Name ____________________________________ Date _________________ Period _____________
Bellringer Term 2 Week 6
Focus: Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
A pronoun takes the place of a noun. An antecedent is the word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun
refers.In the following example, the antecedent is in bold and the pronoun is italicized.
Example: The teacher forgot her book. (Here her is the pronoun, and teacher is the antecedent)
Pronouns and antecedents agree in person—first (I, we), second (you), or third (he, she, it, they.) They
also agree in gender (masculine, feminine, or neuter) and number (singular or plural).
Monday, Nov. 16th - Rule #1: Avoid ambiguous pronouns. A pronoun must refer clearly to its
antecedent.
Example 1 (the antecedent is bold and the pronoun is italicized)
Martha decided that her sister was evil.
Example 2 (the antecedent is bold and the pronoun is italicized)
If students refuse to learn the rules of proper writing, they can forget a good grade in English
class.
Underline the antecedent in each question and write the pronoun in the blank provided.
1. ________Andy promised that he would be on time.
2. ________Whether or not she should go camping worried Jane.
3. ________All the kids want to eat their dessert before dinner.
4. ________Either Kate or Meg might lend me her bike.
Tuesday, Nov. 17th –
Rule #2 Gender
A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in gender (male or female).
Example (the pronoun is bold).
Each of the girls puts her stuff in the car.
Rule #3 Person
A prounoun must agree with its antecedent in person (first: I, we; second: you; third: she, he, it, they).
Example (the pronoun is bold).
If students refuse to learn the rules of grammar, they can forget a good grade in English class.
Correct these mistakes in pronoun gender and person.
1.
One of the men lost his or her keys.
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2. Someone left their backpack.
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3. If people don’t recycle, you can’t forget about global warming.
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Wednesday, Nov. 18th–
Rule # 5 number
A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number (singular or plural). If the antecedent is singular,
the pronoun should be singular. If the antecedent is plural, the pronoun should be plural.
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Pronoun-antecedent agreement error example: The dogs tugged on its leash.
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Correct: The dogs tugged on their leashes.
Look at these examples proper pronoun-antecedent agreement.
Example 1 (the pronoun is singular because the antecedent is singular.)
Each girl wants to look beautiful on her prom night.
Example 2 (the pronoun is plural because the antecedent is plural.)
If people want to stay healthy, they must eat well and watch their waistlines.
Rule # 6 – Or and Nor
When antecedents are joined by or or nor the pronoun should agree with the antecedent closest to it.
Example: Neither the chicks nor their mother would ever leave its nest.
For a more natural-sounding sentence, place the plural part of a compound subject second.
Example: Neither the mother nor her chicks would ever leave their nest.
Compose one sentence with a singular pronoun and antecedent. Compose one sentence with a plural
pronoun and antecedent. Compose one sentence with proper pronoun antecedent agreement and or or
nor.
1. ______________________________________________________________________
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2. ______________________________________________________________________
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3. _______________________________________________________________
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Thursday, Nov. 19th
Rule # 7 - Most agreement problems arise with the singular indefinite nouns
(person, student, individual, soldier, etc.) and indefinite pronouns (someone, each, anybody, neither).
These words are "indefinite" because they do not definitely refer to males, nor do they definitely refer to
females. Because they are singular, they should be followed by the singular pronouns "his or her," "his or
hers," or "him or her," depending on context.
Example: Everyone has his or her own locker.
Example: A person can padlock his or her locker
Four indefinite pronouns—both, few, many, several—are always plural and are referred to with plural
pronouns.
Example: Few realize how their athletic abilities have changed.
The indefinite pronouns all, any, more, most, none, and some may be singular or plural depending on the
word to which they refer:
Example: Most of the geysers have their own personality. (Most refers to geysers, which is
plural.)
Example: All the money was counted when it changed hands. (All refers to money, which is
singular.)
Rule # 8 - Collective nouns are nouns that refer to groups, such as class, group, and jury. They take
singular or plural pronouns depending on whether they refer to the group acting together as one unit
(singular) or to the members of the group acting separately (plural).
Example: The jury was unanimous in its verdict. (The jury is acting as a unit, so we treat jury as
singular.)
Example: The jury disagreed in their assessment of the case. (The jury members are acting
individually, so we treat jury as plural.)
To avoid awkward-sounding plural collective nouns, place the members of before the collective noun.
Example: The members of the jury disagreed in their assessment of the case.
Compose two sentences that contain correct use of indefinite pronouns. Compose one sentence with
proper agreement between a collective noun and pronoun.
1. ______________________________________________________________________
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2. ______________________________________________________________________
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3. _______________________________________________________________
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Friday, Nov. 20th
Write one complex sentence
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Write one compound sentence
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Write one compound-complex sentence
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