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Pronoun/Antecedent agreement. Singular is singular, and plural is plural, and never the twain shall meet. Definition of pronoun. A pronoun is a word that can be used as a noun substitute: He/she/it/they him/her/them. Definition of antecedent.
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Pronoun/Antecedent agreement Singular is singular, and plural is plural, and never the twain shall meet.
Definition of pronoun • A pronoun is a word that can be used as a noun substitute: • He/she/it/they • him/her/them
Definition of antecedent • An antecedent is the noun to which the pronoun refers. • That dog is very fat; he must eat a lot of garbage. dog=antecedent he=pronoun
Don’t use “they” to refer to a singular noun. • Incorrect: The dentist must be a person who pays attention to detail. They must be precise in all of their movements. • Correct: Dentists must be people who pay attention to detail. They must be precise in all of their movements.
A department, a business, or an agency is NOT a “they.” • The English Department offers many chances for their (incorrect) majors meaningful jobs, because they (incorrect) believe there is no substitute for experience.
Don’t get sexist on me • In trying to writing correctly, don’t stumble into sexist language. Each student must work hard in this class. He (sexist, if there are women in the class) must do all of the assignments and attend class every day.
Correcting this problem is easy • Each student must work hard in this class. He or she must do all of the assignments and attend class every day. • Students must work hard in this class. They must . . . .