Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement Put the PRO in Pronoun

What is a Pronoun?!?! A pronoun is word that takes the place of a noun or another pronoun. Examples of Pronouns: MASCULINE: he, him, his, himself FEMININE: she, her, hers, herself NEUTRAL: it, its, itself PLURAL: they, them, their, theirs, themselves

What is an antecedent?!?! An antecedent is the word that the pronoun is referring to (usually earlier in the sentence). Example: Laura sold her bike to buy a new iPhone. Antecedent Pronoun

Rule #1 - Singular vs. Plural Pronoun and antecedent must agree in number. If the antecedent is singular, the pronoun must be singular. If the antecedent is plural, the pronoun must be plural.

Rule #1 Examples The boys played ______ best and won the game. Boys is plural, so their must be plural. The girl lost ____ ribbon. Girl is singular, so her must be singular. their her

Rule #1 – Indefinite Singular Sometimes the antecedent is an indefinite pronoun. Most indefinite antecedents are singular: Each Either Neither One Everyone Everybody No one Nobody Anyone Anybody Someone Somebody Use singular pronouns when referring to these words!

Rule #1 – Indefinite Singular Examples Neither of the boys did ______ homework. Everyone has a right to ________ own ideas. Any one of the lifeguards would risk _________ life to save the swimmers. his his or her his or her

Rule #1 – Indefinite Plural A few indefinite pronouns are plural: Several Few Both Many Use plural pronouns when referring to these words!

Rule #1 – Indefinite Plural Examples Both of the boys had _____ homework. Several of the students did _____ work cheerfully. Many of the teachers enjoy _____ vacation time in the summer. their their their

Rule #2 – Compound Antecedents Any two antecedents joined by “and” are now plural and take a plural pronoun. The truck and the car lost _____ brakes. their

Rule #2 – Compound Antecedents With antecedents joined by “or, nor, either, or neither,” you can determine whether they are plural or singular by examining the antecedent closest to the pronoun. If the closer antecedent is singular, the pronoun must be singular. If the closer antecedent is plural, the pronoun must be plural. Either the judge or the lawyers have forgotten _________ notebooks. their

Rule #2 - Examples The horse and the cow left ______ pen. Neither Ryan nor the his friends had taken ______ driving exam. Neither the students nor Mr. Leist cared about ________ final exams. After working all day, neither the teachers nor the students wanted to take _____ friends out to a movie. their their his their

Rule #3 – Agreement in Person/Gender A pronoun must agree in person and gender with its antecedent. When one enters the army, _______must follow rules. Everyone should report to ________cabin right away. Dilbert doesn’t know what to do about the giant growth on ____ forehead. he or she his or her his

Rule #3 – Examples they Many people don’t eat peanuts because ______ might be allergic to it. Harry Potter finds driving at night very hard on ______ eyes. I hope that no one takes ________ seat. We hope the girls couldn’t get to _______ seats. You never know who is going to show up at ________ birthday party. The dog ate ______ bone. his my our your its

Rule #4 – Collective Nouns Some nouns refer to groups of things (swarm, army, crowd, class, etc.). These should be treated singularly. The football team received ____ new plays. The orchestra prepared for ____ new concert. its its

Rule #4 – Collective Nouns If the collective noun is referring to each member of the group individually, it must take a plural pronoun! The football team members received _______ varsity patches. their

Rule #4 – Examples its The committee drafted ______ agenda at Chi-chi’s Mexican restaurant. The herd got ________ cattle brands. The teacher group was offended after ______ trip to see Transformers. The troop sold ________ cookies at the basketball game. their its its