Pronoun Antecedent Agreement – Sentence Correction Part 5

What is Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement?

Pronoun-antecedent agreement means that a pronoun must match its antecedent (the noun it replaces) in number, gender, and person. When a pronoun does not agree with its antecedent, it creates confusion and grammatical errors.

📌 Incorrect: Each student must bring their own notebook.
📌 Correct: Each student must bring his or her own notebook.
Explanation: The singular antecedent “each student” requires a singular pronoun (“his or her”), not the plural “their.”

Common Errors in Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

1. Singular vs. Plural Mismatch

Pronouns must match the singular or plural form of their antecedents.

📌 Incorrect: The dog wagged their tail happily.
📌 Correct: The dog wagged its tail happily.
Explanation: “Dog” is singular, so the singular pronoun “its” should be used instead of “their.”

2. Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns such as everyone, anybody, each, either, someone are always singular and require singular pronouns.

📌 Incorrect: Everyone should bring their own lunch.
📌 Correct: Everyone should bring his or her own lunch.
Explanation: “Everyone” is singular, so the pronoun should also be singular.

3. Collective Nouns

A collective noun (e.g., team, jury, committee, class, family) is singular when referring to the group as a whole and plural when referring to its individual members.

📌 Incorrect: The team won their match.
📌 Correct: The team won its match.
Explanation: “Team” refers to the whole group as one unit, so “its” should be used.

📌 Correct (when referring to individual members): The team argued among themselves about the strategy.
Explanation: Here, “team” refers to members as individuals, so the plural pronoun “themselves” is correct.

4. Pronouns with Compound Antecedents

When two nouns are joined by and, use a plural pronoun.

📌 Incorrect: John and Alex finished his homework.
📌 Correct: John and Alex finished their homework.
Explanation: “John and Alex” is plural, so “their” is correct.

When two nouns are joined by or/nor, the pronoun should agree with the closest antecedent.

📌 Incorrect: Neither the students nor the teacher forgot their book.
📌 Correct: Neither the students nor the teacher forgot his book.
Explanation: “Teacher” is closest to the pronoun, so the singular “his” is correct.

5. Ambiguous Pronoun Reference

Avoid using pronouns when the antecedent is unclear.

📌 Incorrect: When Sarah met Rachel, she said she was late.
📌 Correct: When Sarah met Rachel, Sarah said that Rachel was late.
Explanation: The incorrect sentence does not clarify who “she” refers to. The corrected version removes the ambiguity.

Practice Questions – Identify & Fix the Errors

Exercise 1: Identify the Pronoun-Antecedent Errors

Find and correct the errors in the following sentences.

1. Each of the boys brought their own lunch.
2. The jury announced their verdict.
3. Neither Lisa nor her sisters forgot her tickets.
4. The dog chased their tail.
5. If anybody calls, tell them I’m not home.

Exercise 2: Choose the Correct Sentence

Identify which sentence is grammatically correct.

1. a) If anyone has questions, they can ask now.
   b) If anyone has questions, he or she can ask now.
2. a) The committee gave their approval for the new project.
   b) The committee gave its approval for the new project.
3. a) Either Mark or his friends forgot their backpack.
   b) Either Mark or his friends forgot his backpack.

Would you like the answers explained?

Conclusion

Proper pronoun-antecedent agreement ensures clarity and grammatical correctness in writing. To avoid errors:

Avoid ambiguous pronoun references to ensure clarity. Match singular antecedents with singular pronouns and plural antecedents with plural pronouns. Be mindful of indefinite pronouns like “everyone” and “each,” which are always singular. Ensure that pronouns referring to collective nouns agree based on whether the noun is singular or plural. When dealing with compound antecedents, follow the rules for “and” (plural) and “or/nor” (closest noun decides).