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.