Mini-Lesson: Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

What are Pronouns?

Think of pronouns as handy little words that replace nouns. Why do we use them? To avoid sounding repetitive!

• Example:

  Instead of saying "Maria loves Maria's dog," we can say

  "Maria loves her dog." ("Her" replaces "Maria's").

Multiple Choice

What is the pronoun that replaces "Luis"?

I asked Luis to bring the document, and he said he would.

• he

• I

• the

• to

What is an Antecedent?

The antecedent is the noun (or group of words acting as a noun) that the pronoun refers back to or replaces. It's the "original" word.

• Example:

  In this sentence, "Maria loves her dog," Maria is the antecedent for the pronoun her.

Multiple Choice

In the sentence, 'Sarah gave her friend a gift she bought from the store,' what is the antecedent for 'she'?

• gift

• friend

• Sarah

• store

The Golden Rule: Agreement!

The most important thing about pronouns and antecedents is that they must agree in two ways:

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

• Gender (when applicable): If the antecedent is masculine, the pronoun should be masculine. If feminine, the pronoun should be feminine.

Multiple Choice

Michelle was the only one in the class who had ______ homework.

• their

• his

• its

• her

Multiple Choice

Many students on this campus bring __________ own chromebooks to school.

• his or her

• their

• our

• my

Let's practice!

Multiple Choice

The team celebrated _________ victory.

• its

• their

Multiple Choice

Every student needs to bring _________ own supplies.

• their

• his or her

Multiple Choice

Maria and Tom finished _________ project.

• her

• their

Multiple Choice

Neither of the boys remembered _________ jacket.

• his

• their

Multiple Choice

Challenge Question: Which is the antecedent for the pronoun 'they'?

All of the pancakes were delicious, and they disappeared quickly.

• quickly

• delicious

• pancakes

• disappeared