Pronouns

Chapter 8 – Pronouns

English 67 Professor Jean Garrett

Pronoun Agreement 

A pronoun must agree with its antecedent (noun or pronoun it replaces) in: • person • number • gender

Pronoun Agreement: Person 

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A pronoun agrees with its antecedent (noun or pronoun it replaces) in person. Person--first, second or third--indicates perspective or point of view. Singular

Plural

Relative

1st person

I, me

we, us

who, whoever

2nd person

you

you

3rd person

he, she, it him, her

they them

who, whoever

Pronoun Agreement: Person 

Avoid needless shifting in person, which means shifting in point of view, such as from I to you.

• I was having trouble, for you could see •

disaster ahead. [Needless shift from first person to second person.] I was having trouble, for I could see disaster ahead. [Consistent use of first person point of view.]

Pronoun Agreement: Person

• When students are having trouble with grammar, you should seek help from the Writing Center. [Needless shift from third person to second person.]

• When students are having trouble with grammar, they should seek help from the Writing Center. [Consistent use of third person point of view.]

Pronoun Agreement: Person • • •

If you find that you hate your job, one should consider changing his or her profession. [Needless shift from second person to third person.] If you find that you hate your job, you should consider changing your profession. [Consistent use of second person point of view.] If people find that they hate their jobs, they should consider changing their professions. [Consistent use of third person point of view.]

Pronoun Agreement: Number 

A pronoun agrees with its antecedent (noun or pronoun it replaces) in number.

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Most problems with pronoun-antecedent agreement involve number. There are eleven rules to apply in order for pronouns to agree with their antecedent .

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Pronoun Agreement: 11 Rules 1. A singular antecedent requires a singular pronoun.

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Hoang forgot his notebook. Someone lost his or her textbook.

2. A plural antecedent requires a plural pronoun.

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Many students cast their [not his or her] votes today. We wanted to have our party in the park.

Pronoun Agreement: 11 Rules 3. A singular indefinite pronoun as an antecedent takes a singular pronoun. Most indefinite pronouns are singular. They often end with -body, -one, or –thing or include each, either, and neither.

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Each of the girls brought her [not their] book. When someone makes a promise, he or she [not they] should keep it.

Pronoun Agreement: 11 Rules 4. A plural indefinite pronoun as an antecedent takes a plural pronoun.

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Few knew their assignments.

5. Some indefinite pronouns do not clearly express either a singular or plural number, so agreement depends on the meaning of the sentence. These pronouns are all, any, none, and some.

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All of the apple was good. [All means one.] All of the apples were gone. [All means many.]

Pronoun Agreement: 11 Rules 6.

• • 7.

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Two or more antecedents, singular or plural, take a plural pronoun. Such antecedents are usually joined by and or by commas and and. Melinda and her friends bought their tickets early. Voters, campaigners, and the candidate celebrated their victory at the election party.

Alternative antecedents, such as antecedents joined by or, nor, whether/or, either/or, neither/nor, not only/but also, require a pronoun that agrees with the nearer antecedent. Neither Allen nor his classmates found their test difficult. Neither his classmates nor Allen found his or her test difficult.

Pronoun Agreement: 11 Rules 8. In a sentence with an expression such as one of those ___ who, the antecedent is usually the plural noun that follows.

•

She is one of those actors who want their personal lives to be kept private.

9. In a sentence with the expression the only one of those ___ who, the antecedent is usually the singular word one.

•

She is the only one of the actors who wants her life to be kept private.

Pronoun Agreement: 11 Rules 10. When collective nouns such as team, jury, committee, and band are used as antecedents, they take a singular pronoun if they are considered as units.

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The team is doing its best to win the homecoming game. The band is playing its best songs to win the competition.

When individual behavior is suggested, antecedents take a plural form.

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The team are packing their suitcases for the state finals. The band found out that their new uniforms do not fit.

Pronoun Agreement: 11 Rules 11. The words each, every, and many before a noun make the noun singular.

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•

Each boy and girl was responsible for bringing his or her lunch. Each and every person doubted himself or herself. Many a person is capable of knowing himself or herself.

Pronoun Agreement: Gender 

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If the gender of the antecedent is specific, the pronoun should agree with its antecedent in gender. Masculine and feminine pronouns are gender-specific: he, him, she, her.

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Mike gave us his opinion. Maria bought her first house.

Pronoun Agreement: Gender

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Others are neuter: I, we, me, us, it, they, them, who, whom, that, which.

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•

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The boys were tired from bus trip, so they went straight to the hotel. The women were very happy the award was presented to them.

The pronouns who and whom refer to people.

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He is the friend whom I like the best. She is the suspect who robbed the bank.

Pronoun Agreement: Gender

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That can refer to ideas, animals, and things but does not refer to individuals.

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This is the dog that we found.

Which refers to ideas and things but not to people.

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The movie which we saw was the one we discussed in class.

Pronoun Agreement: Gender

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To avoid a perceived sex bias, you can use he or she or his or her instead of just he or his.

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•

Everyone should revise his or her essay very carefully.

Because the repetition of he or she and his or her several times in a sentence can get awkward, many writers simply make antecedents and pronouns plural.

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Students should revise their essays very carefully.

Pronoun Agreement: Gender

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In either case, avoid using a plural pronoun with a singular indefinite pronoun; such usage violates the basic principle of pronoun agreement.

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Incorrect: Everyone should do their homework consistently. Correct: Everyone should do his or her homework consistently. Correct: All students should do their homework consistently.

Pronoun Reference

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A pronoun must refer clearly to its antecedent. Because a pronoun is a substitute word, it can express meaning clearly and definitely only if its antecedent is easily identified. In some sentence constructions, gender and number make the reference clear.

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Dimitri and Poloma discussed his absences and her good attendance. [gender agreement] If the three older boys in the club carry out their plans, it will break up. [number agreement]

Pronoun Reference

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However, always avoid ambiguous reference. The following sentences illustrate the kind of confusion that results from structuring sentences with more than one possible antecedent for the pronoun.

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Unclear: Kim gave David his money and clothes. (Both are male names.) Clear: Kim gave his own money and clothes to David. Unclear: Sarah told her sister that her car had a flat tire. Clear: Sarah said to her sister, "Your car has a flat tire."

Pronoun Reference

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When using a pronoun to refer to a general idea, make sure that the reference is clear. The pronouns used frequently in this way are this, that, which, and it. The best solution may be to rewrite the sentence to omit the pronoun in question.

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Unclear: Gabriella whistled the same tune over and over, which irritated me. Clear: Gabriella whistled the same tune over and over, a habit that irritated me. Clear: Her whistling the same tune over and over irritated me.

Goodbye!!

Pronoun Agreement 

A pronoun agrees with its antecedent (noun or pronoun it replaces) in number, person, and gender. {antecedent}

Example: Neither of the girls could find (her, their) lost earrings.

Example: Neither of the girls could find her lost earrings. (Neither is singular so the pronoun her should also be singular.)