1. Pronoun- Antecedent Agreement Fun with Nouns and Pronouns

2. Pronouns and Antecedents  What is an antecedent?  An antecedent is the word to which a pronoun refers.  Lilly hopes she will be a teacher.  In the above sentence, the pronoun is “she”, and the antecedent is “Lilly.”  A pronoun should have only one word to which it can refer; otherwise, a sentence becomes confusing.  Pronouns and antecedents must agree in number, person and gender.  It’s also important that the pronoun gets the correct form: subjective or objective.

3. Pronouns and Antecedents: Number  If an antecedent is singular, the pronoun that refers to it must also be singular. Likewise, if an antecedent is plural, the pronoun must also be plural.  Bradley goes fishing on the weekends; he enjoys being outdoors.  Bradley and Joe go fishing on the weekends; they enjoy being outdoors.  If a person wants to be a doctor, he or she will have to study hard.  If people want to be doctors, they will have to study hard.

4. Pronouns and Antecedents: Person  Pronouns and antecedents must agree in person.  1 st Person: I, me, my, mine, we, our, ours  Shane and I are going to bring our umbrellas.  2nd Person: you, your, yours  You should try if you want the prize.  3 rd Person: He, she, it, they, them, their, its, him, her, his, hers  Laura said she would help with the plans.

5. Pronouns and Antecedents: Gender  Pronouns and antecedents must agree in gender.  Masculine: Roger walked his dog.  Feminine: Anna unwrapped her present.  Neutral: The people voted for their leader. A singular neutral antecedent can receive the compound singular pronoun “his or her”.  Each person should bring his or her own lunch.

6. Pronouns and Antecedents: Case/Form  Pronouns have three cases (or forms): Subjective, Objective and Possessive.  A subjective pronoun is used as the subject of a sentence.  They went swimming yesterday.  An objective pronoun is used as the receiver of the action or as the object of the preposition.  Jesse gave her a bottle of water.  The present for him waited on the table.

7. Pronouns and Antecedents: Case/Form Continued Subjective  1 st Person: I, We  2 nd Person: You, Who  3 rd Person: He, She, It, They, Us, Whom Objective  1 st Person: Me  2 nd Person: You  3 rd Person: Him, Her, It, Them “Me” or a compound subject containing “me” should never, ever, ever be the subject of a sentence.

8. Pronouns and Antecedents: Possessive Case/Form  Possessive pronouns: my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, our, ours, their, theirs  Pronouns in the possessive case demonstrate possession by the antecedent.  Give Alice her hat.  I am enjoying my book.  The car is his.

9. Pronouns and Antecedents: Reflexive Pronouns  A reflexive pronoun is a pronoun which is preceded by its antecedent in the same clause.  Reflexive pronouns: myself, himself, herself, ourselves, themselves, yourself, yourselves, itself  I saw myself in the mirror.  Rachel reminded herself to brush her teeth.  Keep your thoughts to yourself (subject “you” implied).  Johnny himself will lead the band.

10. Pronouns and Antecedents  Hurray! You are now an expert on pronouns and antecedents and all that good stuff, right?  Never again are you going to write “Bob and me was friends.” Right? (The correct sentence being: “Bob and I are friends.”)  Good! See Mrs. Shankle for your Pronouns and Antecedents quiz when you are ready.