P RONOUNS AND ANTECEDENTS

O BJECTIVE I can select correct pronoun-antecedent agreement.

T ABLE OF C ONTENTS 1. EOC Skills Listpage 1 2. Context Cluespage 2 3. Methods of Characterization 4. Historical and Cultural Cues 5. Author’s Purpose 6. Science Fiction 7. Commas 8. Fragments and Run-ons 9. Relevant and Irrelevant Sentences 10. Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

R EVIEW Pronoun  A word that substitutes for a noun  Types:  Personal Pronouns (specific persons/things): I, me, you, she, her, he, him, it, we, us, you, them, they  Possessive Pronouns (show ownership): my, mine, your, yours, her, hers, his, its, our, ours, your, yours, their, theirs  Intensive/Reflexive (emphasize a particular noun): myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves  Relative/Interrogative (used in subordinate clauses): who, whom, whose, which, that  Demonstrative (identify and point to nouns): this, that, these, those  Indefinite (do not refer to specific person/thing): anything, everyone, everything, nobody, anyone, all, any, anybody, anything, both, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, few, many, neither, no one, nothing, one, several, some, somebody, someone, something

R EVIEW Antecedent Noun that the pronoun is replacing  Examples  Wanda (noun)=she (pronoun)  The students (noun)=They (pronoun)  Driver (noun)=He/She (pronoun)  Elephant (noun)=it (pronoun)

G ENERAL R ULE FOR P RONOUN ANTECEDENT A GREEMENT Antecedent and pronoun must match in number, person (1 st, 2 nd, 3 rd ) and gender. Singular antecedent (noun)=singular pronoun Plural antecedent (noun)=plural pronoun  Examples  Alex (singular 3 rd person)=he (singular 3 rd person)  Marbles (plural 3 rd person)=those (plural 3 rd person) Gender  Male or female

N OTE ABOUT GENDER If you aren’t sure of the gender of the antecedent, use “she or he,” “his/her,” “him/her” as the pronoun  Example: The police officer always carries his/her badge when on duty. Things and animals don’t have gender—use “it,” “its” to refer to non-human objects/groups.  Example: The team won its game.

P ERSON What is it?SingularPlural 1 st PersonRefers to selfI, meWe 2 nd PersonPerson/thing speaking to You 3 rd PersonSomeone/Thin g separate from you He, She, It (or nouns referring to he, she, it They (or nouns referring to they

S TEPS FOR D ETERMINING IF P RONOUNS AND A NTECEDENTS A GREE 1. Find the pronouns in the sentence.  Example: Sally went to her boyfriend’s house, but he wasn’t home. 2. Decide what nouns the pronouns are referring to (i.e. find the antecedents)  Example: Sally went to her boyfriend’s house, but he wasn’t home. 3. Ask yourself “What person/number/gender is the antecedent?” “Does the pronoun match the antecedent in number and person?”  Example: Sally (3 rd person, singular)=her (3 rd person, singular) Boyfriend (3 rd person, singular)=he (3 rd person, singular)

S PECIAL C ASES Tricky Pronoun-Antecedent Situations

1) I NDEFINITE PRONOUNS Indefinite pronoun=pronoun that does not refer to specific people or things For the most part indefinite pronouns are SINGULAR EXCEPT Both, few, some, several (PLURAL)

W AYS TO D EAL WITH I NDEFINITE P RONOUNS To make an indefinite pronoun and a pronoun agree (in the same sentence):  Use she/he or his/her with the SINGULAR indefinite pronoun  Example: In class everyone performs at his or her own fitness level.  Use they or their with the PLURAL indefinite pronoun  Example: Both of the boys perform at their own fitness level.

W AYS TO D EAL WITH I NDEFINITE P RONOUNS OR Make the antecedent a plural noun.  When someone has been drinking, they are likely to speed. WRONG  When drivers have been drinking, they are likely to speed. RIGHT

2) C OLLECTIVE N OUNS Collective noun=noun names a class or group (made up of several individuals) They should be considered singular unless individuals are emphasized (then plural). Examples of Collective Nouns: committee, class, crowd, family

P RONOUN -A NTECEDENT A GREEMENT W / C OLLECTIVE N OUNS As a unit: (singular) The committee granted its permission to build. Individuals emphasized: (plural) The committee put their signatures on the document.

E VERY, E ACH, O NE When “every”, “each”, or “one” is the antecedent, the pronoun should be singular.  Every student should complete his/her teacher’s survey by the end of the week.  Each piece of silverware is in its place in the drawer.  One of the girls snuck out of her house on Friday night.

4) A NTECEDENTS J OINED BY AND Treat as plural--Make pronoun plural  Jill and John moved to Luray, where they built a cabin.  Mickey and Minnie live in Disneyland in their special mouse castle.

5) A NTECEDENTS J OINED BY NOR OR OR OR BEGINNING WITH NEITHER, EITHER Make the pronoun agree with the antecedent nearest to the pronoun  Either Bruce or Tom should receive first prize for his poem.  Neither the mouse nor the rats could find their way through the maze.

A NTECEDENTS E NDING IN - S Some antecedents ending in –s are not plural because they focus on just one item— Make the pronoun singular  Mathematics, economics  The College of Arts and Sciences

T ITLES OF B OOKS, M OVIES, AND C OMPANIES Each of these are singular regardless of whether the item ends in –s or is joined by AND  The Grapes of Wrath  Romeo and Juliet  Einstein Brothers Bagels