Module: English Skills
Lesson: Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
Pro. Agr = Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
If you see the symbol above on an essay, lab report, or other text, it means that you have made an error in
pronoun-antecedent agreement.
What is an antecedent? An antecedent is a noun or pronoun to which a pronoun refers. As “ante” suggests, the
antecedent usually appears earlier in the sentence and is the person, place, thing, or idea to which the pronoun
refers. In the examples below, the scientists’ names are the antecedents.
Nobel Prize winning chemist
James Watson published his
famous book, The Double Helix,
in 1968.
Rosalind Franklin, a member of the
DNA research team, earned praise
for her expertise in X-ray
crystallography.
A pronoun must agree with its
antecedent in terms of number.
“His” is singular and refers to one
person, James Watson. It also
agrees in terms of gender because
“he” is masculine.
In this case, the singular pronoun,
“her,” agrees with the antecedent,
Rosalind Franklin, in both number
and gender.
Agreement in
number & gender
In 1962, James Watson,
Francis Crick, and Maurice
Wilkins received their
Nobel Prize for determining
the structure of DNA.
The plural pronoun “their”
refers to the three scientists,
who are the antecedents.
Compound subjects are
plural & require plural
pronouns.
Common Area of Confusion: Agreement in Number
pl.
pl.
s.
Incorrect: While a college-level chemistry student likely read about Crick and Watson in their high school textbook, they
probably did not learn about Rosalind Franklin, who died before the team received the Nobel Prize.
pl.
pl.
pl.
Correct: While college students likely read about Crick and Watson in their high school textbooks, they probably did not
learn about Rosalind Franklin, who died before the team received the Nobel Prize.
Or
s.
s.
s.
Correct: While a college student likely read about Crick and Watson in his/her high school textbook, s/he probably did not
learn about Rosalind Franklin, who died before the team received the Nobel Prize.
Note: As the examples above demonstrate, writers sometimes pair the plural pronouns “they” and “their” with a singular noun.
While using “they” or “their” with a singular noun is common in informal writing and speaking, avoid this construction in
academic essays. If you want to avoid the somewhat clumsy his/her and s/he and she or he construction, just use a plural
noun.
___________________
Incorrect: Everybody in Prof. Moran’s chemistry seminar brought their copy of The Double Helix to class on Friday.
Correct: Everybody in Prof. Moran’s chemistry seminar brought his/her copy of The Double Helix to class on Friday.
Incorrect: Nobody in Prof. Moran’s chemistry seminar brought their copy of The Double Helix to class on Friday.
Correct: Nobody in Prof. Moran’s chemistry seminar brought his/her copy of The Double Helix to class on Friday.
These singular pronouns look plural. However, they must be paired with other singular pronouns:
Anybody
Anyone
Everybody
Anything
Everyone
Nobody
Everything