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PracticeExercise
Determinewhichpronounbestfitsforpronounantecedentagreementineachsentence.Checkyour
answersbelow.
1. Somebodydropped(their/hisorher)wallet.
2. Mostoftheclasspushedin(their/its)chairs.
3. Someofthegirlssang(their/her)favoritesong.
4. KatelynandRadikhacalled(their/her)parentsonSaturday.
5. DanielorDaveleft(their/his)sunglassesonthetableinthehallway.
6. NeitherMarynorPaulstudied(their/hisorher)spellingwords.
7. Alloftheplayersliked(their/hisorher)coach.
8. Everybodymustwash(their/hisorher)handsbeforedinner.
9. Manygoodathletesspend(their/hisorher)timetrainingafterschool.
10. Oneofthebuildingslost(their/its)electricityyesterdayafternoon.
11. Thesepuppiesstillbelongwith(their/hisorher)mother.
12. Nobodybroke(their/hisorher)promise.
13. Noraplaced(their/her)watchontheshelfbyherbed.
14. RickorDavaughnbrought(their/his)guitar.
15. Mostdogsareloyalto(their/hisorher)owner.
Answers
1. hisorher
2. their
3. their
4. their
5. his
6. hisorher
7. their
8. hisorher
9. their
10. its
11. their
12. hisorher
13. her
14. his
15. their
Pronoun Antecedent Agreement Study Guide
InevermadeamistakeingrammarbutoneinmylifeandassoonasIdoneitIseenit.
CARLSANDBURG(18781967)
AMERICANPOET
Pronounsallowustoreferrepeatedlytoaspecificnounwithoutsayingthewordoverandoveragain.
Without: Lucas thought Lucas saw a ghost, but Lucas wasn't sure.
With: Lucas thought he saw a ghost, but he wasn't sure.
Apronoun(seethefollowingchartofcommonpronouns)isawordthattakestheplaceofanoun.The
antecedentisthewordthatthepronounhasreplacedinthesentence.
Thepronouninthissentencereferstotheantecedent,Jack.SinceJackisoneboy,thethirdpersonsingular
pronounhewasusedinsteadofsheorthey.Thatissothereisagreementingender,number,andperson
betweentheantecedentanditspronoun.Thiskindofagreementisveryimportant.Imagineifitdidn't
matter.Wecouldhavesentencesthatsoundlikegibberish.
Gina folded towels. He was helping Mom with the laundry. We planned to
do homework afterward because I had a test tomorrow in chemistry.
ItisobviousthatGinaisafemale,sotheonlyappropriatepronounwouldbeshe,nothe,we,orI.
Itisimportantthatthepronounantecedentagreementbecleartoavoidconfusion.
Holly and Betsy went to the park to play Frisbee and have a picnic with
their friends Greg and Josh. They were having a great time until she
accidentally tripped over his foot and they bumped heads, giving her
aheadache.
Whosefoot?DidHollytripoverGreg'sfootorJosh's?OrwasitBetsywhotripped?Whobumpedheads?
HollyandBetsy?HollyandGreg?HollyandJosh?BetsyandGreg?BetsyandJosh?Lastly,whogotthe
headache?HollyorBetsy?Getthepoint?
Tip
Sometimespronounscanmakeasentencesoconfusingthatitmightbebestnottouseanypronounsatall.
Confusing: Lori, Sue, and Renee are finally going to the mall to go dress
shopping for the prom. She had made plans to go last week, but they
called and canceled at thelast minute.
Better: Lori, Sue, and Renee are finally going to the mall to go dress
shopping for the prom. Sue had made plans to go last week, but Lori
and Renee called and canceled at the last minute.
Someofthepronounsintheprecedingchartareobviouslysingularorplural.Others,though,mightnotbe
asapparent,suchastheindefinitepronounsanyone,anybody,either,neither,everybody,everyone,
everything,noone,nobody,somebody,someone,each,none,andone.Allofthesepronounsareconsidered
singularinnumberandarecompatibleonlywithsingularpronouns.