Pronoun

Agreement
Indira WED (2-5pm)

Rule
Rule 1:
1: Know
Know the
the general
general rule
rule
governing
governing pronoun
pronoun agreement.
agreement.

A pronoun must agree with its antecedent.

The
The antecedent
is usually
usually aa noun
that the
the
antecedent is
noun that
pronoun
pronoun replaces
For example,
example, you
you can
can
replaces.. For
replace
replace Mrs.
with she
or her
the
Mrs. Hill
Hill with
she or
her,, the
students
with they
or them
students with
they or
them..

Here
Here are
are two
two examples:
examples:
The lizard licked
its eyeball.
Lizard = singular antecedent
its = singular pronoun

The lizards licked

their eyeballs.
Lizards = plural antecedent
their = plural pronoun

Know
Know the
the difference
difference between
between
these
these singular
singular and
and plural
plural
personal
personal pronouns.
pronouns.

Singular
He,
He, she,
she, itit
Him,
Him, her,
her, itit
His,
His, hers,
hers, its
its
Himself,
Himself, herself,
herself,
itself
itself

Plural
They
They
Them
Them
Their,
Their, theirs
theirs
Themselves
Themselves

Do
Do not
not confuse
confuse
its
with its
its with
its..

Its [with an apostrophe] means it is or it has.

Its [without an apostrophe] means belonging to

itfor example, its bowl, its sharp teeth, its long

claws, etc.
Possessive pronounsunlike possessive nouns
do not need an apostrophe with the
final s.

Rule
Rule 2,
2, Part
Part 1:
1: The
The conjunction
conjunction a
and
nd
can
can cause
cause problems
problems with
with pronoun
pronoun
agreement.
agreement.

Two
Two [or
[or more]
more] singular
singular things
things joined
joined by
by and
and
become
become aa plural
antecedent.
plural antecedent.
The new puppy and kitten have destroyed their
owners sofa.

Rule
Rule 2,
2, Part
Part 2:
2: When
When each
each or
or
every
every precedes
precedes two
two [[or
or more
more]]
singular
singular things
things joined
joined by
by and
and,, a
a
singular
singular antecedent
antecedent is
is formed.
formed.

Each new puppy and kitten destroys

its owners sofa.

In
In this
this situation,
situation, no
no matter
matter how
how many
many
singular
singular nouns
nouns that
that you
you join
join with
with and
and,,
the
the antecedent
antecedent is
is still
still singular.
singular.

Each new puppy, kitten, rabbit, tarantula,

python, parrot, iguana, and ferret
destroys its owners sofa.

Rule
Rule 3:
3: Use
Use caution
caution with
with these
these three
three
correlative
correlative conjunctions:
conjunctions: either
either
or
or,,
neither
neither
nor
nor,, and
and not
not only
only
but
but also
also..

Of the two antecedents

in the sentence, the
pronoun must agree with
the closer one.

Here
Here are
are two
two examples:
examples:
Not only Louise but also the Smiths fixed their
famous squid eyeball stew for the picnic.
Not only the Smiths but also Louise fixed her
famous squid eyeball stew for the picnic.

Indefinite
Indefinite pronouns
pronouns cause
cause
the
the biggest
biggest headaches
headaches for
for
pronoun
pronoun agreement.
agreement.

Rule
Rule 4,
4, Part
Part 1:
1: These
These indefinite
indefinite
pronouns
pronouns are
are always
always singular
singular
[[even
even when
when they
they seem
seem plural
plural]]..

Each, either,
either, neither
neither
Each,
Anyone, anybody,
anybody, anything
anything
Anyone,
Everyone, everybody,
everybody, everything
everything
Everyone,
No one,
one, nobody,
nobody, nothing
nothing
No
Someone, somebody,
somebody, something
something
Someone,

Everyone on Earth = more than one person

billions of people, in fact.
The word everyone, however, is still singular
and requires a singular pronoun for agreement.

Rule
Rule 4,
4, Part
Part 3:
3: Some
Some indefinite
indefinite
pronouns
pronouns are
are singular
singular or
or plural
plural,,
depending
depending on
on context
context..

All
All
Any
Any
None
None**
More
More
Most
Most
Some
Some

All of Beverlys hair

gets its color from
a bottle.
All of Beverlys
fingernails get their
color from a bottle.

Some groups of people, like a jury, also

cause pronoun agreement problems.

Rule
Rule 5:
5: Collective
Collective nouns
nouns are
are
singular
singular or
or plural,
plural, depending
depending on
on
context
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 plural and
use a plural pronoun.

Read
Read these
these examples:
examples:
The team celebrated its
victory.

The team changed into

their street clothes and
went home happy.

When
When you
you cannot
cannot decide
decide if
if the
the
collective
collective noun
noun is
is singular
singular or
or plural,
plural,
insert
insert a
a plural
plural noun
noun after
after the
the
collective
collective noun,
noun, like
like this:
this:

The team members ran out onto the

field to meet their opponent.

Rule
Rule 6:
6: Companies
Companies,, organizations
organizations,, and
and
schools
schools are
are singular
singular and
and thus
thus require
require
singular
singular pronouns.
pronouns.

One urban legend is that Titos Taco Palace

makes its burritos with kangaroo meat.

The Pencil Enthusiast Society uses the

donations it receives to insure all writing
instruments have sharp points.
Next year, Weaver College will try to solve its
parking woes by requiring students to buy a $75
parking decal.