). Matthew gave ___shirt to Julie. A.His B.Their C.Her D.They

OOPS! Matthew gave Their? shirt to Julie That wasn’t very nice of Michael! What right does he have to give away a group shirt? Michael = singular Their = plural THEY DON”T AGREE Try again!

OOPS! Though they agree in number (Michael = singular and her = singular), her is a female word! NO AGREEMENT Try again! Matthew gave HER? shirt to Julie.

OOPS! This doesn’t even make sense!!! NO AGREEMENT Matthew = singular They = plural Try again! Matthew gave THEY? shirt to Julie.

You are a Superstar! Great! Michael = Singular/male His = Singular/male The pronoun agrees with its antecedent!

Easy, Right?

Looking at Indefinite Pronouns: Things get more complicated when you throw indefinite pronouns into the mix. Indefinite pronouns are a little tricky because many of them look like they are plural – but they are really singular! Anyone Anybody Everyone Someone Somebody No one Either Neither Nobody Singular Pronouns!!

Example with an indefinite pronoun… Everyone ate his/her food. Pronoun Antecedent Everyone = Singular (yes, Maratha…it’s singular!) with an unknown gender. His/Her = Singular and to be gender equitable we use both his and her (we don’t want to offend anyone)!

Another indefinite example… Nobody completed his/her homework. Pronoun Antecedent Nobody = Singular with an unknown gender. His/Her = Singular and again to be gender equitable we use both his and her (we don’t want to offend anyone)!

Why is this not right? Someone gave me their book. ?

Answer… Antecedent Pronoun Someone = Indefinite Singular Pronoun Their = Plural They DON’T Agree!

Correct Sentence: Someone gave me his/her book. Someone = Indefinite Singular Pronoun His/Her = Singular They Agree!

Remember the Indefinite Singulars: Anyone Anybody Everyone Someone Somebody No one Either Neither Nobody “Mrs. Peterson wants me to remember these… I know I can!” A (old) “thinking” English I student! CHSCHS

Let’s test your new knowledge: Directions: Click on the correct answer Fill in the blank of the correct pronoun that agrees with the antecedent. Everyone sang ____song. A.His B.Their C.His/Her D.They

OOPS! Remember the indefinite pronouns! Try again!

You are a Superstar! Great! Everyone = Singular His/Her = Singular The pronoun agrees with its antecedent!

Another: Directions: Click on the correct answer Either Tom or Dan gave his money. A.Correct B.Incorrect

OOPS! Remember the indefinite pronouns! Try again!

You are a Superstar! Great! Either/or = Singular His = Singular The pronoun agrees with its antecedent! See it diagrammed!

Diagrammed! Either Tom or Dan gave his money. Eitheror Tom Dan gave money his

Another: Directions: Click on the correct answer Somebody gave me their money. A.Correct B.Incorrect

OOPS! Remember the indefinite pronouns! Try again!

You are a Superstar! Great! The pronoun agrees with its antecedent!

Another: Directions: Click on the correct answer Did anyone keep their pens? A.Correct B.Incorrect

You are a Superstar! Great! The pronoun agrees with its antecedent!

OOPS! You got it wrong! The correct answer is: Figure out why this is the correct answer! Did anyone keep his/her pens?

Why? Why is this the correct answer? Did anyone keep his/her pens? A.His/her is singular & anyone is singular B.Anyone is plural…plurals are singulars match. C.Antecedents can’t agree with pronouns. D.None!

Yahoo! You are correct!!

Oh, no…try again!

Another: Directions: Click on the correct answer Everyone played well in their game. A.Correct B.Incorrect

OOPS! Remember the indefinite pronouns! Try again!

You are a Superstar! Great! The pronoun agrees with its antecedent!

Another: Directions: Click on the correct answer Does anybody have their ticket? A.Correct B.Incorrect

OOPS!

You are a Superstar! Great! The pronoun agrees with its antecedent!

Another: Directions: Click on the correct answer No one has his homework. A.Correct B.Incorrect

OOPS! You got it wrong! Try another!

You are a Superstar! Great! The pronoun agrees with its antecedent!

Another: Directions: Click on the correct answer Wow, everyone did really well on their tests! A.Correct B.Incorrect

OOPS! You got it wrong! Try another!

You are a Superstar! Great! The pronoun agrees with its antecedent!

Another: Directions: Click on the correct answer Somebody gave me their money. A.Incorrect B.Correct

OOPS! You got it wrong! The correct answer is: Somebody gave me his/her money.

You need a little more practice! Check this out: nouns/proagrtests/proagrtest1.html nouns/proagrtests/proagrtest1.html You should also try this exercise again!

You are a Superstar! Great! The pronoun agrees with its antecedent!

Bravo, Muy Bien, Way 2 go, you are cool, Yippee! Now correct the agreement in your book reports! Need more practice? Try again. Try your luck on web: est1.html est1.html