Eng 97/98
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun. Pronouns vary depending on whether they are subjects or objects;
singular or plural (number); masculine or feminine (gender). They also vary depending on who they refer to (the
speaker or the listener/reader – this is called person).
Here are English pronouns:
Subject
Object
Reflexive
Possessive
I
Me
Myself
Mine
You
You
Yourself
Yours
HE
Him
Himself
His
She
Her
Herself
Hers
It
It
Itself
Its
We
Us
Ourselves
Ours
You (plural)
You (plural)
Yourselves
Yours
They
Them
Themselves
Theirs
NOTE! The following words *look* like pronouns, but they are not! They are called possessive
adjectives. They’re adjectives because they must always come with a noun.
my (book); your (book); his (book); her (book);its (book); our (book) their (book)
Antecedent: As we discussed before, the antecedent is the word that comes before a pronoun. It’s the
word/phrase that the pronoun is replacing. If the antecedent and the pronoun don’t “match” – if they’re not in
agreement – the reader gets confused. If there is no antecedent, or if it us unclear, the reader is confused. You
want to avoid confusing the reader!
AGREEMENT
 Pronouns and antecedents must agree in person, number, and gender.
Mr. Tobias smiled when he saw me.
*Mr. Tobias smiled when I saw me.
*Mr. Tobias smiled when she saw me.
*Mr. Tobias smiled when they saw me.
Everyone knows his or her job and works hard.
*Everyone knows their job and works hard.
Tricky pronouns:
 These pronouns are singular!
another
anywhere
everyone
none
other
anybody
each
everything
no one
somebody
anyone
either
neither
nothing
someone
anything
everybody
nobody
one
something
Another tricky thing: the pronouns being used to refer to a collective noun can be singular or
plural, depending on the meaning.
When you refer to a group acting together as a unit, use a singular pronoun. When you refer to the
members of a group acting individually, use a plural pronoun.
* The wolf pack surrounded their prey.
The wolf pack surrounded its prey.
* After the false alarm, the bomb squad returned to its homes.
After the false alarm, the bomb squad returned to their homes.
NO ANTECEDENT
This comes up frequently when students write papers because the writer knows what he/she is referring to, but
it’s not always clear to the reader.
For example:
*I went shopping this weekend. It was blue.
*I went shopping this weekend, and I bought an iPod. This was a problem.
UNCLEAR ANTECEDENT
This is also tricky! If two nouns have been mentioned close to the pronoun and it’s not clear which noun the
pronoun “points” to, the reader will be confused.
*If you put this sheet in your notebook, you can refer to it.
* I bought an iPod and a water bottle this weekend. It was blue.