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    Pronoun Antecedent Agreement

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    Lozein Jumarito Lapuz
    1. Pronouns must agree in number with their antecedents. A singular pronoun refers to a singular antecedent and a plural pronoun refers to a plural antecedent. 2. There are nine rules for pronoun-antecedent agreement related to subject-verb agreement, including that a phrase between the subject and verb does not change the number, indefinite pronouns can be singular or plural depending on modifiers, compound subjects joined by "and" are plural, and collective nouns can be singular or plural depending on meaning. 3. Exceptions include titles of single entities being singular and plural forms with singular meanings, like "physics," taking a singular pronoun.

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    Pronoun Antecedent Agreement

    Uploaded by

    Lozein Jumarito Lapuz
    157 views4 pages
    1. Pronouns must agree in number with their antecedents. A singular pronoun refers to a singular antecedent and a plural pronoun refers to a plural antecedent. 2. There are nine rules for pronoun-antecedent agreement related to subject-verb agreement, including that a phrase between the subject and verb does not change the number, indefinite pronouns can be singular or plural depending on modifiers, compound subjects joined by "and" are plural, and collective nouns can be singular or plural depending on meaning. 3. Exceptions include titles of single entities being singular and plural forms with singular meanings, like "physics," taking a singular pronoun.

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    1. Pronouns must agree in number with their antecedents. A singular pronoun refers to a singular antecedent and a plural pronoun refers to a plural antecedent. 2. There are nine rules for pronoun-antecedent agreement related to subject-verb agreement, including that a phrase between the subject and verb does not change the number, indefinite pronouns can be singular or plural depending on modifiers, compound subjects joined by "and" are plural, and collective nouns can be singular or plural depending on meaning. 3. Exceptions include titles of single entities being singular and plural forms with singular meanings, like "physics," taking a singular pronoun.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    157 views4 pages

    Pronoun Antecedent Agreement

    Uploaded by

    Lozein Jumarito Lapuz
    1. Pronouns must agree in number with their antecedents. A singular pronoun refers to a singular antecedent and a plural pronoun refers to a plural antecedent. 2. There are nine rules for pronoun-antecedent agreement related to subject-verb agreement, including that a phrase between the subject and verb does not change the number, indefinite pronouns can be singular or plural depending on modifiers, compound subjects joined by "and" are plural, and collective nouns can be singular or plural depending on meaning. 3. Exceptions include titles of single entities being singular and plural forms with singular meanings, like "physics," taking a singular pronoun.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 4

    Usage - Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

    A pronoun is a word used to stand for (or take the place of) a noun.

    A word can refer to an earlier noun or pronoun in the sentence.

    Example:

    We do not talk or write this way. Automatically, we replace the noun Lincoln's with a pronoun.
    More naturally, we say

    The pronoun his refers back to President Lincoln. President Lincoln is the ANTECEDENT for
    the pronoun his.
    An antecedent is a word for which a pronoun stands. (ante = "before")
    The pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number.
    Rule: A singular pronoun must replace a singular noun; a plural pronoun must replace a plural
    noun.
    Thus, the mechanics of the sentence above look like this:

    Here are nine pronoun-antecedent agreement rules. These rules are related to the rules found
    in subject-verb agreement.

    1. A phrase or clause between the subject and verb does not change the number of the
    antecedent.
    Example:

    2. Indefinite pronouns as antecedents

    Singular indefinite pronoun antecedents take singular pronoun referents.


    Example:

     Plural indefinite pronoun antecedents require plural referents.


    PLURAL: several, few, both, many

    Example:
     Some indefinite pronouns that are modified by a prepositional phrase may be either
    singular or plural.
    EITHER SINGULAR OR PLURAL: some, any, none, all, most

    Example:

    Sugar is uncountable; therefore, the sentence has a singular referent pronoun.

    Jewelry is uncountable; therefore, the sentence has a singular referent pronoun.

    Example:

    Marbles are countable; therefore, the sentence has a plural referent pronoun.

    Jewels are countable; therefore, the sentence has a plural referent pronoun.

    3. Compound subjects joined by and always take a plural referent.

    Example:

    4. With compound subjects joined by or/nor, the referent pronoun agrees with the antecedent
    closer to the pronoun.

    Example #1 (plural antecedent closer to pronoun):


    Example #2 (singular antecedent closer to pronoun):

    Note: Example #1, with the plural antecedent closer to the pronoun, creates a smoother
    sentence than example #2, which forces the use of the singular "his or her."

    5. Collective Nouns (group, jury, crowd, team, etc.) may be singular or plural, depending on
    meaning.

    In this example, the jury is acting as one unit; therefore, the referent pronoun is singular.

    In this example, the jury members are acting as twelve individuals; therefore, the referent
    pronoun is plural.

    In this example, the jury members are acting as twelve individuals; therefore, the referent
    pronoun is plural.

    6. Titles of single entities. (books, organizations, countries, etc.) take a singular referent.

    EXAMPLES:

    7. Plural form subjects with a singular meaning take a singular referent. (news, measles,
    mumps, physics, etc)

    EXAMPLE:
    8. Every or Many a before a noun or a series of nouns requires a singular referent.

    EXAMPLES:

    9. The number of vs A number of before a subject:

    The number of is singular.

    A number of is plural.

    Sources:
    https://webapps.towson.edu/ows/pro_antagree.htm

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