Pronoun Agreement (pn agr)

Lecture Notes
Proofreading for Pronoun Errors

FOUR COMMON PRONOUN ERRORS

CASE ERRORS AGREEMENT ERRORS REFERENCE ERRORS SHIFTS

Review of p. 325-26:
THE RULE: Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in gender and in number.

Explanation:
This rule means that—

singular antecedents require singular pronouns;
plural antecedents require plural pronouns;
a masculine antecedent requires a masculine pronoun;
a feminine antecedent requires a feminine pronoun; and
an antecedent that may be masculine or feminine requires a non-sexist pronoun (such as the he or she combination).

Proofreading Tip 1: Watch Out for THEY, THEM, or THEIR!
If you find the word they, them, or their in your writing, WATCH OUT! Make sure that this plural pronoun does actually refer to a plural antecedent. It should not refer to singular antecedents when no gender is specified.

Error: When a student attends a local college, they can live quietly and inexpensively at home.
Discussion: Student is singular, but they is plural. Also, a student can be either male or female.
Correction: When a student attends a local college, he or she can live quietly and inexpensively at home.

Proofreading Tip 2: Watch Out for Indefinite Pronouns
If the antecedent is an indefinite pronoun, WATCH OUT!

The Singular Indefinite Pronouns
The following indefinite pronouns are always singular.

one (of them)
each (of them)
either (of them)
neither (of them)

everyone
anyone
someone
no one

everybody
anybody
somebody
nobody

everything
anything
something
nothing

Error: When anyone attends a local college, they should register early to make sure they get the classes they want.
Discussion: Anyone is singular, but they is plural. Also, anyone can be either male or female.
Correction: When anyone attends a local college, he or she should register early to make sure he or she gets the classes he or she wants.
Correction without so many he or she's: When anyone attends a local college, he or she should register early to make sure to get the best classes before they fill up.

Whenever you see the words in the first column above as antecedents, be sure to ignore anything mentioned in an "of" phrase that follows.

Error: One of my sisters just wrecked their car.
Discussion: One is singular, but their is plural.
Correction: One of my sisters just wrecked her car.

The Plural Indefinite Pronouns
The following indefinite pronouns are always plural.

both
few
several
many
two (or any other number greater than one)

The Sometimes Singular/Sometimes Plural Indefinite Pronouns
The following indefinite pronouns are sometimes singular and sometimes plural. When you see these, you must pay attention to the objects in the "of" phrase that follows, whether the "of" phrase is stated explicitly or implied.

SINGULAR	PLURAL
all (of it) any (of it) some (of it) none (of it) more (of it) most (of it)	all (of them) any (of them) some (of them) none (of them) more (of them) most (of them)

Answers to Exercises
Click HERE to check your answers for the exercises on using apostrophes.

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