Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Nouns as Antecedent

• The antecedent of a pronoun is often a noun or a noun phrase

• If the antecedent is singular, the pronoun must be singular. If the antecedent is plural ,the pronoun must be plural.

Examples

• Our carnivorous friends will not attend the picnic because they despise tofu hotdogs and black bean burgers.

• Karline hopes that her roommates remember to walk the new puppy.

Pronouns often show gender as well as number.Therefore,the pronoun must also agree with the gender of its antecedent-masculine,feminine,or neuter.

• Feminine-Adeline bit her lip.

• Neuter-I just saw a mouse. It was running across the room.

• Masculine-Madeleine saw Kim. She said ‘Hello’ to him.

If the antecedent refers to an animal,use a neuter pronoun unless the context of the sentence indicates that the animal is a male of female.

• Neuter-The dog chased its mother down the length of the fence.

• Feminine-The mother dog allowed her excited offspring to jump up on her back.

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If a singular antecedent refers to a person but does not specify gender, use a singular masculine pronoun.

• The student is responsible for his conduct.

Compound Antecedent

• If the antecedents are joined but and or both--and, the pronoun should be plural.If they are joined by or,nor, either-or ,neither nor the pronoun should agree with the antecedent that is closer to it.

• Jon and Shawan passed their test.

• Neither the girls in the chorus nor Mrs.Peters remembered to bring her music.

• Beth or her sisters will bring their mother.

Indefinite Pronouns as Antecedent

• The pronoun must agree in number with the indefinite pronoun.

• Either of the options has its merits.

• Several of the plans have their supporters.

Some indefinite pronouns can be either singular or plural, depending on the meaning of the sentence. Often a prepositional phrase gives a clue to the number of the indefinite pronoun.

• Everybody is worried about his midterms.

• Both passed their certification exam.

An indefinite pronoun does not show gender, but sometimes the context of the sentence may indicate a specific gender. If so, the pronoun should agree in gender with the meaning of the indefinite pronoun.

• Either of the men would do his best if chosen.

• Each of the sisters has her own interests.

• One of the chairs has lost its back left leg.

Use a singular masculine if the indefinite pronoun is singular and clearly refers to a person without indicating a specific gender.

• Nobody wanted his picture in the newspaper.

Fill in the Blank

Write in the blank a pronoun that will agree with its antecedent.

Noah Webster spent many hours writing

dictionary.

Fill in the Blank

A person should make sure that

makes the most of each day.

Fill in the Blank

Marco Polo wrote a book about

travels.

Fill in the Blank

The ostrich does not stick

hear under the ground.

Fill in the Blank

Most of the wallpaper has lost

original beauty.

Fill in the Blank

The young people has

annual box-lunch social last week.

Fill in the Blank

The monkeys hoarded the food that was thrown to

.

Fill in the Blank

Amanda and Claire are the best singers in

class.

Fill in the Blank

Either the girls or Paige said

saw the Sphinx on the trip to Egypt.

Fill in the Blank

Both of the girls brought

umbrellas.

Fill in the Blank

A yellow jacket is a wasp that has yellow marks on

body.