Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

1. Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

2. Pronouns • A pronoun is the part of speech that substitutes for nouns or noun phrases and designates persons or things asked for: • It can take the place of a subject word (subject pronoun) I, you, he, she, it, we, they • It can take the place of an object word (object pronoun) me, you, him, her, it, us, them) • It can take the place of a possessive word (possessive pronoun) my, mine, your, yours, his, hers, its, our, ours, their, theirs)

3. Pronouns • Pro noun – for a noun • NOUN For the Noun (Pronoun) • Kathy she . . . her • Morgan he . . . him • Toni and Nancy they . . . them • Either Jane or Jennifer she . . . her • Gaza University it . . . its • The staff they . . . them • Each student he or she … his or her • Everyone he or she … his or her • Paper it . . . its • Papers it . . . its

4. Singular He, she, it Him, her, it His, hers, its Himself, herself, itself Plural They Them Their, theirs Themselves Know the difference between these singularand plural pronouns.

5. A pronoun must agree with its antecedent. Every pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number, gender, and person. The antecedent is the noun [or other pronoun] being replaced or that the pronoun refers to. • Sami purchased an airline ticket, and now he can’t find it. • “Sami” is the antecedent for “he.” • “airline ticket” is the antecedent for “it.”

6. The Rules: Number • Number refers to whether a pronoun or noun is singular or plural. • Sami purchased an airline ticket, and now he can’t find it. • Sami is singular; the pronoun he is also singular. • Airline ticketis singular; the pronounitis also singular. • Airline passengers must show their photo-identification cards to the ticket agent. • Airline passengers is plural; the pronoun their is also plural.

7. Gender Gender refers to whether a pronoun or noun is masculine, feminine, or neuter. • Each passenger is responsible for getting his or herpassport. • Each passenger is a singular genderless antecedent, so the singular pronoun his or her is preferred usage. • The university has changed its recommendations for the new parking lot facility. • University is a singular neuter antecedent, so the singular neuter pronoun its is used.

8. Gender • Will the judges please reveal their scores? • Judges is a plural antecedent (both masculine and feminine), so the plural pronoun their is used. • Jane wants to increase herjob opportunities by completing her college education. • Jane is a singular feminine antecedent, so the singular feminine pronoun her is used. • Our staff members completed their software training today. • Our staff members is a plural neuter antecedent, so the plural pronoun their is used. • Justin presented proper identification before hewas permitted to board the plane. • Justin is a singular masculine antecedent, so the singular masculine pronoun he is used.

9. Person • Person refers to the point of view from which a sentence is written: first person (the person writing, I, WE), second person (the person written to, YOU), and third person (the person written about, HE, SHE, IT, THEY) • Incorrect: When a person turns thirty, your perspective on life changes in many ways. (The first half of the sentence is written in third person, while the second half is in second person.) • Correct: When a person turns thirty, his or her perspective on life changes in many ways. (The entire sentence is written in third person.) • Incorrect: I hate to proofread my paper because proofreading is such a boring thing for you to do.

10. You’ll generally run into problems in two cases: • When the antecedent is an indefinite pronoun and • When the antecedent is a singular noun that could refer to a man or a woman.

11. These Indefinite Pronouns are always singular

12. Indefinite Pronouns • Someone left his or her lights on. • Anyoneknowsthe story of the town? • Nobody wantshis or her name slandered. • Each of the participants wants to be on the team. • Neither of the men looks as if hewanted the job.

13. These Indefinite Pronouns are always Plural • The few who completed their assignments left early. • The police asked both witnesses if they saw the accident. • Several students expressed their interest in attending the course.

14. These pronouns can be singular or plural, depending on context

15. Using either … or, neither … nor, and not only … but also. • Of the two antecedents in the sentence, the pronoun must agree with the closerone. • Either Mary orthe students will bring theirnotebooks to the class. • Either the children orMary will bring hernotebooks to the class. • Neither the woman nor the men will do theirexam on Friday. • Neither the men nor the woman will do her exam on Friday. • Not only my parents but also my brother fixed his car after the storm. • Not only my brother but also my parents fixed their car after the storm.

16. Collective nouns are singular or plural, depending on context • Collective nouns are groups of people: team, jury, class, committee, army, family, etc. • If all members are acting in unison, treat the collective noun as singular and use a singular pronoun. • If, however, all members are acting individually, treat the noun as pluraland use a plural pronoun.

17. Theteamcelebrateditsvictory. Theteamchanged intotheirstreet clothes and went home happy.

18. Collective nouns are singular or plural, depending on context • The class is meeting in its scheduled room today. • The class must turn in their assignments tomorrow. • The union can do only as much as its members allow. • The couple are separating on their fifth wedding anniversary. • This is the army, and it is a fine organization.

19. Activity: Choose the correct Answer in the following: 1. Not only my brothers but also mom loves to drench _________ omelets in ketchup. • their • her • his and her • its

20. Activity: Choose the correct Answer in the following: 2. Each of those worried students is wondering how to answer effectively on ________ pronoun agreement quiz. • their • her • his or her • them

21. Activity: Choose the correct Answer in the following: 3. The girls and their professor sweated in the hot classroom. Each one of them wondered why ________ had decided to go to summer school. • they • her • his or her • she

22. Activity: Choose the correct Answer in the following: 4. Robert and Sue concentrated on the essay topic. ________ discussed different ideas on how to begin writing. • He • She • They • He or she

23. Activity: Choose the correct Answer in the following: 5. Either of these thick books by respected authors will have the answer to your research question in _______ many pages. • his • his or her • its • their

24. Activity: Choose the correct Answer in the following: 6. Sam is starving, and his friends have just ordered their meals. Despite Sam’s hunger, neither of them will pay for ______ share in the meal. • their • him • his • its

25. Activity: Choose the correct Answer in the following: 7. Carl refuses to return to the weight room because ______ staff always pokes fun of his skinny arms and legs. • their • his • her • its

26. Activity: Choose the correct Answer in the following: 8. The students should memorize a Shakespeare poem for Mr. Adam because the extra credit points will help them improve _________ grades at the end of the semester. • they • his or her • their • them

27. Activity: Choose the correct Answer in the following: 9. A person should be allowed to make up ___________ mind. • his or her • her • their • its

28. Activity: Choose the correct Answer in the following: 10. At the zoo, every lion, tiger, bear, snake, and crocodile roared ________ approval when the mean child slipped and cracked his head on the sidewalk. • their • its • his or her • his

29. Activity: Choose the correct Answer in the following: 11. Either Sabrina or her friends will ask the professor for a permission to use _________ dictionaries in the exam. • her • their • his or her • them