Pronoun and Antecedent Agreement
- When writing, your pronouns must agree with their antecedents. An antecedent is the word that the pronoun refers to.
Ex: Katie enjoyed her lacrosse practice.
- The pronoun is her and the antecedent is Katie. "Her" is singular and feminine, which agrees with "Katie."
- A pronoun must agree with its antecedent regarding its gender and number.
Ex: The birds prepared their nests.
- The pronoun is their and it agrees with the plural antecedent, birds.
Ex: If a student forgets the textbook, he or she will be in trouble.
- Since student is singular and could apply to either gender, you must use "he or she," not they!
Ex: Katie enjoyed her lacrosse practice.
- The pronoun is her and the antecedent is Katie. "Her" is singular and feminine, which agrees with "Katie."
- A pronoun must agree with its antecedent regarding its gender and number.
Ex: The birds prepared their nests.
- The pronoun is their and it agrees with the plural antecedent, birds.
Ex: If a student forgets the textbook, he or she will be in trouble.
- Since student is singular and could apply to either gender, you must use "he or she," not they!
Tricky Words
These words all take singular pronouns (he, she, his, her, it, etc.)
- Each
- Either - Neither - One - Everyone - Everybody |
- No one
- Nobody - Anyone - Anybody - Someone - Somebody |
Examples:
- Does each child have his or her raincoat?
- Neither of the boys remembered his lunch.
- Does each child have his or her raincoat?
- Neither of the boys remembered his lunch.