Objective I4

1
Objective I-4

• Recognize pronoun antecedent agreement in number
  and gender

2
Agreement of Pronoun and Antecedent

• A pronoun must agree in number, person, and
  gender with its antecedent. (The antecedent is
  the word to which the pronoun refers.)
• Joseph wore his swim trunks to
• the beach. (The antecedent of his is
• Joseph. Both the pronoun and antecedent are
• singular, third person, and masculine therefore,
  the
• pronoun is said to agree with its antecedent.

3
Agreement in Number

• Use a singular pronoun to refer to such
  antecedents as each, either, neither, one,
  anyone, anybody, everyone, somebody, another,
  nobody, and a person.
• Neither of the girls likes her (not their)
• dress.

4
Agreement in Number

• Two or more singular antecedents joined by or or
  nor are also referred to by a singular pronoun.
• Either Joanna or Gerri left her keys in the
• library.

5
Agreement in Number

• If one of the antecedents joined by or or nor is
  singular and one is plural, the pronoun should
  agree with the nearer antecedent.
• Neither the manager or players were crazy
• about their new uniforms.

6
Agreement in Number

• Use a plural pronoun to refer to plural
  antecedents as well as compound subjects joined
  by and.
• Jason and Joe are finishing their pushups.

7
Agreement in Gender

• Use a masculine or feminine pronoun depending
  upon the gender of the antecedent.
• Is either Connor or Grace bringing his or her
• tennis racket?

8
Agreement in Gender

• When a person or everyone is used to refer to
  both sexes or either sex, you will have to choose
  whether to offer optional pronouns or rewrite the
  sentence.
• A person should be allowed to choose her or
• his own footwear. (optional pronouns)
• People should be allowed to choose their own
• footwear. (rewritten in plural form)

9
Let's Practice
For each sentence on the next slide, write the
antecedent of the pronoun that appears later in
the sentence. Then replace the incorrect pronoun
with the one that agrees with the antecedent. If
the pronoun is correct, write c.
10

• Example Should students always know the basics.
• about how to maintain her computer?
• students, their
• Everyone should know how to delete files and save
  his documents to the network drive.
• Susan and Sam know a lot about maintaining her
  computers.
• Both of them keeps his computers running
  smoothly.
• The computer lab tech helps students with
  problems they cant fix.

11
Answers

• everyone, his or her
• Susan and Sam, their
• Both, their
• Students, c

12
What would this look like on the AHSGE?
13

• Choose the sentence that is written correctly.
• A. The cat ate its food quickly.
• B. Each student voted for its favorite food.
• C. The groom found its tuxedo in the closet.
• D. Todd and Keith went to his own graduation on
  Sunday.

14

• Choose the sentence that is written correctly.
• A. The cat ate its food quickly.
• B. Each student voted for its favorite food.
• C. The groom found its tuxedo in the closet.
• D. Todd and Keith went to his own graduation on
  Sunday.

15

• Choose the sentence in which the underlined word
  is correct.
• A. Jane washed her car right before it rained.
• B. Each of the roses has their own smell.
• C. Some of the rabbits chewed through its cage.
• D. Most of the people clapped her hands after
  the show.

16

• Choose the sentence in which the underlined word
  is correct.
• A. Jane washed her car right before it rained.
• B. Each of the roses has their own smell.
• C. Some of the rabbits chewed through its cage.
• D. Most of the people clapped her hands after
  the show.

17

• Choose the sentence that contains an error.
• A. The bull lost her way in the storm.
• B. Mrs. Jones put her money in the safe.
• C. Mark guided his canoe to the edge.
• D. Jake and Ed put on their hats when they went
  outside.

18

• Choose the sentence that contains an error.
• A. The bull lost her way in the storm.
• B. Mrs. Jones put her money in the safe.
• C. Mark guided his canoe to the edge.
• D. Jake and Ed put on their hats when they went
  outside.

19

• Choose the correct word to complete the sentence.
• The citizens at the meeting expressed _____
  opinions articulately.
• A. Its
• B. His
• C. They
• D. Their

20

• Choose the correct word to complete the sentence.
• The citizens at the meeting expressed _____
  opinions articulately.
• A. Its
• B. His
• C. They
• D. Their

21

• Choose the sentence in which the underlined word
  is an error.
• A. Neither Bob nor Joe remembered to bring his
  notes.
• B. The singers spent long hours coordinating
  their outfits.
• C. Every dog in the show is wearing their own
  personalized collar.
• D. Both Mary and Sharon are taking their gym
  bags to class.

22

• Choose the sentence in which the underlined word
  is an error.
• A. Neither Bob nor Joe remembered to bring his
  notes.
• B. The singers spent long hours coordinating
  their outfits.
• C. Every dog in the show is wearing their own
  personalized collar.
• D. Both Mary and Sharon are taking their gym
  bags to class.