Pronouns and Antecedents

Pronouns and Antecedents

​Pronouns are defined as words that can be used as a 'placeholder' for a noun; we can use pronouns instead of a noun. They are used to avoid repeating the same nouns again and again in our writing. Our writing and speech is much smoother when we use pronouns.

An antecedent is the noun to replaced by the pronoun.

• Since pronouns replace nouns, pronouns and antecedents must agree in person, number, and gender (case may vary, depending how the pronoun is used in the sentence).

• Ex. President Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address in 1863.

• Ex. Jones and Smith made their presentation.

You should be careful to avoid writing sentences with vague antecedents, or sentences where antecedents aren’t provided at all. In paragraphs, antecedents are sometimes found in previous sentences.

• Ex. I talked to Sarah and she will be coming for dinner.

• Ex. The supervisors told the workers that they would receive a bonus.

• Ex. Although John was wealthy, he made poor use of it.

Select the correct pronoun to agree with the underlined antecedent.

Multiple Choice

Brookelyn likes chocolate because ____ is delicious.

• they

• she

• it

• you

Drag and Drop

The students missed recess because ____ didn't listen carefully in class to the teacher.

Placeholder

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

he

they

it

she

Dropdown

Felipe silenced his phone because ____ was too loud.

Select answer

Multiple Choice

The teachers eat lunch together because ____ want to.

• they

• he

• you

• I

Drag and Drop

When Ashley won the talent contest, her friends cheered for ____.

Placeholder

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

me

you

them

her

Identify the antecedent that agrees with the underlined pronoun.

Dropdown

Jorge and Oscar didn't like the questions on the test because they were very difficult.

Select answer

Multiple Choice

Elsa doesn't have a car, so I gave her a ride to the airport.

• I

• ride

• Elsa

• airport

Multiple Choice

Morgan chose the gift, and Ruth wrapped it in blue paper.

• gift

• Morgan

• Ruth

• paper

Multiple Choice

I dyed my hair and cut it short, so many of my friends didn't recognize me.

• hair

• short

• friends

• I

Drag and Drop

Zoe went home from work early because she wasn't feeling well.

Placeholder

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

home

Zoe

work

well