Pronouns and Antecedents

Review Pronoun A word that substitutes for a noun Types: Personal Pronouns (specific persons/things): I, me, you, she, her, he, him, it, we, us, you, them, they Possessive Pronouns (show ownership): my, mine, your, yours, her, hers, his, its, our, ours, your, yours, their, theirs Intensive/Reflexive (emphasize a particular noun): myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves Relative/Interrogative (used in subordinate clauses): who, whom,whose, which, that Demonstrative (identify and point to nouns): this, that, these, those Indefinite (do not refer to specific person/thing): anything, everyone, everything, nobody, anyone, all, any, anybody, anything, both, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, few, many, neither, none, no one, nothing, one, several, some, somebody, someone, something

Review Antecedent Noun that the pronoun is replacing Examples Wanda (noun)= She (pronoun) The students (noun)=They (pronoun) Driver (noun)=He/She (pronoun) Elephant (noun)=It (pronoun)

General Rule for Pronoun- Antecedent Agreement Antecedent and pronoun must match in number, person (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and gender. Singular antecedent (noun)=singular pronoun Plural antecedent (noun)=plural pronoun Examples Alex (singular 3rd person)= he (singular 3rd person) Marbles (plural 3rd person)=those (plural 3rd person) Gender Male or female

Note about Gender If you aren’t sure of the gender of the antecedent, use “she or he”, “his/her”, “him/her” as the pronoun Example: The police officer always carries his/her badge when on duty. Things and animals don’t have gender—use “it”, “its” to refer to non-human objects/groups. Example: The team won its game.

Person What is it?SingularPlural 1st Person Refers to selfI, meWe 2nd Person Person/thing speaking to You 3rd Person Someone/ Thing separate from you He, She, It (or nouns referring to he, she, it) They (or nouns referring to they)

Steps for Determining if Pronouns and Antecedents Agree Find the pronouns in the sentence. Example: Sally went to her boyfriend’s house, but he wasn’t home. Decide what nouns the pronouns are referring to (ie. find the antecedents) Example: Sally went to her boyfriend’s house, but he wasn’t home. Ask yourself “What person/number/gender is the antecedent?” “Does the pronoun match the antecedent in number and person?” Example: Sally (3rd person, singular)=her (3rd person, singular) Boyfriend (3rd person, singular)=he (3rd person, singular)

Special Cases Tricky Pronoun-Antecedent Situations

1) Indefinite Pronouns Indefinite pronoun=pronoun that does not refer to specific people or things For the most part indefinite pronouns are SINGULAR EXCEPT Both, few, some, several (PLURAL)

Ways to Deal with Indefinite Pronouns To make an indefinite pronoun and a pronoun agree (in the same sentence): Use she/he or his/her with the SINGULAR indefinite pronoun Example: In class everyone performs at his or her own fitness level. Use they or their with the PLURAL indefinite pronoun Example: Both of the boys perform at their own fitness level.

Ways to Deal with Indefinite Pronouns OR Make the antecedent a plural noun. When someone has been drinking, they are likely to speed. WRONG When drivers have been drinking, they are likely to speed. RIGHT

2) Collective Nouns Collective noun=noun names a class or group (made up of several individuals) They should be considered singular unless individuals are emphasized (then plural). Examples of Collective Nouns: committee, class, crowd, family

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement w/ Collective Nouns As a unit: (singular) The committee granted its permission to build. Individuals emphasized: (plural) The committee put their signatures on the document.

3) EVERY, EACH, ONE When “every”, “each”, or “one” is the antecedent, the pronoun should be singular. Every student should complete his/her teacher’s survey by the end of the week. Each piece of silverware is in its place in the drawer. One of the girls snuck out of her house on Friday night.

4) Antecedents Joined by AND Treat as plural--Make pronoun plural Jill and John moved to Luray, where they built a cabin. Mickey and Minnie live in Disneyland in their special mouse castle.

5) Antecedents Joined by NOR or OR or beginning with NEITHER, EITHER Make the pronoun agree with the antecedent nearest to the pronoun Either Bruce or Tom should receive first prize for his poem. Neither the mouse nor the rats could find their way through the maze.

5) Antecedents Ending in -s Some antecedents ending in –s are not plural because they focus on just one item—Make the pronoun singular Mathematics, economics The College of Arts and Sciences

6) Titles of Books, Movies and Companies Each of these are singular regardless of whether the item ends in –s or is joined by AND The Grapes of Wrath Romeo and Juliet Einstein Brothers Bagels