Pronoun and Antecedent Agreement
Grammar Rules Guide - Chapter 28
A pronoun is a substitute for a noun. The pronouns or nouns that they refer to are called antecedents. A pronoun and its antecedent are in agreement if they are both singular or both plural.
Example: Dr. Fielding finished his rounds.
Frequent misuse of plural pronouns occur with two types of singular antecedents: indefinite pronouns and generic nouns.
Indefinite Pronouns refer to nonspecific persons or things. They include:
any
either
everything
no one
each
anybody
everybody
neither
someone
anyone
everyone
none
something
Example: In class everyone performs at his or her [not their] level of ability.
To correct a mistakenly plural pronoun referring to a singular indefinite pronoun, you can do one of three things:
Replace the plural pronoun with he or she or [his or her.]
Example: When someone has been drinking, he or she is probably acting dumb.
Make the antecedent plural.
Example: When frat boys have been drinking, they are probably acting dumb.
Rewrite the sentence so that no problem of agreement exists.
Example: A frat boy who has been drinking is probably acting dumb.
Generic Nouns represent a typical member or any member of a group, such as a typical student or any lawyer.
Example: Every student must pull all-nighters regularly if he or she wants to excel.
The same three options for correction apply for indefinite pronouns and general nouns.
Treat collective nouns as singular unless the meaning is clearly plural. Collective nouns include such words as: jury, committee, crowd, family, audience, couple, troop, team, class.
Ordinarily the group functions as a unit, so the noun should be considered singular; however, if the members of the group function as individuals, the noun should be treated as plural.
Example: The jury has reached its decision.
Compare: The audience clapped their hands.
Compound antecedents connected by and should be treated as plural.
Example: Jack and Jill climbed up a hill and fetched their pail of water.
When compound antecedents are connected by or or nor (or by either...or or neither...nor), make the pronoun agree with the nearer antecedent.
Examples:
Either Susan or Mary should be fired from her job.
Neither the engineering student nor the biology majors could remember their schedules.
Grammar Rules Guide Index
Active and Passive Voice - Chapter 1
Adjective, Adverb, and Noun Clauses - Chapter 2
Adjectives - Chapter 3
Adverbs - Chapter 4
Appositives - Chapter 5
Auxiliary Verbs - Chapter 6
Common and Proper Nouns - Chapter 7
Comparatives and Superlatives - Chapter 8
Complements - Chapter 9
Conjunctions - Chapter 10
Conjunctive Adverbs - Chapter 11
Dangling Modifiers - Chapter 12
Direct and Indirect Objects - Chapter 13
Fused Sentences, Run-Ons, and Comma Splices - Chapter 14
Homophones - Chapter 15
Independent and Dependent Clauses - Chapter 16
Interjections - Chapter 17
Mass and Count Nouns - Chapter 18
Misplaced Modifiers - Chapter 19
Noun and Pronoun Case - Chapter 20
Noun and Verb Phrases - Chapter 21
Nouns - Chapter 22
Parallelism - Chapter 23
Perfect and Progressive Verb Forms - Chapter 24
Prepositional Phrases - Chapter 25
Prepositions - Chapter 26
Principal Parts of Verbs - Chapter 27
Pronoun and Antecedent Agreement - Chapter 28
Pronouns - Chapter 29
Regular and Irregular Verbs - Chapter 30
Relative Clauses - Chapter 31
Restrictive and Non-Restrictive Clauses - Chapter 32
Sentence Fragments - Chapter 33
Sentence Types - Chapter 34
Subjects and Predicates - Chapter 35
Verb Mood - Chapter 36
Verbals and Verbal Phrases - Chapter 37
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