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Sentence Grammar |
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Pronouns |
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A pronoun must agree in number with the word it refers to. The word that a pronoun refers to is called its antecedent. If the antecedent is singular, the pronoun should be singular. If the antecedent is plural, the pronoun should be plural.
Sometimes personal pronouns A personal pronoun refers to a specific individual or individuals. you, he, she, it, they An indefinite pronoun does not refer to a specific person. The following words are examples of personal pronouns:
refer to indefinite pronouns The following words are examples of indefinite pronouns:
all, anybody, anything, each, everybody
as their antecedents. The following indefinite pronouns are always singular, so the personal pronouns that refer to them must also be singular:
each
either
neither
none
anyone
everyone
someone
one
anybody
somebody
nobody
anything
everything
everybody
nothing
The following indefinite pronouns are always plural, so the personal pronouns referring to them must also be plural:
both
few
many
several
Some indefinite pronouns can be singular or plural, so pronouns referring to them will be either singular or plural depending on how they are used:
all
most
any
some
more
CORRECT:
Everyone was asked to give as much as he or she could.
INCORRECT:
Everyone was asked to give as much as they could.
CORRECT:
All of us were asked to give as much as we could.
INCORRECT:
All of us were asked to give as much as she could.
CORRECT:
Each of the students will have her picture taken.
CORRECT:
All of the students will have their pictures taken.
INCORRECT:
Each of the students will have their picture taken.
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In which sentence does the pronoun correctly agree with its antecedent? |
| No. In this sentence, their does not agree with someone, which is singular. |
| Yes. In this sentence, his or her agrees with someone, which is singular. |
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