Pronoun Antecedent Agreement
Agreement in Number and Gender and with Collective Nouns
An antecedent is a word or group of words to which a pronoun refers or that a pronoun replaces. A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in both number (singular or plural) and gender (masculine, feminine, or neuter). The antecedent may be a noun, another pronoun, or a phrase or clause acting as a noun.
The Taylors landscaped their yard in an unusual way. (plural pronoun)
Kimiko regained her confidence after a few putting lessons. (singular feminine pronoun)
The cheetah licked its chops. (singular neuter pronoun)
Traditionally, a masculine pronoun is used when the gender of the antecedent is unknown or may be either masculine or feminine. As language changes, some people prefer using gender-neutral wording. To avoid using only the masculine, the examples show three ways to reword the sentence.
The doctor makes his rounds every day. (Doctor may be masculine or feminine, but the pronoun here is masculine.)
The doctor makes his or her rounds every day. (Both genders of the pronoun are included.)
Doctors make their rounds every day. (Both the antecedent and the pronoun are plural.)
Doctors make rounds daily. (The pronoun is eliminated.)
When the antecedent of a pronoun is a collective noun, the number of the pronoun depends upon whether the collective noun is used as singular or plural.
The class had its first meeting yesterday. (Class is used as a single unit; therefore, the singular pronoun is used.)
The legislature take their vacations during the summer months. (This sentence refers to separate acts of the members; therefore, the plural pronoun is used.)
Agreement in Person
A pronoun must agree in person with its antecedent.
Incorrect: Henri lives in Tampa where you can sunbathe all year long.
Correct: Henri lives in Tampa where he can sunbathe all year long.
Incorrect: They like camping because you can be close to nature.
Correct: They like camping because they can be close to nature.
Agreement with Indefinite Pronoun Antecedents
When a pronoun’s antecedent is an indefinite pronoun, the pronoun must agree in number with it.
Neither of the girls spent her entire allowance.
Several members missed their chance to speak with the president.
When no gender is specified, it is traditional to use a masculine pronoun with an indefinite antecedent. If gender-neutral wording is desired, use both masculine and feminine, reword the sentence to make the antecedent plural, or omit the personal pronoun entirely.
TRADITIONAL: Every one of the students should prepare his own homework.
GENDER-NEUTRAL: All of the students should prepare their own homework.
Every one of the students should prepare the homework.