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Pronoun Agreement
Rules for Pronoun Agreement
Note: The antecedent can be either a subject or an object of a sentence.
This section will cover how pronouns should agree with their antecedents.
Indefinite Pronouns
Everyone likes cheese on his pizza. - (correct)
Everyone likes cheese on her pizza. - (correct)
Neither Fred nor Sam is taking his exam. - (correct)
Neither John nor Sue will give his or her address. - (incorrect)
John and Sue will not give their address.- (correct)
All students must hand in their tests. - (correct)
Use a singular pronoun with a singular antecedent. Use a plural pronoun with
a plural antecedent.
Be consistent in your use of pronouns.
The pronoun that refers to the antecedent must always agree.
Note: An antecedent is a word that identifies the pronoun that is used. The antecedent appears earlier in the sentence.
A pronoun can agree with an antecedent by either gender or number.
Sara likes her dessert.
The singular pronoun her refers to the antecedent Sara.
Sara and Bob like their dessert.
The plural pronoun their refers to the plural antecedents Sara and Bob.
Frank planted cucumber and squash in his garden. He plans to sell them at the country market.
The plural pronoun them refers to the plural antecedents cucumber and squash.
Also notice that the pronoun He was used to refer to the antecedent Frank.
My shoes squeaked when I walked, so I threw them away.
The plural pronoun them refers to shoes.
We could not say:
My shoes hurt my feet, so I threw them away.
The reader is not sure if the plural pronoun them refers to the plural antecedent shoes or feet.
We could correct the sentence by saying:
My shoes hurt my feet, so I threw my shoes away.
In this case, we would not substitute the noun shoes for the pronoun them.
Even though the reader would probably assume that the writer meant shoes, it is always good to be clear.
one
anyone
everyone
someone
nobody
anybody
everybody
somebody
nothing
anything
everything
something
each
either
neither
Indefinite pronouns, as you may recall, are pronouns that do not stand in for specific nouns.
Note: Indefinite pronouns are always singular and use a singular verb.
Indefinite pronouns all and both, use a plural verb and, in this case, a plural pronoun.
You must pay your fare before you ride the train.
Not:
One must pay one's fare before you ride the train.
An indefinite pronoun is usually followed up with a singular pronoun. Indefinite pronouns all and both are followed up with plural pronouns.
Make sure that the pronoun clearly refers to the intended antecedent.
1.
2.
3.
4.
all
both
Language Arts: Pronoun Agreement - Tutorial
