Download 9 LP 7 pron agree - Harrison High School

9th Literature Language Practice #7 Name: ___________________________________________
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
A pronoun takes the place of nouns, other pronouns, or groups of words that function as nouns.
An antecedent is the noun or pronoun to which the pronoun refers. When you write, place pronouns close to
their antecedents to avoid confusion. Also, make sure that your pronouns agree with their antecedents in
number and in gender. If an antecedent is singular, then the pronoun that refers to it must also be singular.
Agreement in Number
 Indefinite pronoun antecedents such as everyone, everybody, somebody, someone, nobody, no one,
neither, either, and each are singular and require singular pronouns.
EXAMPLE: Everyone on Harriman’s Alaskan research trip was a leader in his or her particular
field.
 Indefinite pronoun antecedents such as several, both, few, and many are plural and require plural
pronouns.
EXAMPLE: Several on board had their own special assignments.
 Singular antecedents linked by or or nor require singular pronouns.
EXAMPLE: Neither John Muir nor John Burroughs thought that he belonged on the same ship
with the other scientific all-stars Harriman had recruited.
 Singular antecedents linked by and require plural pronouns.
EXAMPLE: Wildlife painter Louis Agassiz and photographer Edward Curtis took their places
on the Alaskan expedition.
 Plural antecedents linked by and, or or nor also require plural pronouns.
EXAMPLE: The scientists, writers, and artists stocked a library of 500 books on their ambitious
journey.
 Sometimes a group of words can be a singular subject and therefore serve as a singular antecedent. Use
a singular pronoun to refer to it.
EXAMPLE: Choosing scientists to join him in Alaska was easy. It took Harriman less than a
month to do it.
 When determining whether to use the objective or nominative personal pronouns me or I, subtract
everything from the subject except the personal pronoun, and then read the sentence.
EXAMPLE: My son and I saw the ship depart Seattle for Skagway.
Try it: Fix the pronoun/ antecedent agreement errors.
1. When trying to establish Yosemite Valley as a national park, each powerful senator had to make up their
mind.
2. Visitors to Yosemite today should thank Muir and Harriman as we reap the benefits of his efforts.
Identify the sentence error. If an underlined word or phrase contains a grammatical error, choose the part that
must be changed to correct the sentence.
3. Each of the members (A) of the expedition had (B) their (C) own room (D) on the ship. No error. (E)
4. The boy who (A) sits between Rahul and I (B) forgot his (C) book today (D). No error. (E)
5. Many(A) people genuinely want to be fitter, but few(B) have the tenacity for sticking(C) to a
suitable regime(D) of diet and exercise. No error. (E)
6. A number of trainees who(A) take this course every year finds(B) that their(C) knowledge of
mathematics is(D) inadequate. No error. (E)
7. The union insisted(A) on an increase in their(B) members’(C) starting pay, and threatened to call a
strike if the company refused to(D)meet the demand. No error. (E)
8. Everyone who(A) visits Singapore is impressed(B) by its cleanliness, which(C) is mainly a result of
rigorous implementation of their(D) strict laws. No error. (E)
9. It is an old criticism of the medical profession that they(A) have considered(B) the symptoms
and causes of(C) disease without sufficient reference to(D) the causes of health. No error. (E)
10. The academy members waged(A) a relentless war against my supervisor
and I(B) because our(C) research seemed to(D) contradict the findings of the head of the institution. No
error. (E)
Improve the sentence. Select the answer choice that best expresses the meaning of the underlined portion of
the original sentence.
11. When the expedition steamed into Prince William Sound, they had entered what would later become
prime cruise-ship territory.
A. When the expedition steamed into Prince William Sound, they had
B. When the expedition steamed into Prince William Sound, it had
C. When the expedition steamed into Prince William Sound, her had
D. When the expedition steamed into Prince William Sound, she had
E. When the expedition steamed into Prince William Sound, we had
In each of the following exercises, (1) use at least one current vocabulary word per sentence; (2) relate
each sentence to our current unit of study; (3) use proper punctuation.
12. Write a complex sentence using the antecedent everyone and its appropriate pronoun.
13. Write a simple sentence with a compound subject that links to a pronoun in the predicate of the
sentence.
14. Write a complex sentence using a group of words as a singular subject and use the appropriate pronoun
to refer to it.
15. Write a compound sentence that uses a proper noun plus an objective pronoun.
16. Write a simple sentence that uses a proper noun plus a nominative pronoun.