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Pronoun-Antecedent
Agreement
What is an
Antecedent?
Pronouns get their meaning from the words
they stand for; these words are called
antecedents.
Antecedents are the words that pronouns take
the place of later on in the sentence.
How to find an antecedent:
1. Find the pronouns in the sentence
2. Find what the pronouns are renaming- that is
your antecedent.
Examples
Michael said he lost his watch at the fair.
Pronouns:
He, his
Antecedent:
Michael
Examples
When the Levines moved, they gave their pets
to neighbors.
Pronouns:
They, their
Antecedent:
Levines
Examples
Attending the Mardi Gras can be tiring, but it
can be a lot of fun!
Pronouns:
It
Antecedent:
Attending the Mardi Gras
Agreement
• Personal pronouns must agree with their
antecedents in
– gender
and in
– number
Agreement in GENDER
• The gender of a pronoun MUST match the
gender of its antecedent!!
• Nouns referring to males, such as uncle, boy,
and actor, are MASCULINE.
• Nouns referring to females, such as aunt,
mother, and actress, are FEMININE.
• Nouns that do not refer to males or females,
such as stone and freedom, are NEUTRAL.
Agreement in NUMBER
• Just like subject verb agreement, pronouns
and their antecedents MUST agree in number
• Number refers to a word being either
SINGULAR or PLURAL
• Typically it is easy to make pronouns and
antecedents agree in number
• ExCharlene accessed her friend’s Home Page.
Agreement in NUMBER
• Where it gets tricky:
Compound Antecedents
• RULE:
Use a SINGULAR personal pronoun to refer to
two or more SINGULAR antecedents joined by
OR or NOR.
• Ex.
Neither Keith nor Rob remembers his password.
• RULE:
Use a PLURAL personal pronoun to refer to
two or more antecedents joined by AND
(this makes the antecedent PLURAL!)
• Ex.
Gene and Rita have checked their e-mail.
Singular Pronouns
Masculine
•he
•him
•his
•himself
•hisself is NOT a
word!!!!!
Feminine
•she
•her
•hers
•herself
Neutral
it, its, itself
Plural Pronouns
•we
•us
•our, ours
•ourselves
•they
•them
•their, theirs
•themselves
Beware the “Shift in Person”
• RULE:
You must not make a “shift in person” in
the middle of a sentence
• What is shift in person?
Becca is studying programming, a course
you need for a degree in computer
science.
Should say “…a course Becca needs…”
When it is Unclear
• RULE:
When gender is NOT specified , use the
masculine AND feminine pronouns OR rewrite
the sentence.
• Ex.A student should keep his or her password a
secret.
Or
Students should keep their passwords a secret.
When it is Unclear
• Sometimes it is still seen as acceptable to
choose JUST a masculine or feminine pronoun.
• ExA student should keep his password a
secret.
Directions: Write an appropriate personal pronoun
in the blank to complete each sentence.
One computer pioneer is Alan Kay. __1__ is
noted for __2__ role in the development of the
laptop computer. Before Kay introduced graphics
and animation, __3__ had not been seen before
on PCs. In the 1970’s, the average person did not
have a computer in __4__ home. Diana Adams,
who sees _5__ as a modern woman, takes a
laptop with __6__ wherever __7__ goes.
However, you and I don’t even have to leave
home. __8__ can access the world through
__9__ PCs.
Reflexive Pronouns
• Reflexive pronouns end in –self or –selves and
point back to a noun or pronoun near the
beginning of the sentence.
• RULE:
Reflexive pronouns MUST have an
antecedent in the sentence in which they
appear.
Reflexive Pronoun Examples
• Incorrect UseTodd helped Jen and myself to search the
Internet.
• Correct UseTodd helped Jen and me to search the
Internet.
Jen searched the Internet herself.
Agreement with Indefinite Pronouns
• RULE:
Use a SINGULAR pronoun to refer to a
SINGULAR indefinite pronoun.
And
Use a PLURAL pronoun to refer to a
PLURAL indefinite pronoun.
Singular Indefinite Pronouns
ALWAYS Singular:
anybody
everyone
anyone
everything
anything
neither
each
no one
either
nobody
everybody
nothing
one
somebody
someone
something
Plural Indefinite Pronouns
•
•
•
•
Both
Few
Many
Several
These words are ALWAYS plural!
Can be EITHER Singular OR Plural:
These words may be singular or plural…you
MUST check their function within the
sentence.
• all
• any
• more
• most
• none
• some
Examples
Singular:
One of the boys will print his document.
Plural:
All of the boys will print their documents.