Grammar Lesson

Grammar Lesson: Pronouns and Antecedents

THE FACTS: Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns, such as his, her, and it. Antecedents are the noun the pronoun is replacing.

Example:
Lisa threw her ball.

Her is the pronoun, and Lisa, being the noun that her replaces, is the antecedent.

WHY IT’S CONFUSING: There are many different rules and exceptions surrounding pronoun and antecedent agreement. There is not a single rule to remember about pronoun and antecedent agreement.

HOW TO REMEMBER: Nearly all the rules surrounding pronoun and antecedent agreement are very similar or the same as many rules surrounding subject and verb agreement. If you know the subject-verb agreement rules, then you know most of the pronoun-antecedent agreement rules.

A few rules and exceptions to remember:

1. Singular antecedents must be replaced with singular pronouns (same rule applies to plural).

2. A phrase or clause between the pronoun and antecedent does not change the number of the antecedent (plural or singular).

3. In sentences with more than one antecedent, the pronoun should be plural if the antecedents are joined by and. If the antecedents are joined by or/nor, the pronoun should agree with the antecedent closer to the pronoun.

4. If every or many a comes before the antecedent, the pronoun will be singular.

5. The number of is a singular phrase, while a number of is a plural phrase. If either of these phrases 

comes before an antecedent, then the pronoun must agree with the phrase (either singular or plural).

Fill in the blank with the correct pronoun, then underline the antecedent. Review orally in class:

1. Fred fell off a cliff, but _____ was ok.

2. Nikki wanted the purple shoes, but ________ friend wanted Nikki to get the blue shoes.

3. Neither the author no editors did ______ jobs well, resulting in a terrible book with many spelling and grammatical errors.

Try these on your own, then have a teacher or friend review:

1. A number of people gave _____ money to the charity.

2. Every person at the beach ran for _______ life.

3. Jimmy and John loved to make _______ own lunches.

Do these for homework:

1. Lana likes the feel of _____ own bed.

2. The city had lost much of ____ charm after the tsunami destroyed most of it.

3. Once upon a time, Prince Charming dropped ______ crown from the highest tower, then cried for the rest of ______ life.